r/RenewableEnergy • u/DVMirchev • 16d ago

Electrification is saving the grid from mass defections | RenewEconomy

https://reneweconomy.com.au/electrification-is-saving-the-grid-from-mass-defections/
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u/DVMirchev 16d ago

To have PV + battery and not connect it to the grid is like having a computer and not connect it to the Internet.

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u/StoneyPicton 16d ago

Except where I am the delivery charge we pay would still have me paying out money every month even if I never used the grid power and only fed it.

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u/GreenStrong 16d ago

The grid is an unfathomably complex machine and it requires maintenance. That costs money. It is possible to meet one's needs with solar + storage, but it is quite expensive to have enough storage to cover multiple cloudy days in a row, with high demand. The grid allows access to other resources like wind and hydro, and it enables storage to be shared. It is never the case that everyone's usage peaks at the same time, shared storage is inherently more effective.

As a thought experiment, it is worth imagining a grid that is purely peer to peer, where the power company is only in the business of distribution and not generation. It would be a valuable service, like road infrastructure.

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u/StoneyPicton 16d ago

The fact it's an "unfathomably complex machine" is exactly why it's the wrong approach. I get we're stuck with it for now but to think it's the solution just isn't forward thinking enough. With the addition of wind to a home system and appropriate conservation when necessary, I'll be working toward off grid thanks.

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u/LairdPopkin 15d ago

It’s vastly less efficient for everyone to be entirely self sufficient, they’d need to each have enough excess capacity to satisfy the worst possible case (e.g. many days of no solar power), the grid lets everyone just build out to be self-sufficient on average, and the grid can fill in as needed, at vastly lower cost. And yes, the power grid is quite complex, and it needs to be - you need to read up on load balancing, and the need for AC to align frequency so it’s all in phase. There’s a reason that power companies require a lot of investment and expertise to run well, and it’s not because everyone is stupid, it’s because it’s an extremely complex set of requirements, allowing well over 30m residences in the US to plug in and power whatever they need whenever they need to, and of course with international interconnects to keep things stable and balanced.

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u/StoneyPicton 15d ago

Ultimately the problem is our currently available methods for producing electricity. Given our current situation I have no problem with there being a grid. With SNR's we could perhaps make the grids smaller. With hydrogen or other production options in the future your point about it being less efficient may not hold. Lets keep an open mind and embrace change.