sbvSep 24, 2023

Rooftop solar 'cannibalising' power prices as Australian generators pay to stay online - ABC News

https://sh.itjust.works/post/5807561

Rooftop solar 'cannibalising' power prices as Australian generators pay to stay online - ABC News - sh.itjust.works

> * Wholesale power prices are increasingly turning negative at times of high solar output > * Observers say rooftop solar is “cannibalising” electricity prices and hitting large-scale solar hard > * There are calls for storage and greater daytime demand to help soak up solar production

Show threadstabby_cicadaSep 24, 2023

Here in California, utility companies are “solving” this by instituting extremely high fees for the privilege of connecting your solar power to the grid. If I recall from the last time I ran the numbers, rooftop solar panels no longer make economic sense for the vast majority of residential customers - it costs more money to install me solar panels and pay the monthly connection fees then you’ll save by producing energy over the lifetime of the solar panels.

Probably the one time in history PG&E tried to fix a problem ahead of time. 😆

Show threadnottheengineerSep 24, 2023
Can you at least legally have solar that doesn’t put any power into the grid?
Show threadcontentedness
From what I know the batteries you need to store your own electricity at home are crazy expensive
Sep 24, 2023 at 6:57pmWeb
Show threadnottheengineerSep 24, 2023
Yes, but you don’t necessarily need batteries. If you just have a bit of solar, you’ll use up all the power it produces as it does that.
Show threadlolrightythenSep 24, 2023

I’m sure this has been discussed, but storing your solar energy as potential energy could avoid paying connection fees. Pump some ground water into a raised tank - or hoist heavy objects (large logs)?

Now that I type it out, it seems either dangerous or inefficient or not cost effective. Or all of the above.

Fun to think about, though

Show threadJoeCoTSep 25, 2023
There was a company that stacked concrete bricks to store electricity, with the point being that on demand the crane could pick up bricks and gain the energy from dropping them down. Hit all sorts of news sites, never heard of it reaching practical use.
Energy-storing concrete bricks could be key to proliferation of renewables

Renewable energy could reliably power the grid at peak times using an eco-friendly and cost-effective storage solution designed by Swiss start-up Energy Vault.

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