Alternative Electricity Generation Sources

[Irrev-Black]

SMR company indicates there ain't a future in SMRs.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/nuscale- ... d24dba/amp

[stevebrooks]

Well, well, fucking well! It seems the bulldozer of renewable power generation is truly unstoppable. Texas, that bastion of fossil fuels and isolationist power policies actually generated 36.11% of its power from solar sources the other day...well, well, fucking well!

More solar energy powered Texas than ever before on Sunday morning, with over one third of the electricity running on the state’s power grid coming from the sun. Experts say it’s a Texas record that’s not expected to last very long.

Weather conditions were ideal for solar, with clear skies across most of the state, when the Electric Reliability Council of Texas recorded the record at 10:09 a.m. Sunday.

At that time, about 15,222 megawatts of solar ran over Texas transmission lines to homes and businesses. According to ERCOT, one megawatt can power 200 homes in times of peak energy use.

Later that day, Texas broke a record for the share of electricity on the grid that comes from the sun: 36.11%.

https://www.keranews.org/energy-environ ... om-the-sun

[joele]

Victoria drops solar feed in rebate further, now 3.3 cents per kwh. At the same time retail prices are still rising meaning household battery storage is becoming a necessity in Vic.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/vict ... 5f8e3.html

[stylofone]

Victoria drops solar feed in rebate further, now 3.3 cents per kwh. At the same time retail prices are still rising meaning household battery storage is becoming a necessity in Vic.

I can see a time soon when the off-grid option will be preferable for new houses, because the high grid connection cost and shrinking feed-in will make it better value.

After that, the next stage will create an option for on-grid houses to cancel their subscriptions because their solar/battery combination provides for all their needs, the grid is just expensive insurance.

The pressure will really be on to fix it because the grid will need that power from rooftop solar. I assume the norm will be for demand-based feed-in tariffs, so you'd get a lot more money for sharing power back at night.

[stylofone]

An interesting scheme. The article focuses on two renters who have invested in it. They are still disadvantaged because the best value from rooftop solar comes from using your own power, rather than paying for grid power. Selling surplus power back to the grid is worth at best one third the amount in dollar terms. Despite that, the returns look pretty good for these solar farm investors, but the relevance of getting renters on board is somewhat exaggerated. Anyone could invest in something like this.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-23/ ... /103657946

[stevebrooks]

Free energy from radio waves, a bit of a shift from the Electric Viking highlighting a perpetual energy scam in Africa;

[joele]

Victoria drops solar feed in rebate further, now 3.3 cents per kwh. At the same time retail prices are still rising meaning household battery storage is becoming a necessity in Vic.

Well I should probably update this, the rate in Victoria will be (as of July 2025) only 0.04 of a cent per kwh. They are not charging us to feed in (that will come soon I imagine) but your feed-in is now virtually worthless.

Kind of makes a mockery of the whole Solar Scheme as people calculated their pay off based on some level of offset, they invested into solar systems as we were encouraged to do, but now you either get batteries or you only save anything if you are home during the day.

Actually as a number of power companies now offer two or even three hours a day of free power (mine is 12-2pm each day) they have kind of turned the system on it's head and made batteries more viable than solar..

[stylofone]

Victoria drops solar feed in rebate further, now 3.3 cents per kwh. At the same time retail prices are still rising meaning household battery storage is becoming a necessity in Vic.

Well I should probably update this, the rate in Victoria will be (as of July 2025) only 0.04 of a cent per kwh. They are not charging us to feed in (that will come soon I imagine) but your feed-in is now virtually worthless.

Kind of makes a mockery of the whole Solar Scheme as people calculated their pay off based on some level of offset, they invested into solar systems as we were encouraged to do, but now you either get batteries or you only save anything if you are home during the day.

Actually as a number of power companies now offer two or even three hours a day of free power (mine is 12-2pm each day) they have kind of turned the system on it's head and made batteries more viable than solar..

The next thing that should happen is that variable feed-in rates are rolled out, so if you have a battery you can sell surplus power back to the grid at night for a good price.

It cost me several thousand dollars to set up a power pole, meter, wires to the the street poles, and the initial connection to the grid. If battery prices fall far enough, then it might be more economical to remain off grid. They should want to avoid this because home batteries will be a vital resource for the grid, so feed-in should be offered to households and not reserved as a form of corporate welfare.

[joele]

The next thing that should happen is that variable feed-in rates are rolled out,

I actually have that at the moment, the highest feed-in rate is around 7-10pm, but it is only a few cents more than the lowest rate.. So after the 0.04c rollout in July those will be adjusted, but I am guessing (If I keep the current premium for late feed in) then it will be 0.04c during the day and maybe 3c or 4c at the night peak.. Still not really worth anyone investing in a solar system any-more, let alone batteries on top.. The bait and switch has to be infuriating for people who took out loans, encouraged by the state and federal governments (mostly state) to install solar with all sorts of pay off in 6-7 year claims, which will likely not pay off in more than a decade now, if at all.

I upgraded my batteries, as I can afford to, so I charge during the day and most days my batteries last until the next day when they start charging again... But I am in a position to afford that and not overly care about the pay off period (or if it ever does pay off), many are not and I can only imagine how cheated they will feel come July..

It cost me several thousand dollars to set up a power pole, meter, wires to the the street poles, and the initial connection to the grid. If battery prices fall far enough, then it might be more economical to remain off grid.

I think that is the ultimate goal, but obviously difficult in winter (depending on location) unless people supplement with a diesel generator or some such.

[The Saint]

These are interesting alternatives.
I feel like I could build one of them in the backyard... maybe.