Quote:
Originally Posted by pinballlooking
You do realize even now the cow power company only allows for 1% – 3% solar on each line.
In HI some people can’t get solar power because most of houses around them have solar. With the rules in place the cow will always be fat and happy.
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Is it that they can't install PV or is it that they can't sell through an intertie to the utilitity?
I think if the utilities wouldn't buy my power I'd run off grid during the daylight hours with a switching arrangement so that my batteries are used minimally during transition from shutting the grid on and off. At night I'd run wind or buy power when the costs is lower.
Right now I'm paying 10.7 cents a KWh and selling at 10.7 cents. The new interties get the 3 to 4 cents off which is what the utilities pay. So it's cheaper to have a set up where the grid is shut off when I'm making enough power to run the house.
This way I still maximize my investment and still use the utility for my benefit (my batteries last indefinitely and I use the grid to my advantage). The grid is stronger due to individual suppliers, like us, and the load on the grid is lower meaning they have to buy less power, so they get a benefit too.
What we have as individuals is flexibility which large companies don't have.
Also, it's good to note that grids aren't as stable as they would like us to believe. When there's a failure they switch over to another station, for example.
The other problem is as nuclear power plants age they become more costly to run, it's like the car with 200k miles and a bad engine. Do you spend for a new engine or do you get a new car? This is what's happening in France now and why they are buying power from Germany with PV and wind.
Rob