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t1_is9ivsy wrote

Reply to comment by in Solar silicon manufacturing about doubling from 2022 into 2023 - predicted to lead to another cycle of oversupply driving solar panel pricing down by

And with solar and to some degree wind, you have the added cost of energy storage. Still comes up ahead of any other power other than maybe nuclear (in some cases).

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t1_is9j5me wrote

You only have the added cost if you actually store it.

If you usually run on coal all day, but now cover daytime with solar, you only burn half as much coal as you did before. If the weather is shitty, you are back to coal, but that's still better than burning it all the time.

Yeah, storage is a big issue for the future, but right now, in most areas, we're not at a point yet where we really need it.

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t1_is9y3hd wrote

Right - storage is only critical when we're seriously trying to cut into nighttime power usage. That is a large part! But until then it's mainly planning ahead and trying things out.

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t1_is9nw09 wrote

It doesn’t really work that way, though. Power plants need to maintain a relatively steady load. Unless we are talking about peaker plants which tend to be gas powered, battery powered, or hydro-pump powered.

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