| ▲ | manmal 4 hours ago | ||||||||||||||||
> Soon there is so much solar that you don't need the expensive gas most of the time. In the EU (winters with weak solar radiation) this only works if you can store power over multiple months. Getting rid of gas means purchasing and maintaining a giant amount of batteries. Slow storage won’t save you from outages during peaks. We do have very cheap power from solar, during the hot months. In winter, its wind and offshore turbines that are prevalent, but they are as unpredictable. So, solar and wind power is trivial. Storage is the issue. And consumers will pay that storage, in both grid cost, and spot prices. I don’t understand why peak producers should dictate prices for all levels of service. Make an exception for them that’s adequate, like a second peak market, and done? Why should a solar producer (who doesn’t buffer!) get 3x the price only because Russia turns up gas prices and the big producers start panic buying expensive gas futures, poisoning their whole lineup in the process? Solar producers just pump whatever’s coming out of their panels into the market, with no regard for grid stability. | |||||||||||||||||
| ▲ | CorrectHorseBat an hour ago | parent [-] | ||||||||||||||||
Right now providing grid stability is maximally rewarded because you get paid a lot when it's needed and little when there's a lot of electricity available. Storage providers can use this spread to make money and create grid stability. I'm not sure what you mean by second peak market? Let me turn around the question, why should a gas plant get more for its electricity when it's indistinguishable from solar electricity? | |||||||||||||||||
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