Solar power & Wind Power for residental use

[KennyG]

A new development??

General question: why is high density seemingly required for very large storage systems that are not space limited?

Even if space is not limited, you need to contain the working medium. Tanks, etc are not cheap. Think about how large a tank you would need to store energy in hot air vs. molten salt. One alternative stlorage is compressed air in large natural underground compartments (caves). This has been tried but I don't think it has yet been cost effective, even with subsidies. Some of the solar thermal plants (molten salt storage) claim to have up to 18 hours storage, allowing 24 hour operation, but they still come up short on full power on an annual cycle because of reduced sun in the winter.

There are challenges in handling molten salt. The solar storage plants have had some operating difficulties and are quite expensive, but the technology does work.

 

[buickanddeere]

Molten salt makes an excellent neutron transparent heat transport fluid for nuclear reactors .

 

[MossRoad]

A new development??

General question: why is high density seemingly required for very large storage systems that are not space limited?

Germans and Chinese making hydrogen plasma....
China's nuclear fusion machine just smashed Germany's hydrogen plasma record - ScienceAlert

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

I am Florida for the winter, nice sunny place in the winter. Driving around the Tampa and Orlando area I do not see ANY solar panels on the roofs of home or commercial buildings. Coming from NJ we have them all over the place, drive down any street and many homes and commercial buildings have them. Drive in the country and see corn fields that are now covered in PV panels, heck even some street lights poles have panels on them. I could not understand why such a sunny place has no PV panels. Then I came across this article and explains why Florida has very little it seems.

The Koch Brothers' Dirty War on Solar Power | Rolling Stone

The Sunshine State has the best solarity east of the Mississippi, and the third-best rooftop solar potential in America. Yet measured by solar production, it ranks just 16th in the nation. It's dwarfed by solar giants like California. Florida even lags behind Northern states like New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York. "It defies logic," says former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. "It's absolutely absurd." The solar industry in Florida has been boxed out by investor-owned utilities (IOUs) that reap massive profits from natural gas and coal. These IOUs wield outsize political power in the state capital of Tallahassee, and flex it to protect their absolute monopoly on electricity sales. "We live in the Stone Age in regard to renewable power," says state Rep. Dwight Dudley, the ranking Democrat on the energy subcommittee in the Florida House. "The power companies hold sway here, and the consumers are at their mercy."

I do not want to make this thread a political thing, great info in this thread, I just found the info in this article very interesting. If you are considering investing in this technology it may make sense to see what your politicians in your state think about it.

 

[buickanddeere]

Maybe Florida rate payers do not want to pay subsidies to solar power producers . And carry the cost of not one but two power generation systems .

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Maybe Florida rate payers do not want to pay subsidies to solar power producers . And carry the cost of not one but two power generation systems .

Perhaps but the following from that article makes think perhaps not.



The Sunshine State is a gold mine for its monopoly IOUs. Air conditioning drives the second-highest electrical consumption in the nation; the average Florida household spends $1,900 a year on power – 40 percent more than the national average. Fossil fuel dominates electricity generation: Florida is 61 percent dependent on natural gas, followed by coal at 23 percent. Solar makes up less than one percent of the state's energy


The rise of distributed solar power poses a triple threat to these monopoly gains. First: When homeowners install their own solar panels, it means the utilities build fewer power plants, and investors miss out on a chance to profit. Second: Solar homes buy less electricity from the grid; utilities lose out on recurring profits from power sales. Third: Under "net metering" laws, most utilities have to pay rooftop solar producers for the excess power they feed onto the grid. In short, rooftop solar transforms a utility's traditional consumers into business rivals.


Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook

 

[buickanddeere]

Perhaps but the following from that article makes think perhaps not.

The Sunshine State is a gold mine for its monopoly IOUs. Air conditioning drives the second-highest electrical consumption in the nation; the average Florida household spends $1,900 a year on power – 40 percent more than the national average. Fossil fuel dominates electricity generation: Florida is 61 percent dependent on natural gas, followed by coal at 23 percent. Solar makes up less than one percent of the state's energy

You totally missed the point .

 

[truckdiagnostics]

buickanddeere, I do agree and understand with what you are saying. Yes, NY_Yankees_Fan you missed his point.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

buickanddeere, I do agree and understand with what you are saying. Yes, NY_Yankees_Fan you missed his point.

I do not think the rate payers had any option, their politicians let the power providers have what they wanted.... To make the most $$$$, read the article.

 

[buickanddeere]

I do not think the rate payers had any option, their politicians let the power providers have what they wanted.... To make the most $$$$, read the article.

You are still missing the issue of subsidized whole sale rates for wind and solar producers . Are you not aware of the subsidies ? Every wind and solar system goes bankrupt once the subsidized rates end.
What is the source of power on cloudy days, during short winter days with weak sunlight . When snow covered in areas of the country where prone to such. What is the source of peak power demand from 3:00PM until 10:00PM depending on the location and time of year . What is the source of peak power until the 3rd hour of daylight ?
I would assume that your area of expertise is outside the power generation industry ? What could I use as an example of analogy to better explain the situation?