Solar power

[Peartree]

Efficiency in PV is not that important. If PV's were 100% efficient then the temperature of the panel supports underneath would plunge to absolute zero and destroy themselves.

No.

 

[Funkworks]

For those more interested in the economics than the science:

Solar Industry Research Data | SEIA

Solar industry research data for the United States. Information and graphs about the growth of the solar energy industry.

www.seia.org

 

[jderimig]

???

Satire. If you have a large solar farm where all the ground was covered by 100% efficient PVs what would be the equilibrium temperature under the panels? (it wont be 0K but it will be cold)

 

[hobie1dog]

No.

uh oh, fight

 

[jderimig]

uh oh, fight

Nah. He's right.

 

[Greg Furtman]

For those more interested in the economics than the science:

Solar Industry Research Data | SEIA

Solar industry research data for the United States. Information and graphs about the growth of the solar energy industry.

www.seia.org

After looking at this i now have a better insight on why the rush for storage systems is so important.

 

[Greg Furtman]

An interesting concept. Use existing public land, generate clean electricity, and save water.

 

[Greg Furtman]

So you have solar and wind green energy available but the transmission lines can't take the additional load. What to do? Build all new lines? Or how about using new technologies to enhance the existing grid.

NY project will use high-tech sensors to get more clean energy onto…

National Grid and LineVision are expanding the capacity of New York’s grid to carry greater amounts of wind power. Why aren’t more U.S. utilities doing the same?

www.canarymedia.com

 

[Greg Furtman]

There is a new power transmission line being built from Quebec to NYC. The interesting thing to me is that it is a buried HVDC line. I did not know that HVDC lines existed and were more efficient than AC lines for long distances.

A giant clean-energy transmission line to New York City is now…

Construction has begun on the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express, which will deliver Canadian hydropower to NYC as the city retires fossil fuel plants.

www.canarymedia.com

 

[Funkworks]

There is a new power transmission line being built from Quebec to NYC. The interesting thing to me is that it is a buried HVDC line. I did not know that HVDC lines existed and were more efficient than AC lines for long distances.

A giant clean-energy transmission line to New York City is now…

Construction has begun on the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express, which will deliver Canadian hydropower to NYC as the city retires fossil fuel plants.

www.canarymedia.com

More about hydro power than solar though. But no thread on hydro yet so
Interesting nonetheless.

 

[Greg Furtman]

More about hydro power than solar though. But no thread on hydro yet so
Interesting nonetheless.

True, but HVDC lines could get solar and wind energy from where it is being produced to where it is needed with less line loss.

 

[Funkworks]

Some people complain about how there are too many landfills.
Some people complain about how solar panels use too much land.
And then you have those who install solar panels over landfills.

Partners Finish Installations on 25.6 MW Landfill Solar Project - Solar Industry

CEP Renewables, CS Energy, Terrasmart, Lindsay Precast and NJR Clean Energy Ventures have completed the largest landfill solar project in North America. The 25.6 MW DC project is located in Mount Olive, N.J. It has enabled the township to recoup nearly $2.3 million in past taxes while at the...

solarindustrymag.com

"There are over 10,000 closed landfills in the United States, yet only a small fraction of these parcels have been redeveloped. Transitioning more of these landfill sites into solar projects will create more local tax revenue, jobs, cleaner air, and affordable energy for residents throughout the country."

 

[Greg Furtman]

Some people complain about how there are too many landfills.
Some people complain about how solar panels use too much land.
And then you have those who install solar panels over landfills.

Partners Finish Installations on 25.6 MW Landfill Solar Project - Solar Industry

CEP Renewables, CS Energy, Terrasmart, Lindsay Precast and NJR Clean Energy Ventures have completed the largest landfill solar project in North America. The 25.6 MW DC project is located in Mount Olive, N.J. It has enabled the township to recoup nearly $2.3 million in past taxes while at the...

solarindustrymag.com

"There are over 10,000 closed landfills in the United States, yet only a small fraction of these parcels have been redeveloped. Transitioning more of these landfill sites into solar projects will create more local tax revenue, jobs, cleaner air, and affordable energy for residents throughout the country."

Makes total sense. What else could you do with a former landfill that would benefit society.

 

[Funkworks]

Yeah I love it when someone pulls out a smart idea that shuts down lazy critics.

 

[hobie1dog]

that doesn't seem possible to have that many landfills in this country. Perfect place to totally cover with solar panels.

 

[boatgeek]

that doesn't seem possible to have that many landfills in this country. Perfect place to totally cover with solar panels.

There are about 20,000 incorporated towns and cities in the US. All that trash has to go somewhere. Interestingly, there are only around 1500-3000 active landfills and 10,000 abandoned/decommissioned ones. Anything brownfield is a good use for solar if it isn't going to be redeveloped.

 

[Funkworks]

New report from the IEA says solar is skyrocketing
("turbocharged" actually but I can't find an emoji for that).

Renewable power’s growth is being turbocharged as countries seek to strengthen energy security - News - IEA

Renewable power’s growth is being turbocharged as countries seek to strengthen energy security - News from the International Energy Agency

www.iea.org

 

[Greg Furtman]

It looks like Puerto Rico is finally going to get some help from DC.

Biden admin seeks $3B to fund rooftop solar+batteries in Puerto Rico

Geared toward low-income households, the federal funding could help avert future blackouts, but some question whether they'll ever see the money.

www.canarymedia.com

 

[jderimig]

It looks like Puerto Rico is finally going to get some help from DC.

Biden admin seeks $3B to fund rooftop solar+batteries in Puerto Rico

Geared toward low-income households, the federal funding could help avert future blackouts, but some question whether they'll ever see the money.

www.canarymedia.com

Should try to be funded from the existing IRA if possible.

 

[Funkworks]

This low cost solar car will be revealed be at the 2023 CES:

https://www.squadmobility.com/blog/squad-mobility-news-1/squad-worlds-first-solar-city-car-11

https://pv-magazine-usa.com/2022/12/08/solar-car-for-city-mobility-priced-at-6250/





A calculator for estimating cost of solar:

https://www.sunspot.org.au

 

[boatgeek]

Should try to be funded from the existing IRA if possible.

Yeah, that's going to be a lot easier to manage than getting $3B in new funding for PR through Congress in January. I suppose it could be rolled into the federal funding bill that's coming up now, but $3B is a lot to add on short notice. It can be done if there's political will, but it's harder.

 

[Funkworks]

... manage ... funding ... Congress ... federal ... bill ... political ...

Here's the kind of thing I like to see:

"The company states that this is the first off-grid factory in the world powered entirely by a Megapack.

The MegaFactory applies similar technology found in S2A Modular's self-sustaining modular home product GreenLuxHome, bringing energy efficiency and sustainability to modular construction.

"Since commissioning the Tesla Megapack, all factory systems and equipment, including saws, air compressors, cranes, climate control, hydraulic lifts and more, have been operating exclusively on the energy provided by the Tesla Megapack using energy supplied by PVGraf solar panels."

Tesla Megapack enables entire off-grid operation for a modular housing factory

Modular homes, tiny houses and commercial structures manufacturer S2A Modular announced one of its modular home MegaFactories in California is being powered entirely by just a single Tesla Megapack energy storage product. The company states that this is the first off-grid factory in the world...

solarmagazine.com

FreeVolt

www.freevolt.com

 

[Greg Furtman]

Here's a company that is installing solar panels directly on the ground. It's less expensive but I wonder how well it will work & what will the longevity will be. Time will tell.

A 100MW solar farm in Texas will mount panels directly on the ground

Startup Erthos says its "earth-mount" approach can reduce utility-scale solar costs by up to 20% by eliminating steel racking.

www.canarymedia.com

 

[boatgeek]

One of my clients is somewhat dissatisfied with grid reliability at their terminal(s) as their utility transitions to renewable power. Their proposed solution is kind of interesting though--they want to double down on renewables by installing a solar farm and batteries. I'm not sure if they're going to go to a full-on disconnected microgrid or if they'll stay connected to the main grid for backup. Personally, I would stay connected to the main grid, but there's sure to be many factors that I don't fully understand.

 

[Funkworks]

... I wonder how well it will work & what will the longevity will be. Time will tell.

Try things out is part of the fun.

One of my clients is somewhat dissatisfied with grid reliability at their terminal(s) as their utility transitions to renewable power. Their proposed solution is kind of interesting though--they want to double down on renewables by installing a solar farm and batteries. I'm not sure if they're going to go to a full-on disconnected microgrid or if they'll stay connected to the main grid for backup. Personally, I would stay connected to the main grid, but there's sure to be many factors that I don't fully understand.

You probably know more about this than me. I'd say it depends on where they are, and what the total cost per year is in each case.

 

[jderimig]

One of my clients is somewhat dissatisfied with grid reliability at their terminal(s) as their utility transitions to renewable power. Their proposed solution is kind of interesting though--they want to double down on renewables by installing a solar farm and batteries. I'm not sure if they're going to go to a full-on disconnected microgrid or if they'll stay connected to the main grid for backup. Personally, I would stay connected to the main grid, but there's sure to be many factors that I don't fully understand.

Why is his grid getting less reliable?

 

[boatgeek]

Why is his grid getting less reliable?

Honestly, it's a little hard to tease out. We were also talking about other stuff and I had a deadline that day so I didn't really have the time to ask more detailed questions. I'm going to be somewhat nonspecific here because identifying the location would more or less identify the client.

His first statement was that the utility was getting less reliable as they made a transition off of fossil fuels to renewables, and that the "technology wasn't quite there yet." Later on, he mentioned that the utility had never really given them good service, and that the utility didn't seem to want to help them increase their service capacity. Given that they were considering a solar-battery system for themselves, it doesn't seem like the renewables "not being there yet" was the whole story. I don't know if they've always had reliability issues and this is a convenient place to place the blame, whether power was getting more expensive, or whether there was something else entirely.

 

[Greg Furtman]

California is changing the rules on home roof top solar panels so now there is an incentive available for home owners with solar to install battery backup systems to stabilize the grid.

As California guts solar net metering, batteries emerge as a…

Rooftop solar alone will earn less under new California policy, but firms are developing programs to make it lucrative to add home batteries that help the grid.

www.canarymedia.com

 

[Funkworks]

California is changing the rules on home roof top solar panels so now there is an incentive available for home owners with solar to install battery backup systems to stabilize the grid.

As California guts solar net metering, batteries emerge as a…

Rooftop solar alone will earn less under new California policy, but firms are developing programs to make it lucrative to add home batteries that help the grid.

www.canarymedia.com

Cool that the solar industry has traction, but someone is going to chime in now complaining about rules and incentives, trying to steer us away from solar tech and make this into some kind of dog pit. It's not that I want to be a bouncer, it's that I have to.

Latest on the cheapest solar cars I know of:

Aptera Gamma Shows Its Center Touchscreen In Latest Development Video

For budget consious city folks:

Squad Mobility prices solar car at $6,250

Squad Mobility will start selling its new two-passenger Squad solar electric vehicle in the US market in January. It is designed for quick trips like grocery shopping or short-distance commutes.

www.pv-magazine.com

 

[kuririn]

For budget consious city folks:

From the video:
"No drivers' license required"