Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
I don't think that is the biggest argument at all. That's just bickering. I laid out reasonable points as to why utility scale is superior. People with home solar want it both ways. Free power, and grid backup whenever they need it. That's not fair to everyone else who can't have rooftop solar. You couldn't have net metering without the utility grid and non-solar backup to support it.
|
Utility scale is likely superior, but its not the only way to leverage solar. This is part of the problem with people addressing the climate science issue. They think there is one magic bullet, when there needs to be a 30 round magazine full of bullets to solve this problem.
Residential power generation is a great solution as well. And no, it wasn't home owners who came up with this idea, it was the utilities themselves. The problem was they didn't think that so many people would have such large installations that they would not need to leverage the grid tie-in, and then make their money off the differential. Because vendors have come in and are providing over-sized installations, ones that generate an excess of electricity, the utilities are finding less demand for their product and paying out more than they anticipated. Sucks to be them. Good for the people that had the wherewithal to build a better mouse trap, and then homeowners for being able to take advantage of it.
Quote:
|
You generate power when you don't need it, and suck it back from the grid when you do. "But onsite storage! Tesla power walls!" All this is an inefficient waste of resources. Maybe good for the individual, but bad for society.
|
Seems really efficient for me and my neighbors. Seems really efficient for our utility as well, as they can spin down the gas and nuclear generation units when demand is low. In a world where we want people to be more self-sufficient this seems like a perfect solution. The only way it could get better is if I didn't need the utility heartbeat, and could be totally self-sufficient, but that is a legislated requirement for systems in my market. Now THAT ain't fair!
Quote:
Originally Posted by zamler
By the numbers, the average home in Alberta uses 7,200 kWh per year the average home solar system will generate 1276 kWh/year. Given the cost, carbon footprint to produce and maintain the system I don't see how it makes much sense. Now on an industrial scale solar may be better but I don't have those numbers.
|
Wow, why are the numbers so low? I generate that much in a month with the exception of the very winter months. I would think that Calgary would generate a ton during the summer with the longer days, which would up the generation? Why does Calgary generate so little when they have so many generating hours to rely upon?