Contrary to popular belief, solar panels don't generate zero power on cloudy days.

They typically generate 10-25% of their maximum output on the cloudiest of days. Most cloudy days are not maximally cloudy.

We don't need solar panels everywhere to get even close to ~100% renewables (with nuclear, wind, new geothermal, and hydro). The areas where you put them are distributed enough that it would be exceptionally rare to ever encounter a meaningful need to ration.

So, storage is an issue, but not as big of an issue as most people think, and we do not generate anywhere near enough solar energy for it to be a reasonable concern yet...

There's also more solutions than just conventional batteries. There's pumped hydro, etc...

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Marsymars 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> They typically generate 10-25% of their maximum output on the cloudiest of days. Most cloudy days are not maximally cloudy.

If you're at higher latitudes, this is notably less of a drop-off than you see between high/low season.

My friends with residential solar see <10% overall output in January vs July. (~60% drop from fewer sunshine hours, ~80% drop from decreased solar irradiance.)

	▲	jwr 24 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		This gets complex quickly, because temperature matters too: cells are more efficient when they are cold. These effects interact and the results are sometimes surprising. Many pure-numbers theoretical comparisons also make the assumption that you can consume all the power that the cells generate, which is not always the case. In an off-grid installation with a battery, for example, you might not be able to consume everything, depending on the month of the year. Practical example: my installation gets some of peak usage numbers in March/April, because that's when it's still cold and I use the power for heating. The cells are cold, I need the power, and there is some sunshine, all this combines. It's not obvious.

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flumes_whims_ 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

But they do generate zero power at night.

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oblio an hour ago | parent | next [-]

And people use less energy at night. Yes, they do need heating/cooling and a few other things at night, but the peak is during the day and in the evening.

This argument is almost closed at this point, with PV + batteries being quite price competitive. We're no longer in 2018.

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an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

[deleted]

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fragmede an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

Solution? Send large mirrors into space so it never stops shining.

https://www.reflectorbital.com/

	▲	magicalhippo 28 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		That surely won't interfere with the ecosystem at all! /s