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It’s time to start wasting solar energy

Christopher Neely 43,835

Independent Local News Organization

Journalist for nearly a decade with keen interest in local energy policies for cities and national efforts to facilitate a renewable revolution.

Member since 2017
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Dec 29, 2020Dec 29, 2020 9:02 pm GMT
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With the significant drop in cost to produce solar energy, there is a growing push to begin overproducing solar energy and make it the central form and focus of renewable energy projects across the United States. But would overproducing also lead to a grid overload?

It’s time to start wasting solar energy

Plummeting solar panel prices make it cheaper to overbuild, even if producers don't always sell the power.

Source: qz.com

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Bob Meinetz on Dec 29, 2020

Christopher, you're too late: California solar is already overproducing 1.5 trillion watthours of electricity each year. It costs ratepayers ~$1 billion to get rid of it.

We accomplish that in one of two ways: 1) Pay other states to take it (with "negative pricing"), or 2) Pay solar plants to turn themselves off, in the form of "decremental bids". And yes, ratepayers pay for that, too, for nothing of value in return (other than keeping someone else's solar plant from destroying the CAISO grid).

Solar prices are "plummeting", are they? Then why is my electric bill skyrocketing?

Brad Luyster on Dec 30, 2020

Bob,

Excellent response!

Brad

Thank Christopher for the Post!

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