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Elon Musk's SolarCity Offering To Build Cities, Businesses Their Own Grids
Lucas123 writes Rooftop solar distributor SolarCity announced a new service where it will build a centrally-controllable power grid for cities, business campuses and even islands. Marketing its GridLogic service by calling attention to the recent uptick in natural disasters and the extended power outages that resulted from them, SolarCity said its "microgrids" are fully independent power infrastructures fed by solar panels with lithium-ion backup batteries (courtesy of Tesla). SolarCity claims its GridLogic program can provide electricity to communities and businesses for less than they pay for utility power and the facilities can still be connected to their area's utility power grid as an added backup.
Why not the far simpler and more beneficial Grid tie syncing systems? They work great and will let the power generated spread out to others that dont have the money for a solar installation. It causes the benefits to reach out further.
Eliminate the batteries, system is simpler, and benefits more. It's a win,win,win, anger republicans which is another win.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
There is more than just a "green" reason to build local microgrids.
Energy Security and Grid Reliability are two.
The American electrical grid, built decades ago and in need of major upgrades, is acknowledged to be a problem moving forward with renewable energy. Utilities complain that they can't handle the load. As utilities whine about what solar and wind will do to their grids(while simultaneously poopooing renewables and how much power they can generate) SolarCity will build microgrids that will allow localized power generation and distribution, so the tender and fragile utilities-of-old won't have to be bothered by pesky solar derived electricity.
The American megagrids serve a purpose, and they should be upgraded, however we should be simultaneously building infrastructure than is localized and more robust.
Someone should not lost power because a tree fell on a line hundreds of miles away.
We play the game with the bravery of being out of range
Why are they using lithium batteries?
Because EVs use them, but when the EVs are done with the packs, the packs are still good for something.
The plan for Leaf packs was to use them for this purpose from day one. Why not Tesla? Hell, they might be able to get their hands on the Leaf packs cheap.
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
They're going to be constantly replacing LiOn packs on any appreciable sized system. Why not go with a NiFe battery system that will last for fifty years? The price won't be much different, especially over the life of the system, or is the system life that short? Its not like you need to keep weight and size down in a building. Also who wants the fire risk that LiOn's pose in their business or home?
1973 called, they want their solar power cost benefit analysis back.
Obviously there are still situations where solar is not ideal but there is a reason its one of the fastest growing energy sources. Things everyone should know:
-Solar panels collect back the power used to manufacture them in 1-4 years.
-Their useful lifespan is over 30 (approaching 50).
-If your roof gets sun more than half the days of the year, a solar array will pay itself back in under 15 years WITHOUT SUBSIDIES (I'm looking at about 12 for my array not including subsidies).
-Storage is indeed an issue, but that is the very issue that this plan is addressing!
Solar panels collect back the power used to manufacture them in 1-4 years.
Oh, Bullshit!. The last time I priced solar panels for my house, quotes ranged from $25,000-$30,000. And even covering my roof, they might end up saving me $100/month tops (estimated). At $1200/year, they would take over 20 years to pay for themselves. And that assuming that they never, ever need ANY maintenance or repair in the next 20 years (color me pretty skeptical on THAT).
I tried to get a quote on a solar system from SolarCity for our home. They were rude, pushy, and kept insisting that I "think of SolarCity as a utility company, not an installer."
I contacted them because of Musk's association with the company. I have since decided to go DIY, and now I don't really see why "solar companies" are even necessary. Any electrician worth his salt should be able to wire and setup a solar system. The panel, inverter, and battery manufacturers are what matter.
I've got Solar City...
You do not pay to install anything.
You do not pay to keep them clear of branches.
You *do* buy electricity from the solar cells, but at a much *lower* rate than municipal power. You do buy the rest of your power from your normal provider at the normal price.
Yes, 100% of the tax credits and rebates go to Solar City.
In other words, you pay nothing and get cheaper electricity. All you have to do is let them put solar cells on your roof, which they then maintain. It's a pretty nice win-win situation as far as I am concerned. I have a much lower electric bill, and I know that I'm helping the environment, and I had no out-of-pocket expense at all.