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Requiem for a Solar Plant

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Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#31

Post by Dylan16807 »

kragen wrote: post #26
Dylan16807 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ah yes the age old story of a rich guy without a clue diving into a new industry and failing. It's a significantly bad thing if something as straightforward as buying and plugging in solar panels requires special knowledge to not get screwed over. > His install would have a net negative value to the Texas grid without it. Oh come on.

Electrical generation is a competitive market. It's the expected and even desirable outcome that only the most efficient producers will remain profitable. You're not just plugging in solar panels; you're competing with other companies to see who can plug in the solar panels more cheaply. And it's even plausible that ERCOT currently can't handle additional PV in whatever area the Roby parcel was in without adding BESS…

I didn't even say profitable. He can't get the ability to just hook up all the panels.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#32

Post by kragen »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #31
kragen wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Electrical generation is a competitive market. It's the expected and even desirable outcome that only the most efficient producers will remain profitable. You're not just plugging in solar panels; you're competing with other companies to see who can plug in the solar panels more cheaply. And it's even plausible that ERCOT currently can't handle additional PV in whatever area the Roby parcel was in without adding BESS…

I didn't even say profitable. He can't get the ability to just hook up all the panels.

He did get that ability. They just won't let him produce over 3 megawatts, making the plant unprofitable. It's a total clusterfuck.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#33

Post by Dylan16807 »

baking wrote: post #27
Dylan16807 wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Ah yes the age old story of a rich guy without a clue diving into a new industry and failing. It's a significantly bad thing if something as straightforward as buying and plugging in solar panels requires special knowledge to not get screwed over. > His install would have a net negative value to the Texas grid without it. Oh come on.

> Oh come on. He was doing it for the tax credits. Without the tax credits, this project wouldn't have come close to making sense.

The tax credits aren't coming out of the grid somewhere else. The project is a negative to tax revenue, positive to the grid, and positive to CO2 levels.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#34

Post by Dylan16807 »

bri3k wrote: post #29
Dylan16807 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the same way that any business expansion is a tax dodge, sure.

He started out to find ways to lower his tax burden. Found something with solar infrastructure in a different state. Went ahead with it in spite of having no experience with the local laws or infrastructure projects and wondered why it failed?

I'm not shocked that it failed. But taking money that would have been profit and turning it into company creation/expansion is something that is taxed lower for a reason.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#35

Post by Dylan16807 »

kragen wrote: post #32
Dylan16807 wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I didn't even say profitable. He can't get the ability to just hook up all the panels.

He did get that ability. They just won't let him produce over 3 megawatts, making the plant unprofitable. It's a total clusterfuck.

That's a really pedantic answer. He can't properly hook up the panels.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#36

Post by Spivak »

Calwestjobs wrote: post #10
Calwestjobs wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yes, but... if youre manufacturing plant with expected electricity usage, then build solar plant next / close to your manufacturing facility. or municipality or water treatment plant or .... build solar plant because you need electricity, do not build solar plant because you need money. same as with agriculture, it is nonprofit endevour, you are not getting rich from corn, you are rich from corn sirup, from tortillas…

or let me say it differently, my house needs as much energy to make it luxuriously comfortable in coldest of days, as my neighbors house loses just thru chimney, when there is no fire burning... ( he needs 50times more energy then me, but he is not comfortable, he wakes up into cold house ) there is insanely huge gap in peoples perception of reality, schooling failed many. less energy i need, less energy we need to c…

I'm so confused by the chimney thing, a nice wood stove which I assume your neighbor is using because it's not practical or possible to heat your house with a fireplace can get you 70-80% efficiency and run overnight. They burn clean enough that I can't tell when my neighbors (presumably always) use theirs and they're directly across the street. The whole neighborhood knows when I use my fireplace.

My neighbors who heat their houses with wood (in an area where you absolutely don't have to—we have gas and electric at extremely reasonable prices), both have the nice high efficiency stoves to take advantage of the Biden tax credit and it seems to work just fine for them. Cords of wood around here aren't free but damn close to it.

Source: I'm considering a wood stove for my garage for working in the winter and they both talked my ear off about their experiences.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#37

Post by kragen »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #35
kragen wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He did get that ability. They just won't let him produce over 3 megawatts, making the plant unprofitable. It's a total clusterfuck.

That's a really pedantic answer. He can't properly hook up the panels.

That's a simply incorrect answer. BESS, simple curtailment at peak hours, or angle diversity would solve the problem. If he'd known the problem was coming 18 months ago, it wouldn't be a problem.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#38

Post by spauldo »

travisgriggs wrote: post #12

Every time I learn something new about Texas, I like Texas less. At least Dr Pepper comes from Texas. There’s that to like. Everything else just always seems upside down absurd.

Try driving in Texas sometime. Roads are decent, speed limits are high, but the other drivers will make you borderline homicidal.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#39

Post by Dylan16807 »

kragen wrote: post #37
Dylan16807 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a really pedantic answer. He can't properly hook up the panels.

That's a simply incorrect answer. BESS, simple curtailment at peak hours, or angle diversity would solve the problem. If he'd known the problem was coming 18 months ago, it wouldn't be a problem.

> That's a simply incorrect answer.

Okay, how small of a connection would they have to restrict him to for me to be correct?

> BESS, simple curtailment at peak hours, or angle diversity would solve the problem.

That much extra curtailment is a major problem. That much extra angle diversity hurts output. Batteries are a workaround for not being able to properly hook up the panels.

Re: Requiem for a Solar Plant

#40

Post by kragen »

Dylan16807 wrote: post #39
kragen wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's a simply incorrect answer. BESS, simple curtailment at peak hours, or angle diversity would solve the problem. If he'd known the problem was coming 18 months ago, it wouldn't be a problem.

> That's a simply incorrect answer. Okay, how small of a connection would they have to restrict him to for me to be correct? > BESS, simple curtailment at peak hours, or angle diversity would solve the problem. That much extra curtailment is a major problem. That much extra angle diversity hurts output. Batteries are a workaround for not being able to properly hook up the panels.

You'll have to do your own calculations based on your own site data.

Onsite BESS permits you to not only get by with a smaller hookup but also sell your energy at times when people are willing to pay for it.

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