SFR Man with a plan for a better future!

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Flymph

Flymph

Life of the Party
Listened to this guy talk the other night on FSTV about Solar Power in Australia. Some things struck home: (1) a political will to make it happen (2) one out of every 4 homes are Solar as of the telecast with predictions of many more coming (3) The average cost of installing Solar is $4,325, but with rebates and other discounts. With an average cost of the annual electricity bill of $1.400, you will cover the original cost in approx. 4 years. (4) the majority of those installing solar where lower and middle class folks!

Last time I priced solar installation it was about $1,000 a panel with most rebates and incentives now gone!

createdigital.org.au

How Australian engineer Martin Green transformed the world’s renewable power

A world struggling to meet the challenges of climate change is more in need than ever of smart thinking about
createdigital.org.au createdigital.org.au
 
Australia is the perfect social environment for green energy; people hate coal, but are terrified of nuclear. That's pretty much what it comes down to. The fact that it is hot as fuck does help, for solar and geothermal, but it's not the main reason for the success stories.

The small city that I am from is an interesting case. Decades of both coal and nuclear being non-options lead to a major energy crisis. The state pumped a lot of money into green energy, but base load was a huge problem and it was largely solved by interstate power. Whenever there was a storm and the interstate lines went down, the entire city went black for days at a time. It became so bad that daddy Elon came in and set up the first ever Tesla battery farm. Being able to actually store all the green energy was a game changer. My state already lead the country, in terms of green energy, but now it actually works lol.
 
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I just installed a 7.2kWh system this past March. 20 panels and relocation and upgrade of my existing meter loop and main panel. Price was $23K, with tax credits it’ll be just under $16K. Projected ROI was 6.5 years but that was based on 2021 rates, which have increased by 50-80% this summer according to local talk. My daughters bill for July was $900, previous year same month and similar temperatures it was $500. According to Bloomberg it’s a nationwide issue due to war in Ukraine and the western drought.
 
jaredoconnor said:
Australia is the perfect social environment for green energy; people hate coal, but are terrified of nuclear. That's pretty much what it comes down to. The fact that it is hot as fuck does help, for solar and geothermal, but it's not the main reason for the success stories.

The small city that I am from is an interesting case. Decades of both coal and nuclear being non-options lead to a major energy crisis. The state pumped a lot of money into green energy, but base load was a huge problem and it was largely solved by interstate power. Whenever there was a storm and the interstate lines went down, the entire city went black for days at a time. It became so bad that daddy Elon came in and set up the first ever Tesla battery farm. Being able to actually store all the green energy was a game changer. My state already lead the country, in terms of green energy, but now it actually works lol.
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I rock solar. Washington is actually pretty ideal for solar. Yeah we aren't hot weather but that's not the deal. We have good light and exposure. Setting panels on the best aspect and location for your property is key. Just don't break them when attempting to clean them on the roof. It is costly, embarrassing, and exciting not in the good way. Storage is a European make battery bank. You can literally use deep cycle batteries or even car batteries if you want to be caveman but a designed battery bank is the bomb. This system seamlessly stores our hydro and solar. When the hydro is rocking the solar is not. When the hydro is really rocking you gotta bypass and cut current as you can tax the life of the battery by overcharging. It's actually kinda fun stuff making your own power. I'm far from an electrical genius and it is easily understood and executed by anyone with a basic cursory electrical knowledge. And for what you don't know, there's an app and folks for that. I'm consistently impressed by others and their solutions to storage and creative power generation. There's some really smart people out there and most of them are happy to share their craft and knowledge.
 
Robert Engleheart said:
I just installed a 7.2kWh system this past March. 20 panels and relocation and upgrade of my existing meter loop and main panel. Price was $23K, with tax credits it’ll be just under $16K. Projected ROI was 6.5 years but that was based on 2021 rates, which have increased by 50-80% this summer according to local talk. My daughters bill for July was $900, previous year same month and similar temperatures it was $500. According to Bloomberg it’s a nationwide issue due to war in Ukraine and the western drought.
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Honest, I think the price gouging because of "war in xyz country" " its the pandemic", etc, is absolutely a b. s. cop out. We need better oversight and accountability in our energy sectors. Sadly, our congress critters are too busy fighting amongst themselves for selfish reasons to be effective and coherent enough to make the changes needed.
 
wanderingrichard said:
Honest, I think the price gouging because of "war in xyz country" " its the pandemic", etc, is absolutely a b. s. cop out. We need better oversight and accountability in our energy sectors. Sadly, our congress critters are too busy fighting amongst themselves for selfish reasons to be effective and coherent enough to make the changes needed.
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Agreed but we’re captives to the market unless off grid. I was amazed that they could do this in what is already the most expense power market in the country but that’s what’s happening in many places. When the PUC is made up of retired energy executives holding large blocks of stock why would we expect anything else?
 
Robert Engleheart said:
Agreed but we’re captives to the market unless off grid. I was amazed that they could do this in what is already the most expense power market in the country but that’s what’s happening in many places. When the PUC is made up of retired energy executives holding large blocks of stock why would we expect anything else?
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Yeah, I see that. Now I'm wondering if my local PUC is appointed or elected, (never checked, and bet most of my neighbors dont know either) and what can be done to fix that if we're tired of their malfeasance
 

Joanne Nova - SourceWatch

www.sourcewatch.org www.sourcewatch.org

Consider the source, I always use microbiologists when I want meterological insight.
Another right wing gasbag, wonder who funds her.
Lol
 
wanderingrichard said:
Honest, I think the price gouging because of "war in xyz country" " its the pandemic", etc, is absolutely a b. s. cop out. We need better oversight and accountability in our energy sectors. Sadly, our congress critters are too busy fighting amongst themselves for selfish reasons to be effective and coherent enough to make the changes needed.
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Or they are too busy making sure they can get hundreds of thousands or a million plus in forgiven PP loans.
 
Some good news for those that might be considering solar.
I tried to insert a PDF with details but I'm not computer smart enough for that.:(


CLEVELAND, Ohio – The cost of putting solar panels on your home or business just dropped with the signing of the federal Inflation Reduction Act, which increases and extends federal investment tax credits that had been scheduled to be phased out or reduced.


The legislation that Congress passed earlier this year bumps up the investment tax credit on a residential solar installation to 30% from 26% and extends it through 2032, after which it drops back down to 26% in 2033 and 22% in 2034, before phasing out altogether in 2035.
 
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wanderingrichard said:
Yeah, I see that. Now I'm wondering if my local PUC is appointed or elected, (never checked, and bet most of my neighbors dont know either) and what can be done to fix that if we're tired of their malfeasance
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I ended up off grid due to these extortionists. Control and extortion, no thanks.
 
Dustin Chromers said:
I ended up off grid due to these extortionists. Control and extortion, no thanks.
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Would like to hear the details of your system. I asked about batteries but they are extremely expensive, as much as my system or more. My needs dictate about 3 months of air conditioning often running 24 hrs/day, using 1100-1600 kWh per month. Currently generating 1100-1200+ per month but surplus from other 9 months should offset that.
 
Robert Engleheart said:
Would like to hear the details of your system. I asked about batteries but they are extremely expensive, as much as my system or more. My needs dictate about 3 months of air conditioning often running 24 hrs/day, using 1100-1600 kWh per month. Currently generating 1100-1200+ per month but surplus from other 9 months should offset that.
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I doubt my system would keep up with your needs. I should also note that I'm bolstered by a wood burning system that powers heated flooring, water etc. I have no ac. I will use a generator as well from time to time. Nothing is perfect I suppose
 
My 48 volt off grid system consists of 9 305 watt panels, 2745 watts, that are roof mounted and facing south with 8 6volt, 420 amp hour batteries connected in series and routed through an MPPT charge controller for storage. This all feeds a 4000 watt pure sinewave inverter with an automatic transfer switch to the generator. If the battery voltage drops too low or the power draw is too high the generator will run until the voltage is back up.
Like Dustin, everything doesn't come from the panels. The range and hot water tank are standing pilot propane and the dryer is propane. For heat a wood stove is the primary heat source with a ducted forced air furnace for backup. All of the lighting has LED bulbs so 5 or 6 lights use the equivalent of one 60 watt bulb. No AC but opening up the house at night and shutting it down before the morning temps reach 70 degrees keeps it cool all day.

With the upgraded tax credits I'm now seriously looking at DIY systems for our grid tie home. A viable, reasonably priced battery backup system is my only hold major hold up.
 
Not sure about the Wet Side but here in the desert we do not have a shortage of wind which is the natural supplement to solar on a small scale.

We have a very ambitious guy running for PUD Comm. who believes that local folks should take on the role of Solar installation. This local strategy plus the the fact that solar panels keep falling in price, he believes, might bring down the cost, significantly.
 
Living here in New England I had a solar panel company come out to survey my roof. I have East & South Facing roofs so I thought solar might be worthwhile. The rep told me that it would be 20 years before I saw a payback on the expense which was approx. $1000 per panel. I know that in Germany (with a climate similar to where I live) they have a big use of solar panels, so I don't know what the issue is here.

However, being over 70 a 20 year payback seems a little too long, at least
 
kmudgn said:
Living here in New England I had a solar panel company come out to survey my roof. I have East & South Facing roofs so I thought solar might be worthwhile. The rep told me that it would be 20 years before I saw a payback on the expense which was approx. $1000 per panel. I know that in Germany (with a climate similar to where I live) they have a big use of solar panels, so I don't know what the issue is here.

However, being over 70 a 20 year payback seems a little too long, at least
kmudgn said:
I don't know what the issue is here.
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Personally, I think there needs to be more installers and therefore competition in the market to bring prices in line. There's alot more to it but panel prices are hovering around $1.00/watt.
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