Opinion Green Energy Sucks

[Ruprecht]

There are a few major problems with solar imo.

1. the cost of storage and up keep is very expensive.

2. Solar is not a dependable why of producing power, wind also has this problem.

3. Many jurisdiction require that homes are tied with the utility grid.

4. The buy back amount is much less than the utility company sells power for.

5. The infrastructure is not capable of handling large amount of excess power being put back into the system. Many utility companies require that they have control of your solar system so the they can control how much you can feed back into the system.

I have a 10KW solar system which paid itself off within a few years. My power "bill" gets credited to my account quarterly. That's despite the tariffs expiring a couple of years ago. My upkeep involves cleaning the panels once a year.
Obviously the economics depend on how much sunshine you get and the local price of electricity, but sunshine's not an issue for most of Australia and our electricity prices are extremely high. I would have thought CA was similar.
In fact locally (South Australia) our power grid went to crap after they privatised and none of the companies which bought in are willing to invest in infrastructure. The take up of solar here is massive. I think every house on my block has at least a few KW of panels.

 

[LMP]

I have a 10KW solar system which paid itself off within a few years. My power "bill" gets credited to my account quarterly. That's despite the tariffs expiring a couple of years ago. My upkeep involves cleaning the panels once a year.
Obviously the economics depend on how much sunshine you get and the local price of electricity, but sunshine's not an issue for most of Australia and our electricity prices are extremely high. I would have though CA was similar.
In fact locally (South Australia) our power grid went to crap after they privatised and none of the companies are willing to invest in infrastructure. The take up of solar here is massive. I think every house on my block has at least a few KW of panels.

All new construction should 100% require solar imo. Even with low buy pack rates. It is well worth it, if you have the money. Battery upkeep is still expensive, which is what i was referring to. With the high end batteries you will still have to replace them, at least once, before the end of the life of the system. With limits on the buy back of the excess power, it still may not be cost effective to have a solar system in America, without heavy subsidies from the government.

 

[Ruprecht]

All new construction should 100% require solar imo. Even with low buy pack rates. It is well worth it. Battery upkeep is still expensive, which is what i was referring to. With the high end batteries you will still have to replace them, at least once, before the end of the life of the system. With limits on the buy back of the excess power, it still may not be cost effective to have a solar system in america without heavy subsidies from the government.

Yes, off the grid systems aren't as good value due to the costs involved with batteries. Prior to systems like the Tesla Powerwall I only knew a few people living rurally in areas that were subject to frequent blackouts that used off the grid systems. Most of which used deep cycle, lead acid batteries. Since privatisation and our own massive blackouts, along with the developments in technology, they are actually making it to the suburbs.
Of course when we had massive blackouts there were also people trying to blame wind power, but actually it's had nothing to do with it and they were full of shit. No idea if that's the case in CA.

 

[LMP]

Yes, off the grid systems aren't as good value due to the costs involved with batteries. Prior to systems like the Tesla Powerwall I only knew a few people living rurally in areas that were subject to frequent blackouts that used off the grid systems. Most of which used deep cycle, lead acid batteries. Since privatisation and our own massive blackouts, along with the developments in technology, they are actually making it to the suburbs.
Of course when we had massive blackouts there were also people trying to blame wind power, but actually it's had nothing to do with it and they were full of shit. No idea if that's the case in CA.

Did you install your own system?

 

[Ruprecht]

Did you install your own system?

No, you have to be certified to do it here. Also my system is grid tie-in, although the inverters have the option of upgrading to batteries. Back in 2013 when I got it installed the battery systems weren't really viable for most users, although with the increasing cost of power and reduction in price they will now also pay themselves off well before needing replacement. You're still unlikely to actually make any money off those systems though.

 

[LMP]

No, you have to be certified to do it here. Also my system is grid tie-in, although the inverters have the option of upgrading to batteries. Back in 2013 when I got it installed the battery systems weren't really viable for most users, although with the increasing cost of power and reduction in price they will now also pay themselves off well before needing replacement. You're still unlikely to actually make any money off those systems though.

Ive installed systems that will never pay for themselves. With the average electric bill in America being less than $150, it takes between 7 to 20 years to pay off the system. That is with subsidies. Also many companies are very predatory with leasing options.

 

[jefferz]

pc board not necessarily a smart device.

printed circuit board, not computer pc, however they can be used interchangeably sort of. Everything is controlled digitally rather than analog. There is no network connectivity........

No, no they can't. no one calls a printed circuit board a pc.

This idea has never even crossed my mind. Thank you

That goes for all "smart" devices. You can stop it by blocking them in your router.

 

[Corn Pop Hombre]

You're gonna absolutely love it when the non green energy collapses your civilization and ends most life on your planet

 

[Overtures]

Green energy makes sense to me



especially solar and ocean turbines

 

[Ruprecht]

Ive installed systems that will never pay for themselves. With the average electric bill in America being less than $150, it takes between 7 to 20 years to pay off the system. That is with subsidies. Also many companies are very predatory with leasing options.

Hah! My quarterly bill was around $1.5K back in 2013. That turned into a $700 credit (I also replaced the regular electric hot water system with a heat pump unit). Didn't take long at all to pay itself off.

 

[Revolver]

No blackouts here. OC is the goat.

 

[chardog]

There are a few major problems with solar imo.

1. the cost of storage and up keep is very expensive.

2. Solar is not a dependable why of producing power, wind also has this problem.

3. Many jurisdiction require that homes are tied with the utility grid.

4. The buy back amount is much less than the utility company sells power for.

5. The infrastructure is not capable of handling large amount of excess power being put back into the system. Many utility companies require that they have control of your solar system so the they can control how much you can feed back into the system.

Solar definitely helps, my neighbor still had energy when I got shut down, so I'm considering it........ next year. I've got 3 monitors going on at any moment, so I doubt solar will be the ticket for me, but who knows? I did a calculation last year, and it would take me a while to recoup, but I'm also taking advantage of subsidies, and property value goes up.

 

[chardog]

Ive installed systems that will never pay for themselves. With the average electric bill in America being less than $150, it takes between 7 to 20 years to pay off the system. That is with subsidies. Also many companies are very predatory with leasing options.

yep, that's what I calculated, been at 100-150 for a long time, I'm up to 200 right now for the summer, kids older have laptops, and many devices. 5-10K, I'll probably get it next or the following year, have a few projects ahead of it.

 

[chardog]

No, no they can't. no one calls a printed circuit board a pc.



That goes for all "smart" devices. You can stop it by blocking them in your router.

the horror, I called a pcb pc board.
like that makes any difference, a smart device would still be have a pcb.

 

[ocfightfan]

I was a mix of amused and outraged seeing Gavin Dipshit Newsome demanding a probe of the blackouts in California. Assholes like him and the other lib shits who run my state are the ones who made decisions that led to them. They won't let us do nuclear (the only truly viable carbon zero option), and they want to push these fraudulent green solutions that never work as well as advertised and will probably never provide enough energy for our needs. They thought they could buy up spare capacity from other states in a crunch but there just wasn't enough available BECAUSE EVERYONE ELSE NEEDED IT TOO!

If you don't want coal, or oil then the only viable option is nuclear. That tech has improved by leaps and bounds in terms of safety, but this isn't really about clean energy. It's about making people suffer for being alive.

 

[brackis1]

That’s probably why private equity is going all in on green energy- they have no idea what they’re doing and love wasting their money. Oh wait...

lol they're in on it because government money is propping it up, not because it's extremely proven or profitable.
People being balls deep on anything is not proof it's effective.

Daily Deal Websites were at one point going to change how people enjoy leisure lmfao.

 

[ShadowRun]

Nuclear energy is the way to go.

 

[rob mafia]

I have a 10KW solar system which paid itself off within a few years. My power "bill" gets credited to my account quarterly. That's despite the tariffs expiring a couple of years ago. My upkeep involves cleaning the panels once a year.
Obviously the economics depend on how much sunshine you get and the local price of electricity, but sunshine's not an issue for most of Australia and our electricity prices are extremely high. I would have thought CA was similar.
In fact locally (South Australia) our power grid went to crap after they privatised and none of the companies which bought in are willing to invest in infrastructure. The take up of solar here is massive. I think every house on my block has at least a few KW of panels.

just curious, what brand/watt panels do you have?

lol they're in on it because government money is propping it up, not because it's extremely proven or profitable.
People being balls deep on anything is not proof it's effective.

and this, sadly. solar, especially, is depending on subsidies/etc.

nuclear really is the best choice and the tech has vastly improved (ie: newer facilities/models vs older ie: TMI). but the perception of it is worse than ever after fukushima. i like the concept of wind power a lot, but the most effective and efficient placement seems to be at sea. solar's made some leaps recently and seems interesting, but moreso for individual homes/etc than anything widespread.

 

[cincymma79]

Oh so 1 anecdotal case is enough for you?

Yes
Are u saying he just needs windmills now since his other stuff didn't work out

 

[Ruprecht]

just curious, what brand/watt panels do you have?

40 x ET 250W panels and 2 x SMA 5KW inverters.

Spoiler: Solar