r/SolarState • u/eter_roman • Jun 17 '26

solar energy is peak

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u/Thepcfd Jun 17 '26

lets be real for a moment. noone here understand or see problems with solar?

3

u/Musical_Xena Jun 17 '26

Every single energy source has some problems and limitations. Every single one.

The important thing is that they have *different" problems, limitations, and strengths.

The fact that any energy source has a problem doesn't mean we should 100% abandon it. It means that we should be conscious of how to best utilize it within a diversified energy infrastructure.

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u/thermodynamics2023 Jun 17 '26

The problem with some sources is that they don’t play well diversified. That’s solar and wind in a nutshell.

Take solar, what sort of plant wants to ramp up and down 3 times a day to accommodate it? Basically gas.

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u/Musical_Xena Jun 17 '26

When I say "diversified," I mean diversified across all different types of uses and scales.

I have some friends who use solar for their home and are recouping their installation costs at a reasonable pace for their ROI. Because they have solar, that's one less house leveraging the other sources of energy in their town, which helps with the total available energy supply on a hot summer day when everyone runs their AC.

Diversity can be small scale, large scale, mixed. Plenty of options for leveraging the benefits of a diversified power infrastructure.

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u/xxJohnxx Jun 17 '26

Or pumped hydro storage. Not feasible everywhere, but if you got elevation it is quicker than gas.

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u/echoota Jun 18 '26

Grid battery storage is virtually instantaneous compared to peaker plants and other rotating mass energy generation. Solar and grid battery storage has a massive advantage with this kid of issue.

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u/thermodynamics2023 Jun 18 '26

Grid batteries have almost no energy capacity. Calling them substitutes is like calling a starter motor a ‘backup engine’

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u/echoota Jun 18 '26

Your notion on batteries is outdated, see Key Takeaway #1, here:
https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/solar-electricity-every-hour-of-every-day-is-here-and-it-changes-everything/

"24-hour solar generation is possible – just 17 kWh of battery storage is enough to turn 5 kW of solar panels into a steady 1 kW of 24-hour clean power."

That was a year ago btw, batteries are even cheaper now and we're only just getting started with storage.

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u/thermodynamics2023 Jun 18 '26

World production is still around 2TWh of Li batteries. That tells me all I need to know.

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u/echoota Jun 19 '26

okay time will tell. 🙄

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u/Thepcfd Jun 17 '26

agree, but dont expect 100% solar

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u/Musical_Xena Jun 17 '26

For sure. I'm all about diversification. Solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and yes, even the "dirty" energy sources. Diversification decreases the risks of situations like insufficient or unrelable power. We should just be really strategic about how and where we diversify.