And, from that Lefty Socialist rag, Forbes.
Solar plus storage is now cheaper than any non-solar electrical power
Responses
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@scienceofdoom,
This is about capability, cost of plant, and speed of build-out, including battery storage, which is the new feature here. Y’need a synoptically scaled integrated grid per Jacobson’s plan with smart controls to make this work, I think.
I consider wind energy another kind of solar energy. That not only isn’t limited by day, in some cases it anti-correlates with solar.
The costs and cost curves for wind and solar are well known. See Lazard’s unsubsidized Levelizef Cost of Storage analysis for the storage part, per https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-and-levelized-cost-of-storage-2018/.
A concern about building an energy system reliant substantially upon solar PV/solar thermal is that it precludes use of solar radiation management (“SRM”). I’m no fan of SRM, not at all. I think it’s terrible, because of collateral health effects and the dumping of heat back should it be interrupted. (For readers: Oceans have a lot of thermal capacity, but they also have a time constant for take-up. Interrupting SRM would dump a bunch of heat back which oceans would take up in the long term, but not immediately. Given that oceans take up 90%-94% of excess heat now, that could be a really big problem.) But in a context where it might be seriously thought about being deployed, it would be an act of desperation and large scale solar would nix that option.
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How many hours of storage?
Suppose you are relying on this system for all your power, for example, you’ve replaced all your gas plants. Now you want to supply electricity to your consumers even if there are 3 days with minimal solar power.
How much storage is required? And what does it cost?
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About the author
Sophia Bennett is an art historian and freelance writer with a passion for exploring the intersections between nature, symbolism, and artistic expression. With a background in Renaissance and modern art, Sophia enjoys uncovering the hidden meanings behind iconic works and sharing her insights with art lovers of all levels. When she’s not visiting museums or researching the latest trends in contemporary art, you can find her hiking in the countryside, always chasing the next rainbow.
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