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If the utility is paying a market rate (instead of an inflated rate to get people to invest in alternative energy), why couldn't we all sell power to the grid?
by hnal943 12y ago
If the utility is paying a market rate (instead of an inflated rate to get people to invest in alternative energy), why couldn't we all sell power to the grid? Eventually if the home units get efficient enough, what would be the problem with power being supplied entirely peer-to-peer?
Granted, I think we're a very long way away from that, but I don't see anything wrong with the funding mechanism.
- rhino369 12y agoThe market rate would just fall to near zero. The surplus from different homes would have very similar patterns. When it is sunny and bright out, everyone has surplus. At night, nobody does. You are buying when everyone is buying and you are selling when everyone is selling. That isn't even considering reliability. With wildly variable production, we will have to pay out of the ass for peaker plants to pick up the slack.
- dragonwriter 12y ago> The market rate would just fall to near zero. The surplus from different homes would have very similar patterns. This assumes that all homes are using the same technology to generate power, but after the landrush to solar, rates (which are time variant) would incentivize new entrants to the "sell-to-the-grid" market to choose technologies which might be less average output per unit cost than solar, but which have different timing characteristics.
- rhino369 12y agoMost state's do have a sell to grid system for commercial scale. Though maybe a new type of renewable power that is easily distributed will pop up. I think the solar rush is mostly because of the subsidies. I think I'd rather fund commercial scale solar.