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Solar Is Cheapest Electricity in History, U.S. DOE Aims to Cut Costs 60% by 2030

(cleantechnica.com)
131 points mg | 3 comments | 26 Mar 21 20:07 UTC | HN request time: 0.404s | source
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zizee ◴[26 Mar 21 23:02 UTC] No.26598033[source]▶
I think the future will be robust national/international grids, with a mixture of storage options (batteries/pumped hydro) to smooth out the intermittent nature of wind and solar.

Cynics always talk about the amount of energy storage required for solar as if you need to store 24 hours of energy for solar/wind to be viable.

I'd like to see numbers on having 1 hour of storage for peak demand, a robust national grid, and appropriately provisioned and placed solar and wind, taking the duck curve into consideration.

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1. gruez ◴[27 Mar 21 00:14 UTC] No.26598526[source]▶
>international grids

Europe didn't want to act when russia invaded crimea, because russia supplied all the gas. Being dependent on your neighbors for your electricity supply and having no backup would only make this problem worse.

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2. meepmorp ◴[27 Mar 21 00:21 UTC] No.26598562[source]▶
Isn't that an argument for greater integration, to provide redundant sources of energy?
3. scoopertrooper ◴[27 Mar 21 00:49 UTC] No.26598747[source]▶
But solar would effectively level the playing field. Countries would become interdependent upon one another for energy rather than being dependent.