Solar Power Threatening Utilities' Business Model?

As long-time readers of this blog know, I am a proponent of solar power because I believe it has a lot of advantages. One of its assets is that it hedges our bets by producing power with no carbon dioxide emissions in case I am incorrect and that global warming is a bigger problem than I believe.

There have been a couple of articles about the potential of solar to disrupt the business model of electric utilities. One of those is here. Another is here.

What I believe these articles miss is that most people look at receiving power from their local utility as a service. And, if a storm comes and knocks down the wires, you expect the local utility to quickly restore service.

What happens if lightning or wind or hail damage your rooftop system? What happens if there are hundreds of homes with damaged solar systems? Think you can fix it yourself? Think again. Here is a great article about what is involved with installing solar. It is hard for me to envision having enough qualified technicians to repair hundreds of damaged systems in a time period of less than weeks.

None of this should be construed as me being "anti-solar." The opposite is the case. But, I suspect a lot of these writers are in areas where severe weather is relatively rare.

I can foresee an era where you have solar on your roof and you write a contract with your utility to maintain the solar system and repair it when there is a weather or other disruption. And, when there is a giant storm, they have a system for calling in crews from out of their service territory like they do now.

Bottom line: I don't think electric utilities are going the way of the dinosaur anytime soon.

Comments

  1. Until grid-scale power storage becomes technologically and economically viable, solar will be a niche player. No such technolgy is even on the horizon, "green" propaganda to the contrary notwithstanding.

    Consider the winter solstice: even in southern California on a cloudless Dec.21st, solar can generate meaningful power for no more than 4 hours. Going to shut down Christmas? Not. Might one consider wind as a complementary "renewable" source? Consider the experience of Texas: At periods of high demand it is not at all unusual for the 10,000+ megawatts of installed capacity to generate less that 100 megawatts, zero output for all practical purposes.

    Indeed, the renewable fiasco unfolding in Germany shows this reality: 5 sets of electrical generation/transmission infrastructure are required to substantially "go green": 1. Solar. 2. Wind. 3. Storage. 4 Transmission from remote Solar and Wind sites. 5. The entire existing
    "Traditional" infrastructure.

    No. 5 is required, because not modern economy can take the chance of prolonged, cloudy, windless weather exhausting Storage capacity. The investment in and operation of five sets of infrastucture presents an insuperable economic burden to citizens and businesses.

    Germany is in the early stages of its "green revolution" and already the crushing reality of the five infrastructure strategy is crystal clear. Let us in the U.S. go no further down this path of folly.

    ReplyDelete
  2. @Richard, agree 100% about Germany and Europe.

    We may disagree as to the definition of niche but I believe solar IN THE FUTURE will play a significant role.

    That said, I see wind power as a fiasco that would not exist in without the tax credits which I believe should be allowed to expire.

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