[Lanny_McDonald]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

My point it is misused resources. You acknowledge utility scale is likely superior, so why not deploy all available capital in the most efficient way possible?

Because utilities are not incentivized to adopt change until it is forced on them by lost customers. The only way you force change on a large monolithic interest like a utility is to change the customer base. Social change is driven by small groups within the masses.

Good for the people who can afford it, you mean? Own their own house, and have the capital to spend? Sucks to be poor? Think that through a little.

Have the capital? My solar install cost me NOTHING out of pocket. Not a single red cent. The same deal can be, and is being extended, to anyone who has a utility account and decent credit. No capital required. Thanks Tesla!

Did you ever stop to ask WHY it may be legislated? I'll let you think on that.

They were legislated to protect the utilities' profits. They have a massive lobby and paid millions of dollars to protect their revenue stream. These private enterprises relied on public legislation to protect their revenues and chase away the competition driven by those mean solar companies. I'll let you think on that.

You seem to think utility companies are all evil, but modern society wouldn't exist without them.

I don't think utilities are evil at all. They provide an important service. I wish people would remember that the utilities were originally government run, because private enterprise will not invest money in these big concepts that have a long term payoff. The public has to front the money, the government builds these things, then the utilities come flocking to use the infrastructure that was built out.

Because the sun shines in the summer when you don't need it, and not in the winter when you do. We have much shorter days in the winter as well.

That does not answer the question of the differential in power generation. My house generates ~14,500kw in a year on an 8.5kw system. A location in Sweet Grass, MT, generates ~11,000. Why would Calgary only generate a fraction of that? Use and demand does not system impact generation capacity.

Originally Posted by Fuzz

Because it makes no sense! Goddamn man, its the same as the solar argument. You think it makes more sense for everyone to generate their own electricity from natural gas in the house, rather than a central facility, using combined cycle technology? I'll let you do the math on it, but spoiler alert, it doesn't.

I don't care what you think is more efficient, its what causes change and moves the needle. I would prefer centralized power generation, but the grid is so old and can't sustain the load you need to distribute the generation to the endpoint. It's all about business too. Albertans wonder why your economy sucks? Think you make more money selling a couple dozen power plants, or selling tens of millions of units to consumers around the globe? I'll let you think on that one and do the math.