Solar Power Hypothetical

[Omnis]

Okay, say we have solar panels commercially availible that operate at about 80% efficiency. Because of this, oil rigs become obsolete and most homes are selling energy back to the grid. Can the grid become overloaded? If each home is producing excess energy for itself, is there even a need for a grid at all?

 

[fatman_5050]

Were you watching 2057 on The Discovery Channel?
I'm sure there would be some necessity for a grid, powering businesses and such that cannot put large enough panels to power an entire skyscraper for example.

 

[Boundary Layer]

The concept of self-sufficient off-grid communities is interesting, and I can't say that it won't one day become reality with widspread use of solar/wind power, heat pumps, stirling motors, and PCM wall linings. But I think that even as that technology does become more widespread, it is much more likely that some sort of grid will remain in place as a safety net. Like fatman_5050 suggested, there needs to be something in place to distribute power to people/places that need it when they are unable to generate enough for themselves (for whatever reason).


I think what you wanted to know though, was what do you do with the energy that isn't immediately needed.

You put it into high-efficiency chemical storage. A community might decide to plan for a worst case scenario where they are unable to generate any power for X amount of days. They could design and implement a storage facility (battery house) with the capacity to store enough energy to get them through that period. When the storage facility is filled, excess power generated in the community could be sold to other communities' facilities or used to heat greenhouses or something useful like that.

 

[Omnis]

But if we have no main entity in charge of the grid, how exactly do we "sell" the energy we create? I guess it would be like energy eBay or something.

What happens when harnessing solar energy is perfected (again, hypothetical) before oil runs out? Do you think we would still use it?

 

[skip0110]

I don't see why the electric company just installs a meter that works both ways (drawing power and feeding it back into the grid), which is trivial, and buys the power from you at a lower rate than it is selling it for, then sells it back on other parts of the grid. Everyone wins...the producer, the environment, and the grid company.



Oh wait...I know why. That means the individual is eating into the profits of the electric company. Can't let that happen.



Anyways how is it possible that the efficiency of a small setup on someone's roof can even begin to compete with the efficiencies of scale in a huge commercially run solar farm?

 

[Keef]

There are quite a few people in the country that do recieve money from the electric company because they help feed electricity into the grid, lowering the demand upon the company. In fact, most companies would do this if tehy know you are adding to the grid, but I don't know how to inform them of this. There is a contributor to Popular Mechanics magazine who runs a self-sufficient home, and he makes a project out of it. I believe I've seen two or three articles about the subject and his projects in particular. Sending power back into the grid was also written about, but I don't remember the exact issues.

 

[Boundary Layer]

Oh wait...I know why. That means the individual is eating into the profits of the electric company. Can't let that happen.

Manitoba Hydro encourages people to use energy efficient furnaces/appliances/bulbs, and will infact subsidize portions of your purchases towards these items. Recently they changed their policy to allow households and local businesses to generate and sell back into the grid. The more wattage Hydro has at its disposal, the more it can sell across the border into the US - this is big time $$$.
(I've worked for Hydro the past few summers)

Anyways, I don't think the goal (for most people) would be to hit it rich off solar power, but just to generate enough to satisfy the needs of the house and sell whatever small excess they do generate back into the grid - hopefully that will payoff the invested capital during the lifecycle of the system. I really see no competition between a residential user and a commercial setup.

But if we have no main entity in charge of the grid, how exactly do we "sell" the energy we create? I guess it would be like energy eBay or something.

What happens when harnessing solar energy is perfected (again, hypothetical) before oil runs out? Do you think we would still use it?

You would certainly still need an electric utility, and not just for the financial aspect, but also to maintain the grid. I'm thinking this whole hypothetical situation would work out better if the utility is a crown corporation, rather than something privately owned (though, at this hour I'm having difficulty explaining why).
As skip0110 said, power consumption/generation can easily be metered. That's how it is currently done.


I think the answer to your second question is entirely economic. Consider that infrastructure is already in place to harness the energy of fossil fuels. The cost of conversion to solar energy would be immense and would cause large dissruptions to services if done all at once. I think fossil fuels would still continue to be used until it is no longer economically viable to do so. ie) when the cost of fuel and maintenance for existing infrastructure is greater than the cost of installation and lifecycle maintenance of a solar energy system.
Like it or not, the world runs on money and not the warm fuzzy feeling of self-righteousness you get by being eco-friendly.

 

[Omnis]

Of course it's economic. I just think that a large part of our economy is so depended on how oil is bought, sold, and used, that it's going to be inconceivably interesting as to how the economy and life changes.