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Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

electrek.co

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Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#241

Post by thrownthatway »

soggybread wrote: post #210
jphil529 wrote: post #201

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really curious about the difficulty of doing a self install with Solar. I'm moderately handy (built a Sauna from no plans) and confident with electrical. Any gotchas?

I'm just getting into Solar myself and while it seems like a lot there are some things that you have to do math for. If you've got 10 panels you'll want to find out how to get all that energy to the inverter/mppt without going over the volt/amp limit on the device. This is probably the most difficult part and for everything else there's a huge solar community of people starting exactly where you are. I myself just bo…

> without going over the volt/amp limit on the device.

It’s not clear what device you’re referring to in this context.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#242

Post by wayeq »

erelong wrote: post #9

I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind (personally I like both but I can see some shortcomings - for example I have heard that ai datacenters are using gas at times because of its flexibility) So what are some of the best talking points to "sell" solar and wind to the unconvinced? Or will they just adopt it once it's seen everywhere?

> I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind

Yes, down with Big Sun

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#243

Post by foxyv »

Neywiny wrote: post #234
foxyv wrote: post #226

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think you've missed that all generators have upfront cost. Why do you say this?

Because you said it's the cheapest by far but didn't say "after X years". Did I miss where you acknowledged there's a crossover point in cost?

Typically power is priced by Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) where you amortize the total cost of ownership across the total power generated to get a per kwh cost which is what most grid operators care about. After all, large scale investors and governments don't care if a plant costs a billion dollars if it produces 20 billion in electricity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levelized_cost_of_electricity

What you are talking about is the Payback Period (PP) or Return on Investment (ROI) which is more important to homeowners adding a solar plant to their homes.

Both of these types of measure take into account both capital and operating expenses.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#244

Post by _whiteCaps_ »

jphil529 wrote: post #201
_whiteCaps_ wrote: post #96

I just upgraded the solar system at my family's off-grid cabin. It's incredible how much battery technology has improved over the last 10 years. Everyone is getting tired of me checking the panel to see how many watts we're bringing in. Next project, install a shunt and get a Raspberry Pi talking to it over USB. And then I'll be able to build a Grafana dashboard. :)

Really curious about the difficulty of doing a self install with Solar. I'm moderately handy (built a Sauna from no plans) and confident with electrical. Any gotchas?

It's fairly easy and there are a lot of forums around with knowledgeable people.

My main issue was ensuring wire gauges were correct. One's intuition about dealing with house wiring @15A changes when you're dealing with 50A circuits. Also you need to pay attention to things like equal cable lengths between battery banks so you don't overcharge one battery in a series.

However, I'm dealing with an off-grid cabin so I don't need to deal with any grid-tie circuitry, which would make it much more difficult and I'd definitely get an electrician for that.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#245

Post by _whiteCaps_ »

thrownthatway wrote: post #241
soggybread wrote: post #210

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm just getting into Solar myself and while it seems like a lot there are some things that you have to do math for. If you've got 10 panels you'll want to find out how to get all that energy to the inverter/mppt without going over the volt/amp limit on the device. This is probably the most difficult part and for everything else there's a huge solar community of people starting exactly where you are. I myself just bo…

> without going over the volt/amp limit on the device. It’s not clear what device you’re referring to in this context.

The MPPT solar controller.

MidNite has a sizing tool for this: https://www.midnitesolar.com/sizingTool/

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#246

Post by scope2093 »

We installed roof solar (10kW panels + 8kW hybrid inverter + 32kWh battery + planning/execution) last October for 11k euro. After all the math, our "investment" would pay off in approx 8-10 years (at current electricity prices). That's without an electric car, which we plan to buy sometime in the next two years.

All in all, pretty happy. Especially that we have frequent grid faults. Even my ISP has some beefy batteries for their equipment, so much so that one 14-hour grid blackout didn't affect us at all and we were able to use the internet since we're working from home (FTTH + ONT, GPON).

Usual disclaimer, sample size of one. We're in Romania.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#247

Post by antonvs »

erelong wrote: post #9

I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind (personally I like both but I can see some shortcomings - for example I have heard that ai datacenters are using gas at times because of its flexibility) So what are some of the best talking points to "sell" solar and wind to the unconvinced? Or will they just adopt it once it's seen everywhere?

> I know some people who are adamantly against solar and wind

Compared to what? Are these people in the oil industry, by any chance?

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#249

Post by antonvs »

cryptopian wrote: post #214
id34 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recommend this video from YouTuber Technology Connections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtQ9nt2ZeGM I appreciate his ability to talk renewables for almost an hour and barely mention climate change. This video has a bit of a twist ending, but he gives you a solid out before he becomes political if you're showing it to someone who won't be receptive to that messaging.

For those who don't have the time to watch, the biggest point he hammers home: fossil fuels are a single use energy source; renewables keep producing energy. So long as you've built the infrastructure and kept it maintained, the energy continues to come. With fossil fuels, you have to build turbines, then you have to remove it from the earth, then you have to ship it to said turbines, then you burn it and it's gone.

> then you burn it and it's gone.

It's not just gone. It becomes a debt that everyone has to pay.

Re: Wind and solar generated more power than gas globally in April 2026

#250

Post by rgblambda »

ozim wrote: post #95
Aurornis wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t know how you can be against solar unless you’ve been given some uninformed talking points. Are they against solar subsidies or other policy provisions? It’s hard to understand someone who is against passive energy collection.

You can be when you are living in an apartment building and you hear how people who have a house get 0 electric bill or get negative electric bill. Some people just want the world to burn…

It doesn't quite make up for it, but balcony solar is a possibility for apartments (with balconies obviously), provided they're permitted in your jurisdiction.
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