The attached is a fake flyer on a product that I wish the solar industry could/would offer. I would appreciate the views of others.
The starting point for taking the time to put this on paper is learning over the years that I have so many neighbors who cannot put solar on their homes - even here in sunny California - for some of the reasons listed. In other regions of the country, weather is particularly limiting to solar. Adding to these issue are the many challenges of mounting and maintaining solar power systems on individual homes.
Governments (state and federal) have created attractive incentives to install home solar. These incentives got consumers engaged in many different ways to reduce their use of carbon-generated energy. These incentives have worked well....but have only brought out the earliest adopters. So, this proposal is meant to bring in the next level of adopters: people who want the benefits of renewable energy, but cannot put solar on their homes.
Long term, the maintenance of millions of home roof-mounted solar systems will be an unwanted cost burden. Better to remotely locate the equipment where just a few people maintain the system.
The key "leap" in Remote Solar is that the homeowner gets to invest in - and benefit from - renewable energy by effectively being an investor in a small portion of a desert-located solar farm. And please remember, it doesn't matter where the solar-generated electrons go: they displace carbon-generated electrons somewhere in the grid. All electrons look alike, after all.
Yes, with the duck curve in mind, I envision that storage systems play a role, both the management of the home Powerwalls and utility scale storage via batteries and pumped hydro.
There are major political, legislative, utility and public utility commission issues to be reshaped and negotiated, but if the goal is to get consumers focused on renewable energy and energy conservation, this is a good approach. On paper, at least, it allows even renters to get involved.
I should also point out that having a Powerwall (or equivalent) at each home allows for future virtual power bank planning by local utilities.
The starting point for taking the time to put this on paper is learning over the years that I have so many neighbors who cannot put solar on their homes - even here in sunny California - for some of the reasons listed. In other regions of the country, weather is particularly limiting to solar. Adding to these issue are the many challenges of mounting and maintaining solar power systems on individual homes.
Governments (state and federal) have created attractive incentives to install home solar. These incentives got consumers engaged in many different ways to reduce their use of carbon-generated energy. These incentives have worked well....but have only brought out the earliest adopters. So, this proposal is meant to bring in the next level of adopters: people who want the benefits of renewable energy, but cannot put solar on their homes.
Long term, the maintenance of millions of home roof-mounted solar systems will be an unwanted cost burden. Better to remotely locate the equipment where just a few people maintain the system.
The key "leap" in Remote Solar is that the homeowner gets to invest in - and benefit from - renewable energy by effectively being an investor in a small portion of a desert-located solar farm. And please remember, it doesn't matter where the solar-generated electrons go: they displace carbon-generated electrons somewhere in the grid. All electrons look alike, after all.
Yes, with the duck curve in mind, I envision that storage systems play a role, both the management of the home Powerwalls and utility scale storage via batteries and pumped hydro.
There are major political, legislative, utility and public utility commission issues to be reshaped and negotiated, but if the goal is to get consumers focused on renewable energy and energy conservation, this is a good approach. On paper, at least, it allows even renters to get involved.
I should also point out that having a Powerwall (or equivalent) at each home allows for future virtual power bank planning by local utilities.
