The fact is that the changeover to renewables has to be cost neutral for the end user. This will continue to go slow and probably slower than the environmentalists want.
EVerything is slower than the green zealots want because they want it all and wanted it yesterday.
Forget the technology, don't worry about the cost or the consequences when the lights go out, regularly, it's the fairy tale ideal that's the important bit.
I think solar roadways are worth trying to see if they can be made cost effective.
What do you mean "see if they can be made cost effective? " They don't work as in produce worthwhile power. You don't need to build them to work that out. a Calculator from the $2 shop is all you need for that even if you don't have something to computer model the outcomes which every organization/ gubbermint that would build them would have access to.
This idea of needing to actually build something to see if it will work is garbage and has been for 30+years. This is a simple, straightforward thing. it's very easy to know if " It will work" before you even leave the restaurant where you got the napkin from to scribble the idea in the first place.
I MHO they are a good alternative to roofs because every roof will need it's own inverter and every roof has a different owner which makes the logistics of large scale solar on roofs a nightmare.
Your opinion really doesen't have much credability and statements like this are why.
I have 4 Inverters here. whats the problem with them? If they Build micros into roads then they have done the same thing. You have to have some sort of power conversion from the DC to grid AC.
Here is Oz we have the highest saturation of Rooftop PV in the world. What Logistical problems are you talking about? Putting an inverter on the wall when you wire the panels up? Some people now opt for Micro inverters which have different advantages and would have to be incorporated into roadways to make them work pretty much at all due to the intermittent but constant shading issues.
Not to mention the infrastructure needed to transport the electricity. You can't really scale solar on roofs up like installing tens or hundreds of kilometers of solar roadway.
Have you been drinking? Again? Is that the problem that causes you to make such ignorant and uninformed statements?
Why would you need infrastructure to transport the electricity from rooftops? It's already there! Excess power is fed back into the grid so if you have too much it goes to the guy next door or a few km down the road to the shopping center, factory, school, hospital, treatment plant, block of units or whomever. There will always be loads of places that do not have near the footprint to generate anything like the power they consume. Imagine what even a small shopping center pulls in. Would take a preimeter of probably several KM around it to provide enough power to run it. A large Multi story would suck all the power the suburb could provide and then some. Of course the wider the area you go the more places you cover that would also be sucking power not generating.
Down the road from me there were a number of single story factories that covered their substantial roofs in panels and also a large Pub. I thought they must be making money on the backfeed.
I later saw an article in the local rag that the pub was now doing 19% of it's own power generation and the factorys were doing 21% and getting a little money on the weekends for backfeed when they were closed.
If the power can come into the place it can go back out. Here everyone has a Minimum of 48 or 62A @ 240V on single phase and 40 or 60A on 3 phase. That is allocated on the wires in the street so would also be what the existing lines can feed back.
Thats 11Kw min on 48, about 15 on 60A and 45+ on 3 phase. That is a lot of potential generation where it's needed.
The argument is that not every house draws that so it would over power the lines but the reality is many houses are going to be flat out with the roof space and orientation to produce over 5 Kw at any given time anyway. It all evens out and still would allow a huge offset of power from FF stations which are more flexible than anything else.
And as for the ramping up and down, that's already covered right now. Our grid works by generators bidding on supply price at certain times of the day WEEKS in advance. If there is a shortage the regulator advertises a notice to get in more suppliers. There is also a reserve margin built in to cover higher consumption than anticipated. It CAN and IS done right now.
The ONLY required infrastructure for large scale rooftop solar is to potentially install newer transformers to replace the old ones, some of which are 50 years of age with those that can handle the 2 way power better. As far as I am aware, all these new estates get them anyway.
Here the power company's say there are technical reasons why there has to be limits on backfeed which is complete and utter BS because other places do it. It's all about limiting the input to stop loosing revenue and control from people generating their own power.
I will bet my arse their tune changes in the very near future when they realise that haven't got a hope in hell of keeping up with demand when they are closing all the coal stations and the backlash of the lights going out will force them to get power wherever they can. Rooftop solar will be the fastest, cheapest and lowest impact generation of all to supplement the base load stations.
Of course start upping consumption with EV's and then solar is definitely going to come into play. I can see the cheap nightly off peak rates going out the window as demand on the grid now is often higher at night than it is during the day things to rooftop PV.
This is probably what has the power cos worried about their loss of the offensive profits they make here.