[LINK] Hold up your hands if you Like HT Transmission Lines - Was - solar plants

[Craig Sanders]

On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 09:46:13PM +1000, Richard Chirgwin wrote:
> [snip]
> > I don't think it is sacred particularly but today's domestic solar
> > panels are just feeding back into the grid, not storing.  While
> > generating all that power at home while you're at work may seem like
> > a great idea, it's when you get home, after work, when your solar
> > cells are not generating any more power, that you need the power.
>
> I'm not feeding into the grid. My solar is stored. Got 8kWh of
> batteries here (plug): http://www.bunjareecottages.com.au/ - good for
> 3,000 amps short-circuit. I had a long lecture recently from an expert
> about battery safety, because I was more relaxed than he was about
> carrying metal nearby ...

the hassle of battery maintainence and the dangers of batteries are
probably the main reasons why most recent domestic solar installations
are grid-feed only and don't have local storage. most people just
couldn't be bothered, and it would be pretty much inevitable that some
people (and pets) would end up getting electrocuted.

but electricity storage is required for domestic solar panels to
provide 24/7 power.

huge battery/capacitor banks at electricity sub-stations might be a
good option, with trained staff looking after the storage needs of
entire neighbourhoods, suburbs, small towns etc. (i have no idea how
viable this is, because i don't know how much physical space would be
required to store enough energy for hundreds or more households and
businesses....certainly more than substations have now where capacitors
are used to help smooth and regulate the incoming supply before delivery
to users)

so we need more investment and research in electricity storage as
well as electricity generation like solar panels, wind turbines,
etc...whether for installation in homes or in substations (and perhaps
in per-street micro-substations).

"ultracapacitor"[1] technology looks promising. still dangerous, of
course (anything storing that much energy is inherently dangerous) but
wouldn't require the regular maintainence by the home's occupant, and
less physical contact means far less risk of accident.


one thing i do know is that with the billions of dollars it costs
to build a power station, there's plenty of money available to fund
alternatives the next time a new power station is proposed. if
government has the guts to stand up to power companies and keep the
corporate snouts out of the public trough.


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor

btw, check the "See Also" links at the bottom of the page for other
related technologies like Lithium Ion capacitors.


craig

-- 
craig sanders <cas at taz.net.au>

BOFH excuse #34:

(l)user error