The system cost depends on connection queues, transmission buildout, substations, transformers, planning permission, curtailment, etc.
Production of transformers, cables, and labour capacity are bottlenecks. Planning is a bottleneck.
It annoys me grid issues get screamed at the top of the lungs in solar/wind, but powering AI DCs is crickets.
If grid concerns are that great then subsidize home solar + storage.
Oh wait! Power companies hate that.
Really? This is all posturing for maintaining regulatory capture and increasing monetary draws from government subsidies they go to the power companies and not with their customers.
Have solar + storage handle 60-80% of home electric needs, and the existing grid and generation fill the gaps.
Yeah, if the power companies want to install solar/wind/storage, they need to do changes. But hey, the LCOE of those is comprehensively less than coal/nuclear, even combined gas cycle now in many cases. So the utility company will do all of that because that way it makes more money.
smallerize•5d ago
ivanjermakov•5d ago
I suppose they can compare actual grid usage with household data to estimate off-grid usage.