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249 points Jtsummers | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0.418s | source
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umvi ◴[] No.45762286[source]
Has storage been solved yet? In my experience US power companies hate crediting pushback to the grid because it all happens at the same time during peak sunlight hours and then customers get to use those credits at night and during the winter which the power company thinks is unfair. In Idaho at least the power companies were able to change the laws so that you get much fewer credits for solar panels on your roof which means they aren't great unless you can figure out how to store the generated energy inexpensively.

Personally I like the idea of an electric car doubling as a house battery but so far I think only the F-150 lightning is capable of doing that.

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Retric ◴[] No.45762392[source]
> Has storage been solved yet?

In general yes, grid solar + grid batteries are cheaper than any peaking power plants. So now 24/7 batteries + wind + solar generally outcompetes nuclear, coal, or natural gas on price as long as there’s no tariffs involved.

This isn’t enough to make batteries + solar viable in Alaska but long distance transmission lines could solve that issue cost effectively.

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candiddevmike ◴[] No.45762465[source]
Are batteries cheaper than pumping water up hill?
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wood_spirit ◴[] No.45762580[source]
I have seen some really shockingly cheap homemade stored water systems on YouTube (I’m into that kind of thing so there’s a lot of it in my feed) so if you own a hill and have sufficient recharge even in winter then it’s super cheap install that makes even a meagre battery seem expensive. But you have to have the terrain.
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1. Retric ◴[] No.45763007[source]
Cheap in terms of capital, but home hydro tends to take quite a bit of labor and maintenance over time. If you look at that stuff as a fun hobby or YouTube content it’s no big deal, but economically your labor isn’t free.

I’ve got an usually good location for small scale hydro, there was even a mill on the property, but it just doesn’t seem worth it to me.

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2. wood_spirit ◴[] No.45764185[source]
Yeah different perspectives. Some people find diy easy and are quite happy to tinker with things. Where I live is currently suffering a wild boar infestation and I’m happily setting up an electric fence system for basically no money at all whilst a neighbour just paid a lot of money for someone to install it for them. I wish I had a good property for hydro or stored water batteries!