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Alistair Adams's avatar

My thinking is that solar first in California has almost reached saturation point in terms of usefulness to the grid.

It is only useful to the consumer if on NEM 2.0 (that’s where you get almost retail price for electricity you sell back to the grid).

NEM 3.0, where you get a few cents for what you sell, a solar first is hard to justify. Batteries are needed to absorb the excess solar generated during the day to self consume that energy in the evening.

Owning an EV and charging from the solar panels could make solar first viable, especially if you could use the substantially larger battery of an EV as a substitute for a home battery.

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Darshana's avatar

Many of us are not really interested in the technical aspects of solar power - we only are involved because it's the sustainable thing to do.

I bought my own solar panels in 2002, then hired my own contractor to install.

Please the first time you use an acronym in each post (CCA, VPP) please spell it out. I have to look them up every time!

I'm still not sure that batteries are a sustainable option. They are still not recyclable, use heavy metals mined far away, and don't last long enough. We also need to push for more reusable, sustainable materials. And alternatives to solar, such as local wind (where it is common) and small water turbines where water is already moving by gravity (pipes and streams.)

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