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Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

earther.com

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Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#21

Post by throwaway5752 »

sol_remmy wrote: post #19

I would not trust a source called "earther.com" to tell me good news about solar because they're clearly going to be biased. When power industry magazines talk about solar being cheap then i'll believe it

Did you do anything but read the url of the article? What power industry magazines should we follow so we know when you're satisfied?

Do you have anything substantial to say about the points made in the article? For the record, it took me seconds to ascertain it was a part of Gizmodo's umbrella group, and the article made some very clear dollar/cent claims on utility scale projects.

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#22

Post by misterhtmlcss »

sf_rob wrote: post #16
rb808 wrote: post #11

There is an interesting part about solar generating electricity when its sunny - it will help population move to warmer climes. If you live in Ohio heating in winter is a problem, solar isn't going to keep you warm on a cold night (ok batteries can help but they're expensive). If you live in the South West though its perfect as Winter nights dont require much heat and the biggest loads are AC at the times when there…

You could probably invest in a thermal mass hybrid HVAC system e.g. use solar during the day to heat or cool a large thermal mass (thick interior concrete wall/floor to whatever temperature you need it to be at night.

Aren't they using molten salt for this? I think I heard about molten salt being used in a few cases for energy storage. Too bad I can't recall the details. Have you heard about this?

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#23

Post by philipkglass »

sol_remmy wrote: post #19

I would not trust a source called "earther.com" to tell me good news about solar because they're clearly going to be biased. When power industry magazines talk about solar being cheap then i'll believe it

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nv-energy-23-cent-solar-con...

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#24

Post by bruinjoe »

crazypyro wrote: post #6
CompelTechnic wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>It will operate at a flat rate of $23.76 per megawatt-hour over the course of a 25-year power purchasing agreement Does anyone have data on typical wholesale power costs?

Various data here: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/wholesale/ From my brief browsing, $23.76 is <70% of the average $/MWh price across the available data.

That's mind boggling. This is absolutely incredible. Our country has so000 much hot, sunny unused land in the west. Let's cover it up with solar panels and make use of the free sunshine.

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#25

Post by sf_rob »

misterhtmlcss wrote: post #22
sf_rob wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You could probably invest in a thermal mass hybrid HVAC system e.g. use solar during the day to heat or cool a large thermal mass (thick interior concrete wall/floor to whatever temperature you need it to be at night.

Aren't they using molten salt for this? I think I heard about molten salt being used in a few cases for energy storage. Too bad I can't recall the details. Have you heard about this?

Oh sure, I more meant at the consumer level. At the production level molten salt is used to smooth out energy production rates at concentrated solar arrays. My understanding is that concentrated solar is no longer able to compete with photovoltaic production in most geographies.

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#26

Post by neolefty »

kyoob wrote: post #8

This is truly good news, but is it really worth calling out that a record was broken when it's been trending down regularly over time?

The article mentions that too.

It broke a record that was set [checks calendar] last week.

But I think the headline is being a little click-baity—the article's real strength is analysis. It discusses broader trends—for example that location is important here (Ohio isn't going to get these low bids because it just isn't sunny enough)—and is fun to read.

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#27

Post by Symmetry »

I'm mostly gratified by what a "Dog bites man" story this is. Solar prices have been decreasing steadily for a long time so we should expect to see a story like this every few months until the adoption curve flattens out - which hopefully won't be for a while.

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#29

Post by toss1 »

kyoob wrote: post #8

This is truly good news, but is it really worth calling out that a record was broken when it's been trending down regularly over time?

Yes. Especially since it's a continuous trend of records.

It is still news when a wining team adds another victory to their streak and progresses towards the championship,

Also, as pointed out elsewhere, TFA was mostly about this good trend.

What point were you trying to make?

Re: Solar Just Hit a Record Low Price in the U.S

#30

Post by 3minus1 »

taf2 wrote: post #12
kyoob wrote: post #8

This is truly good news, but is it really worth calling out that a record was broken when it's been trending down regularly over time?

It’s one of those rare feel good things that hasn’t been yet flooded by negative view points that often follow a wave of positive news... there is probably a name for this?

pre-backlash
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