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Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
41–50 of 251 posts
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#42Is this more of a battery cost issue - if you owned a battery that charged off the grid and discharged during blackout periods then that might just about cover you if you budget for the expected outage duration.... And assuming you can afford said battery in the first place.
> if you owned a battery that charged off the grid and discharged during blackout periods
This wouldn't work. The reason isolated units can inject electricity back into the grid without issue is that they can observe frequency. If a blackout occurs, this information is gone. You need to perform a black start, which can't be done by isolated, uncoordinated equipments.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#43Is this more of a battery cost issue - if you owned a battery that charged off the grid and discharged during blackout periods then that might just about cover you if you budget for the expected outage duration.... And assuming you can afford said battery in the first place.
> if you owned a battery that charged off the grid and discharged during blackout periods This wouldn't work. The reason isolated units can inject electricity back into the grid without issue is that they can observe frequency. If a blackout occurs, this information is gone. You need to perform a black start, which can't be done by isolated, uncoordinated equipments.
Pretty sure GP was talking about a UPS, not feeding the grid.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#44I don't know much about electrical grids, but I'm wondering if something like this concept could help South Africa with its endlessly struggling electrical grid problems. My city constantly has power outages and the majority of people cannot afford installing solar into their homes.
Eskom is already trying to take people to court over "non-compliant" solar panel installations [1]. I wouldn't hold my breath. Like most things in ANC South Africa this is a political issue where Eskom wants to get their cut for providing a non-existent service - and then funnel that money back to their friends and family for their non-existent services.
[1] https://www.ecr.co.za/shows/stacey-jsbu/eskom-cracks-down-no...
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#45Is this more of a battery cost issue - if you owned a battery that charged off the grid and discharged during blackout periods then that might just about cover you if you budget for the expected outage duration.... And assuming you can afford said battery in the first place.
> if you owned a battery that charged off the grid and discharged during blackout periods This wouldn't work. The reason isolated units can inject electricity back into the grid without issue is that they can observe frequency. If a blackout occurs, this information is gone. You need to perform a black start, which can't be done by isolated, uncoordinated equipments.
I don't think that applies for microgrids, or at least, it's not really an issue in my case.
I know what you're talking about though: I think that more applies to generators that are operating with megawatts and take time for turbines to spin up and stuff. Microgrids are normally instantaneous battery buffered type things. They can instantly deliver power at the frequency range mandated for the national grid.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#46Meanwhile, in third-world, overly bureaucratic Italy, one has to wait several months to get all the paperwork in order to take advantage of a solar installation. Self-deployed solutions are also limited to 800 watts, which is peanuts in today's world.
That is the case only if you want to give your surplus back to the grid.
If you avoid that, you are only limited to a maximum power of 20kW of solar panels installed.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#47Earlier quoted context omitted.
The alternative way to look at it is that early adopters get the volume up such that the price comes down to where more people can afford it?
Solar panels are already so cheap that household solar is mostly about the installation price. And more people affording their own panels is still a lot more expensive than fixing the grid.
But batteries aren't, and batteries are both the key technology for load shifting and the biggest expense in modern installations.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#48This article looks like it completely embraces the pov of solar providers, and describes maintenance of the grid as serving the interests of the fossil electricity industry.
...And not far from the end:
> The next milestone, Massol-Deyá says, will be successfully connecting microgrids that are not in close geographic proximity.
Yeah... great journalism here IEEE.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#49I don't know much about electrical grids, but I'm wondering if something like this concept could help South Africa with its endlessly struggling electrical grid problems. My city constantly has power outages and the majority of people cannot afford installing solar into their homes.
They tried that - especially companies like BMW - and they got no permits, because the state run power company wants money for providing nothing.
The problem is also that thieves steal the copper cables, even for micro-grids. You can not tech your way out of social/cultural problems.
Socialist cultural rot is real and the only way out is to eradicate cultures that encourage that mindset. All the ingredients are there- but the people are still set on telling themselves that robin hood story that destroys everything.
Re: Puerto Rico's Solar Microgrids Beat Blackout
#50Based on what I see in the photo in the article, PV array codes in Puerto Rico must be quite different from those in California, because the arrays seem to cover almost the entirety of the roofs. In California fire access codes [1] prevent the entire roof from being covered like in PV that. 1. https://energycodeace.com/site/custom/public/reference-ace-2...
What's the rationale for that? It's not a rule in the UK. I'm not sure who's going to be walking on the roof of a building that's on fire.