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58 points breve | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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rcpt ◴[] No.45676833[source]
It's just amazing how over the past 10 years it's like the whole world rediscovered electricity.
replies(2): >>45676938 #>>45677032 #
epistasis ◴[] No.45676938[source]
What always shocked me were the number of tech-oriented people that were are not aware of the tremendous progress in lithium ion batteries. And not just in the cost, performance, and reduction in materials needed. Production capacity grows by 10x in a mere five years. We were at 1.2TWh of production in 2024, and will be at ~20TWh in 2030. When batteries are eventually recycled, they get recycled into a higher power capacity than went in because recovery of materials is high and gains in production are even higher.

The global average cost of solar panels is $90/kW. With high tariffs, it's $150/kW in India and $270/kW in the US. Raising tariffs is something like 6 months of price drops. (Meanwhile installed, it costs $500-$3000 on residential properties...)

Solar and storage are some of the most impressive technologies of the past century, and so many people are sleeping on the huge changes it will have.

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username223 ◴[] No.45677413[source]
> The global average cost of solar panels is $90/kW.

I don't remember where I read about it first, but the fact that Pakistan is installing gigawatts of solar panels per year made me smile. It's not a coordinated effort, either; people choosing between (1) relying on janky transmission lines, (2) feeding a diesel generator, and (3) buying a rectangle that creates electricity and a cheap battery tend to choose option 3.

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1. faizan-ali ◴[] No.45677571{3}[source]
Unfortunately this means the government is going bankrupt keeping power generation online for non-solar/evening only users.