Solar smashes records in California, 'DUCK curve' nearly wiped out

-Solar smashes records in California, 'DUCK curve' nearly wiped out
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#solar #solarenergy #california #solarpower #evnews
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[@casman619]

Hey Sam, You missed geothermal. Almost 6% of CA's electricity came from that source in 2018. Didn't do further research but I thought you should know. Thanks for what you do, I really enjoy you channel 😊

[@scottkolaya2110]

Unfortunately, the percentage of geothermal keeps going down as wind and solar get installed. 2018 was 6 years ago, time flies. Geothermal does give a nice even 800MW throughout the day but compared to today's total system capacity of 50GW, it keeps getting smaller as a percentage. Here's some numbers from the April report. Solar 19.1TWh, Wind 8.1TWh, Geothermal 1.6TWh, plus some other renewables. But imports and fossil fuels were about half of all power generated still. The CAISO website is making it hard to get a number for fossil fuels for April without downloading each day separately . But Geothermal is about 5% of the renewables for Apr., not all power generation.

[@johndavid9418]

California is the largest generator of electricity from geothermal energy in the United States, with more than 650 active, high-temperature wells tapping into geothermal fields. In 2018, the state received 5.92 percent of its electrical energy from geothermal resources. The problem with Geothermal Energy is, Fracking. California is in the process of making it illegal.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

@@johndavid9418 California is capable of distinguishing between fracking for geothermal and fracking for oil and gas. I bet they'll get that figured out.

[@johndavid9418]

@@incognitotorpedo42 They intend on replacing their Geothermal with renewables.

[@John-FourteenSix]

Great news for California. We’ve just completed our 1st full year of our fully electric household: Solar, Battery and EV. Glad we did it. On average, half of our power is produced from Solar on our roof.

[@beatreuteler]

Nice. You mention Solar, battery and EV. So allow me a question: What is the way you make warm water and heating/cooling of the building if needed?

[@John-FourteenSix]

@@beatreuteler Ah, I should have mentioned we have an Air Source Heat Pump. (Mitsubishi ECODAN) It heats both the domestic hot water (Great pressure for a shower!) and runs central heating water through radiators. Additionally we have an electrically heated floor for the coldest weather.

[@beatreuteler]

@@John-FourteenSix Great. So you have taken the right steps. Congrats.

[@John-FourteenSix]

@@beatreuteler We achieved it by planning it in steps, (1. ASHP & radiators; 2. Floor: Solar and Battery, then 3. EV charger and EV last). It was quite an upheaval, but worth the effort and expense. In some ways the opposite to how many would go about it.

[@beatreuteler]

@@John-FourteenSix Well done. We are still on the path, but on this very path (in steps). So far done: 1. Rooftop PV & WWHP & battery (09/22) 2. ASHP (08/24, components currently on site). EV charger and EV planned for some time in the future, not sure yet when.

[@aikidoshi007]

It is going to be interesting see what creative excuses they come up with to keep jacking up the cost of electricity.

[@carlkelley4566]

I’ve got 16kW. I’ve got 8kW more on order with Tesla

[@Ryarios]

Maintenance. Their ‘explanation’ will be maintenance. "We have to replace damaged panels! We have to upgrade all the panels!"

[@rubidot]

To customers: "we're working so hard on improving the infrastructure!" To shareholders: "the profit margin hasn't been this high since Enron was managing the grid!"

[@carlmelville]

Yep. I live in California, and it is NOT an energy success story. Sam is way off base on this one.

[@jimmiller5600]

Do you remember CA's electric utility going bankrupt due to transmission wires causing fires? $B in fines?

[@yootoobvyooer]

California electricity price is 70% to 90% energy delivery and only small fraction is electric generation. It means copper wires hanging on poles doing nothing (other than conducting) cost many times the cost of solar, wind, battery, nuke, Nat gas, coal, etc. etc.

[@davestagner]

That’s part of Tony Seba’s G.O.D. theory. Solar/batteries will get so cheap that it makes more sense to generate your own than to use the grid.

[@yootoobvyooer]

@@davestagner solar install cost is 80% labor and permits and nothing to do with actual solar panels. If solar cells are free, it'd only be slightly cheaper but not by much. And politicians won't let power companies lose profit. See net metering changes in CA that discourage home energy producers as more ppl adopted solar.

[@davestagner]

@@yootoobvyooer It’ll be interesting to see where the balance lands between home installs (which cost more than grid installs) vs power from the grid (which adds a lot of distribution and maintenance cost). I’m sure we’ll have a lot of both.

[@yootoobvyooer]

@@davestagner my point being, having lots of solar won't make electricity cheaper as most of the cost is in something other than electric generation.

[@dknowles60]

nice lie, copper is to costly to hang on pools

[@MyWasteOfTime]

Crazy that the price of electricity just keeps going up and up :(

[@dzcav3]

“. . . a naïve observer might conclude that the rising share of new renewables (solar and wind) will usher in an era of falling electricity prices. But in reality, the opposite has been true.” Vaclav Smil, Numbers Don’t Lie, p.172

[@100c0c]

​@@dzcav3 Not when your utilities are privately owned and still have gas peaker plants. Or don't import cheap panels.

[@rowanbroekman3929]

That's mainly because they want as much money as they can as long as they can. Eventually there will come a moment where you no longer need the grid at all and simply buy your own solar panels and batteries because it's cheaper. They realise that, they realise that that moment will come soon, so they just abuse all the last powers they still got.

[@orionbetelgeuse1937]

it's quite easy to understand, the investment in the solar panels has to be repaid somehow yet those panels only work during the day so they have to maintain idle gas power plants active (meaning fuel and salaries) and cover the night with them. It's like having two cars one can work during the day and one during the night but you have to pay insurance and taxes for both.

[@rowanbroekman3929]

Weird, my answer got removed. Anyway, at some point you can buy a battery and no longer need the grid.

[@MrArtist7777]

2 new, giant wind plants and several new giant solar plants are in development now, to start supplying power to CA in the next 1-2 years. Cal. is working to: 130% of total capacity via solar, wind and hydro, to net-export power to other states.

[@jimmiller5600]

And 130% makes sense because you need to top off energy storage.

[@glibsonoran]

It would be interesting to see their seasonal output. The shoulder seasons: Spring & Fall are the best for percentage of solar generation because the sun is still relatively high and demand for heating and cooling is low. If they can achieve 130% in the summer hot season and the winter cold season, that would be impressive.

[@jimmiller5600]

@@glibsonoran Agreed. This transition won't be smooth. Mistakes will be made. Inefficiencies will happen. But in a decade we'll be amazed at progress. Heck, 5 years might be worth celebrating.

[@oldguy4057]

I live in CA and have my own solar system. I had to expand it to charge my wife's Tesla. I will find out by the Fall if it cover the house and the car 100%. It is baffling why they have changed the equation on home solar. My system in grandfathered in, but new systems are required to pay the utility a substantial monthly charge for being tied to their grid. Maybe that will encourage home battery storage. Funny, I have to get CA news from Australia.

[@12pentaborane]

It'll probably do more than that, it'll drive residential electricity production off grid.

[@oldguy4057]

@@12pentaborane Tha is pretty much what I said: it encourages, or forces, homeowners to get batteries and go off grid. One cannot grid-tie without the utilities' approval and they won't approve without the monthly fee.

[@ctuna2011]

I have a 4.7 kw system got it under Nem 2 I have had and excess of 3000kw each year. This is the first year with the Model Y and it looks like I will easily have had enough for the car from that 3000kw . But PGE is out to kill home solar and screw the general public here. Most of the year I only 10 to 20 miles a day . If I leave town and come back with a charge under I like to get a mid range charge to keep the battery in the sweet spot . The Moss Landing Tesla peaker plant is about 30 miles from me.

[@chrisconklin2981]

@@12pentaborane I have been studying VPP's. Last I hear, Tesla is establishing VPP's in California

[@aramcobratusa8963]

When you expanded your system didn’t they toss you off the old program and force you onto the NEM3? I’m also grandfathered in but I’m worried about upgrading to increase my system or swap out old 220 panels and sub in 400’s. What did you do?

[@madmachine1]

This announcement is at odds with a recent article by the Washington Post that states quite the opposite. "Rooftop solar panels are flooding California’s grid. That’s a problem. As electricity prices go negative, the Golden State is struggling to offload a glut of solar power". In the article the duck curve is mentioned as well as negative prices.

[@madmachine1]

Negative prices occur whenever there's an excess of production over the current consumption. So it is true that in certain moments the grid is all supplied by renewables. If we factor in the batteries that should absorb any excess, why negative prices still occur? Maybe there's still an excess of production from renewables, and batteries storage can't keep up with new installations. I don't see how the duck curve is being flattened and all consequences fixed.

[@carlmelville]

Both are half a story. If the hockey stick power curve was the real problem, they would solve it. CA changed Net Metering rules last April (2023). Rather than providing 100% credit for returned energy, they now pay about 10%, making the ROI impossibly long and removing the financial incentive. SDG&E said that this was to promote fairness for those who can't afford solar (does anyone believe that???). The utilities and utility commissions are corrupt.

[@bryanferguson3157]

The thing about NEM 3 is that it encourages batteries because if selling powered back to the grid isn’t worth it, your incentivized to get a battery and hang onto it yourself. I think it actually helps kill the duck curve even more because overly generous net meeting encourages solar users to waste power once the sun goes down. It was great initially to get adopters in, but I’m actually glad it’s getting less and less generous.

[@rickmellor]

Spot on, Sam. I work in the solar industry designing micro inverters and it’s been a long time getting to this point. Interestingly, PG&E is currently tearing up my street to replace all the gas mains and home connections/meters… doing this through the entire town here in the SF Bay. I’d rather they just remove the gas service and help me convert to a heat pump A/C and indication stove. They’re building an entirely new gas infrastructure just as it’s becoming obsolete. 🤯

[@liberty-matrix]

It turns out many SmartMeters have dead batteries. As a matter of fact, PG&E said, just last year, they started the process of replacing 3 million meters as they reach the end of their battery life. It has nothing to do with a green energy transition.

[@larzlarz1140]

Using natural gas for heat is waaaaay more efficient than using electricity induction to make heat. Heat pump HVAC and heat pump water heater? Sure. Induction cook top? Nope. Thermal efficiency of burning natural gas in your house is 3x higher than burning natural gas in a generation station, then transmission losses to get it to you. Not only that, but gas gives you a better food product than electric cook tops because of the very high temperatures they can hit, that brings you the Maillard reaction in foods that make them taste wonderful.

[@TheQsam1]

​@@larzlarz1140 I guess you have never used a induction top. U can reach as high a temp as with gas

[@TheQsam1]

​@@larzlarz1140 also the inefficiency of having both gas and electricity into your house instead of just electricity is crazy. And the risk that gas causes is also alot bigger with leaks etc. Then the extra bill is annoying.

[@mosschopz156]

@@larzlarz1140 I don't think you have much experience of using Induction hobs they a direct replacement for a gas hob. You are also not considering the efficiency of the actual hob itself - a gas burner transmits 40 - 70% of the energy to the actual thing you're cooking - an induction hob is over 90%.

[@terrybrunner6409]

Our cost of electricity keeps going up ... one thing about CA nothing comes down, they will impose a new tax... just like the EV tax based on mileage driven...

[@ianollmann9393]

If everyone drive an EV, then the gas consumption taxes need to be made up some other way. This really should surprise no one.

[@rdp131]

I wish they would stop mismanaging our tax dollars and stop funding ridiculous wars and politicians pocketing the money then they wouldn't have to charge a tax at all.

[@incognitotorpedo42]

How do you propose funding roads when EV use is climbing and ICE is declining?

[@wswwsearch]

The weather has been unseasonably cool. The rain filled the reservoirs post drought have kept generation working well. So while we pay about 2-5 times the amount for electricity in California than in the state of Texas these changes could bring substantial improvements in service, not cost. We will need some hot summer days to see the true impact. My fantansic natural gas furnace ran until mid May. Natural gas is still cheapest for heating.

[@carlmelville]

And working people who live in the hot CA inland empire have to hang out at Walmart because they can't afford 45 cents per KWH. The state's energy system is broken and corrupt. Sam is WRONG in this instance. He needs to do more research.

[@scottkolaya2110]

0:12 I do wish batteries were the primary source in the evening hours, but no, it's not. It's one of the primary sources between 7 and 9:30pm. For example yesterday, batteries peaked at 7GW at 7:45pm, but natural gas was still delivering 14.5GW.

[@charlesrovira5707]

_Grid scale _*_battery storage_* is going to expand into _energy super abundance._

[@TurnerRentz]

Tesla has alot of battery storage in their charging stations, methinks a virtual power plant is in the making here.

[@arleneallen8809]

Aliso storage facility is used by Sempra owned SC Gas Co. for retail gas customers. The price of gas is unrelated to California's second highest rates in the nation. PG&E, SCE and SDG&E are the three big for profit utilities which keep raising their rates as often as CPUC will let them. CPUC members are currently well lobbied and rates go up. Diablo was kept online in anticipation of summer rolling blackouts if we have a hot year, which thus far looks like it will be. Wait for a couple months and you will be reading completely different articles about California. The Los Angeles area DWP is independent and still buys some electricity from a Utah based coal burner.

[@rose415]

I, guess California remembers what Enron did to their power 20 years ago

[@freeheeler09]

Texas didn’t let Enron charge Texans as much as the state of California is letting its corrupt electricity cartel rip off its customers for! Enron is long gone. But here in mid 2024, Texans pay $0.15/kWh for electricity. Californians pay 2.5 times more!

[@12vLife]

In Florida I have some off grid land under a canopy of thick trees. I cleared a patch for a 500 watt solar panel. My van has a 200ah Lithium house battery. It's enough power to keep the van cool and ventilated in the shade, run a small 12v fridge, cook lunch, charge my devices, watch TV and surf the web. I wash my clothes with shower run off and air dry them with the sun. I can go like this months year round without paying a penny for utility bills. I realize its not for everybody and people are always surprised when they see how I'm living given I present all clean and fresh when I go into town. The trick is living small, finding passive ways to stay comfortable and using peak solar hours to cook, dry and recharge.

[@maptap6654]

Good news, and and I believe everything except that this will lead to a significant reduction in the price of electricity in just a few years...Corporate greed will keep the prices high until they have so much excess electricity in the peaks they literally have to pay to get rid of it. Then, MAYBE you will see a significant reduction...

[@mb-3faze]

The problem is CA has private monopolies for their electricity generation and distribution. The say they 'love solar' but what they mean is they love *their* solar and are doing everything they can to do to discourage private solar PV installations.

[@helifanodobezanozi7689]

​​Not exactly. Some cities have private power, while others, like Los Angeles, have city owned power. More than half of the state lives in an area where the power utilities is city owned. The second to last Republican governor partially de-regulated the power industry via city by city vote, and the "red" areas of the state fell for it! That's why LA NEVER has brown-outs/ power outages which are completely financially motivated. (Buying extra power from Arizona and Nevada during peak periods cuts into the profits of the privately owned utilities.) So, solar power probably WILL REDUCE COSTS, but only in the cities, like LA, where the utilities are publicly owned.

[@maptap6654]

@@helifanodobezanozi7689 Thanks for the details, I was under the impression that all of California was under the same private power umbrella. The few times I have seen the $/kwh quoted it was always REALLY high.

[@rare_wubbox360]

In a world where electricity demand is skyrocketing.. Point is this helps to not get way higher prices.. imho

[@user-qv6ud2hx6f]

No, they will introduce taxes to dispose of old panels, etc: eco-responsibility and ensuring future prosperity tax...

[@handyandymeister]

When Diablo Canyon had to be rebuilt for earthquake bracing, and then rebuilt again because the bracing was installed backwards on unit 2, they raised peak rates by 50% to $.012/kwh (long time ago!). When California experimented with deregulation of power generation in 2000, the generating companies gamed the system and gouged rate payers to the tune of $30 billion dollars. That doubled peak rates to $.24/kwh. I've missed the excuses for the rates we have now, but some of it is due to grid upgrades to accommodate renewables. PG&E had to put up a new transformer before my neighbors and I could install about 35kw of PVs on our roofs. The other big factor is financial penalties after disasters like the wildfires over the last decade. PG&E shareholders are guaranteed a return on the $6 billion they want to spend on undergrounding transmission lines. PG&E doesn't care about the expense of these upgrades as they are guaranteed a return on the investment. There are some demands to turn PG&E into a state-run utility, since PG&E has recorded record profits while we pay the sky-high rates.

[@subiesti06]

And somehow we still pay more for electricity than anywhere else. In the southeast, electricity is 0.02 cents per KW. We pay more than ten times that.

[@jamesho8820]

I live in San Diego and had 50 panels installed back in 2016. It reduced my utility bill about 60%. I absolutely love them.

[@TurnerRentz]

Which ones did you use? Did you do them yourself?

[@MichaelDobbins]

Loved the sheep grazing between the solar panels.

[@aussieideasman8498]

Not where there wasn't a blade of grass anywhere for miles - must have been outside of California.

[@mikeflix1598]

This is incredible, it will only get better and more efficient, plus more storage.

[@greggrant4614]

Solar plus batterry storage should suffice to eliminate the daily duck curve. It should help greatly to address the seasonal peak as well, in most parts of the U.S. Wherever the seasinal or emergency load might possibky exceed renewables + battery storage, the utilities can easily keep their natural gas fueled turbine peakers available for backup, if/whenever battery storage might run low.

[@acmefixer1]

Said, "... utilities can easily keep their natural gas fueled peaker plants..." Those peaker plants were financed with the assumption that they would be generating at 85% capacity. When they are generating at only 25% or even less, they're no longer an asset, they're a liability, and have to be written off as a stranded asset. These peaker plants can't just be sitting there, not earning enough to pay for themselves.

[@chasl3645]

​@@acmefixer1 They'll charge accordingly.

[@stanleytolle416]

Seasonal differences are way to great for any sort of storage to handle. If climate goals are to be met some sort of non-carbon emitting power such as nuclear will be needed to overcome seasonal fluctuations in renewables power.

[@acmefixer1]

@@stanleytolle416 Seasonal differences are already being met by storing natural gas underground. The natural gas can be replaced by green hydrogen stored underground. Then the seasonal changes can be leveled out by generating green hydrogen in the opposite hemisphere, so the southern hemisphere will be generating the energy to export to the northern hemisphere. This is already being by the Xlinks underwater UHVDC cable from Morocco to the UK, and a similar cable from Australia to Singapore.

[@stanleytolle416]

@@acmefixer1 natural gas is a climate toxin. So storing natural gas under ground to burn it massively in the winter is not a good policy. What is needed is a dispatchable source that does not produce carbon emissions. What seems make sense to me is high tempature nuclear reactors that can store power as heat, have other uses for this heat in industry, and can dispatch this power when needed.

[@JorgeLausell]

A local distributed network connecting residential rooftop w/local commercial roofs using neighborhood sized batteries would increase stability, security, and make money to defray expenses. Mini VPPs everywhere. That would help.

[@mensch45]

thx Sam from SF -- you rock!

[@petesig93]

To best deal with that evening peak: 1. Get rid of the home inefficient devices - the high consumption washing machines, refrigerators and radiant heaters. Change-over to heat-pump (compressed gas) systems as soon as possible. 2. Introduce more home batteries with solar systems. 3. Get people driving EVs and develop the V2H functionality so home-owners can use the EV to support their home solar power system. 4. Workplace carpark charging* so people gan go home with enough low-cost (mid-day) power to support the evening peak demands. * Where I live the 11am to 2pm price of power is actually negative; power companies get it from power stations and get paid to take it. The consumer can get 0c/kWh power and the power company still makes money.

[@egec1]

If renewables (plus the necessary batteries) were actually cheaper, then there would be a tidal wave of people buying large batteries for their homes to fill them up when power is cheap and use the battery power when the grid is expensive. I don't see that wave.

[@stevennelson7518]

North Americas largest nuclear plant outside Phoenix AZ supplies 25% of LA power.

[@danielcarroll3358]

In 2023, in-state utility-scale electricity generation equaled about 90% of California's electricity sales, and the rest of the state's power supply came from out of state. U.S. EIA, Electric Power Monthly (February 2024), Tables 1.3.B, 5.4.B

[@muskrat3291]

Palo Verde nuclear plant is no longer North America's largest nuclear plant. Vogtle Electric Generating plant is now the largest when unit 3 (2023) and unit 4 (2024) came on line. Voglte was supposed to cost ONLY $14 Billion but ended up coming in at $35 Billion making it the most expense power plant ever built on the planet.

[@rodneyblackwell7477]

​@@muskrat3291this is what happens when you lose expertise. As someone who has delivered mega projects successfully I think there are fewer and fewer people who can do this kind of work.

[@macmcleod1188]

And the y are slowly draining the aquifer to do that.

[@CSGATI]

He showed the mirror boiler plant but it went broke and closed.

[@tonybloomfield5635]

This guy skews everything he says to suit his narrative. Much of it is BS.

[@tonybloomfield5635]

@HoopsKevinski I think the point may have been that this guy covers all the good news stories but does not speak of the failures. He also kinda infers that everywhere should be doing as well as California but never mentions that Texas produces over 150% of the renewable energy Cali does despite a smaller population and being unsuitable for large scale hydro. Texas rules renewables!

[@zig_ziggy]

Hydro and solar achieved 100% of the power grids needs 'at certain times of the day'. This means if you were only using renewable power, you could cook your lunch and use your laptop between 11:30am and 2:00pm, since the remaining time requires fossil fuels.

[@punditgi]

Fantastic! 🎉😊

[@electricviking]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@raystone4673]

In mid 1983 at the Soar Energy Congress in Perth, a person from 'California Edison' from memory gave a presentation to crowded lecture theatre, at the University. He listed the 9 present sources of power they had feeding the grid, some very new. I recall Coal, Hydro, Gas, Geothermal, Nuclear, Wind, Solar thermal, Solar voltaic, and Wave power. That was over 40 years ago, long before good batteries. They would know a little about integration of multiple sources of renewables.

[@offgridwanabe]

The only thing where you may be wrong is prices going down more likely profit will go up.

[@jamesbottoms6912]

California is very innovative, they continue to find ways to make electricity and all other items needed for daily life unaffordable. They are world leaders in making electricity, Gasoline, Diesel, Groceries & Housing prices some of the highest in the world. You should move to California and do your research locally your outlook might change at the grocery check out. Until a affordable, safe and environmentally friendly solution to electricity storage is developed solar and wind will never be a viable solution. Batteries are simply chemical warfare in a box, when the warfare escapes the box people, property and the environment are at risk. These risk have not been addressed and wont be until a major disaster occurs. Thankfully there isn't any space available for a battery storage facility close to my home. I have used lithium batteries in industry for over thirty years, we store them, ship them and use them with a great deal of caution, most people have no idea of the hazards of their presence and use. But I assure you, people will learn! They will also pickup the cost of being educated!

[@simonmiller5118]

Many many single-storey homes could be fully energy self-sufficient with solar and batteries but the authorities don't want you to know that. And if you could plug your EVs in as well and have true bi-directional Vehicle 2 Home charging you would never have an issue.

[@hardi.howdy.983]

You are on the roll today. 7th video in a day. Keep churning them out 😁

[@electricviking]

That's the plan!

[@hardi.howdy.983]

@@electricviking Good for you :) ❤

[@davewitter6565]

When I went on the CAISO website I was amazed how much solar, wind and battery. California has more electric and hybrid vehicles per person anywhere in the US.

[@jimgraham6722]

Rooftop solar makes a lot of sense in a suburban domestic situation. In Australia domestic 10KW arrays are commonplace. They provide enough power to cover domestic power use including charging EVs such as a TM3. Essentially power costs get zeroed most days but you still need to pay a network access charge if you want to remain connected to the grid which most do to cover cloudy days and night time use.

[@dennisheller333]

It’s great that we have so much solar here in California. But, there’s no way electricity prices will ever come down here. That’s for all of the reasons you cited, for undergrounding transmission lines, and mostly because of the absolute greed of Pacific Gas and Electric

[@ianollmann9393]

To be clear, we absolutely need to underground transmission lines, especially in the mountain regions.

[@d1amonddbw]

For many years, gasoline (for autos) has averaged 30% higher than US average.

[@arubaga]

100% Tarif for Chinese imported battery could rescue defeat from the jaws of success.

[@adamiskandar5107]

Capitalism and free trade, no longer worshipped? This should open the eyes of Americans who have been suckered by the Oligarchs.

[@wedgeworks2989]

It's a really bad idea to let China kill their competition with artificially low prices. You are thinking short term.

[@1voluntaryist]

@@wedgeworks2989 Long term, subsidizing some until their competition is gone doesn't work. Short term, the customers get a great deal, paid for by the subsidy, then when it ends, capital rushes back in the and the competition is back. This is history denied by anti-capitalists who propagandize for the state who promote fear of freedom.

[@virtual-viking]

More people need to jnow about the benefits of East/West facing solar. There's a huge untapped potential in changing the orientation away from due South.

[@tuberroot1112]

If you thought for a moment about California, you would not be surprised that solar can also supply >100% in winter. That is the season of LEAST demand in the state.

[@LAMemorialColiseum]

Note in CA we have had very mild temperatures combined with record snow/rainfall. Office vacancies in many cities are at a record high. Power prices are at a record high. Gas prices are at a record high and national high.

[@taterrhead]

and yet energy costs continue to climb for California residents?

[@ianollmann9393]

Most of the cost is transmission.

[@SteveBurg2001]

States that produce excess electricity can sell the surplus at a cost lower than legacy power plants in other states. So there's that. 🙂

[@marcusfleuti2672]

Dream on... The average residential electricity rate in California is 30 ¢/kWh, which is 69% higher than the national average rate of 18 ¢/kWh. And it will become much more expensive if they continue like this.

[@ianollmann9393]

The renewables aren't the problem. It is more of a perfect storm between regulation encouraging cost maximization, out dated transmission infrastructure in need of undergrounding, and a very badly run utility that are driving up costs.

[@marcusfleuti2672]

@@ianollmann9393 Germany is trying the same thing and they too have exploding costs. Problem is that PV/Wind do NOT provide power in about 80%+ of the time. So you need to massively overproduce power and store that excess energy very expensively with at least 30-40% losses. And in parallel you require expensive backup power systems (primarily gas) to cover when there's low power for several days or even weeks. So you have to build parallel infrastructure and all systems run inefficiently. It will and must be very expensive and unreliable. Basic physics. Thus all countries trying it are facing the same fate.

[@egec1]

@@marcusfleuti2672 The cope in these comments is so strong (not the comment I'm responding to!). Storing electricity in giant batteries is more expensive that running a CCGT, or a nuclear plant. There is no conspiracy. Does the guy who made this video even understand why the "duck curve" is a problem? Does he understand grid instability and the fact that you can't turn on and off baseload power, and therefore you waste solar power above a certain percentage of the mix? Unless you think you can move the entire system to wind, solar and batteries (no gas, coal or nuclear)...and oh boy if you think California power is expensive now - just wait. And btw, before I hear about how great California is because of their renewable power, have you considered the conventional power they buy from neighboring states in order for them to (usually) keep the lights on?? I've got my popcorn ready!

[@williamkreth]

As a CA local I been picking my brain for years why this is. Especially since I know my power supply is coming from NV energy and their customers in Nevada pay half as much as me !

[@williamkreth]

Also if the duck curve is such a problem why is peak pricing per kwh still during the day when their is allegedly too much energy?

[@arberg5760]

“Exceeded 100% power demand during parts of the day”…. “Parts of the day” being the key words. The challenge for green energy has not been power generation for a decade. The challenge has been energy storage. California is still a long way from solving that. Until then, non green base load power will still be required.

[@aramcobratusa8963]

I copied from CA sun power : I’m a solar customer in California and I currently enjoy the benefits of NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0. Can I add onto my system without changing to NEM 3.0? Homeowners in California can expand their solar system by 10% and still be eligible to keep the benefits of NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 without any changes. Existing customers are grandfathered into these programs, allowing you to continue to enjoy the full 20 years of NEM 1.0 or NEM 2.0 benefits from your solar installation. It’s important to note that your grandfathering start date for this 20 year period is the Permission to Operate date from your original solar installation, not the date of your solar system expansion.

[@stanleytolle416]

California has the highest electricity costs in the US. Vast areas of the state particularly ecologically sensitive areas are being damaged by solar and wind installations. So wind and solar are not a panacea.

[@probadorprobador]

In Spain retail prices (in €) range from 0.04-0.08 at noon to 0.16-0.28 at 9 p.m. and commonly solar and wind farms have to be curtailed, duck curve is still very real

[@Sacto1654]

It should have happened at least a decade earlier, but there were actually powerful politicians who said "NO!" due to the solar power installations in the Mojave Desert supposedly being a threat to local wildlife.

[@PyroShields]

Solar panels take a lot of realestate. Modern Panels take less because they can absorb more watts than 10 years ago.

[@TurnerRentz]

No, ecology was not what slowed anything up. Because this state is not going slow. It's going faster than any other. And it is doing it with respect for the environment. Cheers.

[@billinfarmington5189]

So why is electricity still so expensive in California?

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

Power lines through fire-prone areas. Expensive kit.

[@egec1]

@@geirmyrvagnes8718 I guess Germany has the same problem.

[@geirmyrvagnes8718]

@@egec1 Oh yes. Plus shutting down their nuclear power after Fukushima since they could just buy cheap and reliable natural gas from Putin. That came back to bite them in the butt. But as a Norwegian, I approve of this move. Keep buying our dinosaur farts! 😘

[@terryward1422]

The next step is to expand the California grid to produce enormous amount of renewable electricity and export it to neighbouring states to generate income to pay off legacy debt.

[@robdude1969]

NEM3 really messing with the California solar expansion for homeowners and installers. Way to go green California.

[@junkerzn7312]

Well, if the purpose is to expand the use of home storage, NEM3 is succeeding to some degree . I personally believe that it was over-done. NEM2 (net metering on a 12-month basis) was no more realistic than NEM3 (net metering on a 6-minute basis) is. What we need is net metering on a 24-hour basis. That I think is perfectly reasonable given the amount of battery storage California is adding now. -Matt

[@1voluntaryist]

@@junkerzn7312 Politics as usual, authoritarianism supported by consensus, is NOT reason, rights, choice. To get "what we need" we must adopt a new politics based on individual choice, which will protect the sovereign citizen. Some will choose wrongly. Their choice will not be forced on all, in a free society, a society that values rights.

[@junkerzn7312]

​@@1voluntaryist Nobody is forcing you to do anything. You are perfectly welcome to build your own off-grid system. Many people do. Societies depend on cooperation and partitioning of work. Resources are massively shared... you don't get to dictate, as an individual, what services should cost to you or what services and goods should be offered to you. Not unless you construct those services from scratch yourself. Right? And even then, if a good or service has knock-on effects on the entirety of society, or even just the people around you, you can't just opt to use them anyway and ignore the complaints of the people around you who are negatively affected by your use of those goods and services. Right? Think a good long time on what you are demanding of society, because it has nothing to do with your individual "choice". -Matt

[@who2u333]

@@1voluntaryist "Authoritarianism supported by consensus"? The consensus part is where democracy comes in. The fact that you don't agree with the majority, does not denote authoritarianism. Bot, or simply uneducated in the subject?

[@TurnerRentz]

​@@who2u333 Agree. -More time to the Bear Republic; more time to you. Cheers.

[@charelldrivessocal953]

It's nice to hear good news about my state. There's been so much malevolent commentary about California recently. So much so that "avocado on toast" has become a slur!😄 It's THE most Californian thing you can eat.😋 I was raised on it and I'm about to have it for breakfast again. 🥑🍞🤤

[@egec1]

You're being lied to.

[@rvanbeau2009]

It seems really off that in california the cheapest electricity rates are between midnight and 6am. I guess it is because transmission lines are more saturated during the day.

[@danielcarroll3358]

The one nuclear plant can't quickly reduce output. Geothermal power is there whether you use it or not. The large hydro would just have to let the water go over the dam in the spring when the snow melts. And demand is low late at night: lights and TVs are off, less need for AC, offices and stores are closed.

[@tommycollier9172]

Do you guys think you will ever see The savings in your electrical bill

[@leoperez2566]

Energy demand will continue to rise into the future so possibly no.

[@417ah7]

NEVER.

[@ianollmann9393]

If you install rooftop solar? Sure! From the utility? What a question!

[@danielcarroll3358]

@@ianollmann9393 True! I installed 3.9 kW peak of solar and my 2023 utility bill was -$199.

[@charlie2640]

In the long run no reason for "wasted electricity" Desalination, H2 production, etc could use the power when it is available. This is after the batteries and pumped hydro is charged up of course.

[@briangasser973]

California has the benefit of being in the Southwest and access to dessert solar panels. CA still relies on fosil fuel plant imports from NV and AZ.

[@danthep]

You forget to mention on top of the in-state generation in your charts, California imports 30% of its annual electricity usage from out of state which brings down their renewable figures.

[@BooBaddyBig]

The batteries will bring down costs and lower emissions because the duck curve makes CCGT gas plants run inefficiently. With the batteries, even on days when there's not enough renewables, gas plants can continue to run and store up electricity in the batteries for the peak. They're twice as efficient when running flat like that.

[@edwinrichter3181]

Here in gy I am 100% on my own from march to Oktober, including my house and 2 electric cars. Storage is 50KWh. Electricity cost in GY is very high so this makes sense to me

[@willtwain1383]

Damn, this is cool. Great work, Sam.

[@arnekvinge6073]

Hydro is easy to regulate and can be used as a battery. Add V2H to solar. We will need some charging infrastucture on the place cars is parked during sunhours.

[@johnshultz2437]

I’ve lived in Southern California since 2020, I pay over $600 per month for electricity on average. I loose power about once a month in the winter, several times per month in the summer. Last summer we had hundreds of dollars of food in the freezers and fridge spoil. This state should never be emulated! If it sounds too good to be true…

[@davidbelk46]

Put solar panels on your roof. I live in Northern California and we put 12 kilowatts of solar panels on our roof along with a 10 kwh battery. Our system generates about 90% of the total energy our household uses (which includes driving since we have an EV) so we no longer have electric bills and can laugh whenever there is a power outage.

[@TheUweRoss]

I think I'm glad I don't live in California because average electric rates there are roughly three times as a high as they are in other parts of the USA that have stuck with more conventional electric generation.

[@carlmelville]

Big fan of yours, Sam. Also a solar and EV owner - BUT California is NOT a success story. We pay the highest electric rates (in San Diego) in the nation other than Hawaii. Also, net metering is effectively over, removing 90% of the economic benefits of installing it. And they want to raise rates AGAIN. Couple this with $5/gallon gas, also the highest in the nation, and you have energy costs that working people cannot afford. The system is corrupt, with the utility commission in the pocket of SDG&E. Please do not reward this abhorrent system with your accolades. Their success comes at a huge cost to those who can afford it the least.

[@NitishYadav-lb7zc]

World is waiting for a major battery/storage breakthrough , that can redefine the way we generate power ❤

[@patrickdegenaar9495]

There are all sorts of bizarre requirements for long term storage. In reality for places like california, you only need 12-18 hours storage. But i suggest steps can go further: shift heavy power industries to solar rich areas. Run them during the day for ultra cheap solar power without even needing batteries.

[@ianollmann9393]

California, the next steel manufacturing hub!

[@dexlab7539]

$0.65 per kWh - Highest in US! Well done, nope!

[@danielcarroll3358]

Of course you pick the peak price of the highest plan. If you don't have solar you pay 43 cents per kWh up to your baseline allocation, 53 cents after that. If you have solar it gets more complicated: June 1 to Sept 30 you pay 10 cents more from 3 to 9 pm, but in winter you pay a few cents less than the non-solar rate. No doubt it is high, but you don't have to exaggerate. By the way, the highest rates are in Hawaii.

[@tonygoldenberg831]

At the same time CA electricity rates are Highest in USA and LA electricity rate just had a 35% rate increase to 35c per KW/h. Riddle me this development .

[@zaz4667]

Great!

[@KlanHoffman]

They are talking about the Duck curve here in Sweden too. Problem is that I cannot find it in the official graphs.

[@scottkolaya2110]

On California's website CAISO, it's called "net demand trend" links seem to get deleted, just lookup "California ISO net demand trend" From there you can go to the live website and graph any day. Maybe Sweden calls it the same thing.

[@aussieideasman8498]

Most of us can't find Sweden.

[@chriso847]

We have no choice but to use PGE. They charge 56 cents per KWH. Higher than any other place I have heard of in the USA. Prices keep increasing drastically each year. CA punishes people who want to put solar on roof. One of the worst things about CA is the price of electricity.

[@iman-pv2sc]

Recent history had Cali asking not to charge your Tesla, during peak hours……during summer last year IMSM

[@Spacenow869]

sounds like regular paradise. No negatives. All is rosy. Now you going to pay per mile on your driving because you do not have taxes from selling gasoline.

[@stefan2796]

Paradise? The number of homeless people is growing each day.

[@yvanpimentel9950]

I will say Cold storage, big hotels are actually doing it, all we need is a small units to do the same,produce ice during the day.

[@peteholtrichter6126]

Sam! "Relatively expensive" rates for electricity we are absolutely the MOST expensive rates in the nation. $0.54/kWh off peak and $0.64 it helps when you tell the whole truth not just the fluffy stuff that makes our leftist monopoly run state since 1999 (terminator doesn't count another lefty) try and sound great. Solar is great i have a 48 panel system cost over $50k to install because i was basically forced due to our more recently skyrocketing rates great job Gavin way to bring change... Not the change we're hoping for, no wonder why CA has net loss of population in past 3 years cant afford this madness.

[@Dr.Gehrig]

Totally proud of my home state! That said, yes, we are doing this and we will go further! Here's hoping 80% or more carbon clean by 2030... or at least the early 2030s. The only thing I'd add is that we do this through all 6 of the clean energy families yes, solar, wind, and hydro, but also waste bioenergy, maintaining already built nuclear, and geothermal. Geothermal in California is about 6% of electricity and has plans to increase. Don't forgot about all 6 families.

[@thedjinn13]

Did you hear in California so many people drive EVs that they now want to tax the people $.03 per mile driven to replace the gas tax they're losing!

[@danielcarroll3358]

The actuality is that they have asked for volunteers to test the practicality of a VMT tax. What they propose, but is years away, is a tax that depends the product of car weight and miles driven. This would replace the gas tax and would be a charge closer to the damage done to roads. Remember, the damage done by an axle is proportional to the 4.2 power of the axle weight.

[@larryc1616]

Fake news

[@PyroShields]

Well if they tax per mile like a taxi why spend tens of thousands of dollars on a car, and registration, inspection and insurance. It would be better to take an Uber.

[@hiram1923]

@@PyroShields If you have a gas car you are taxed automatically (and heftily) per mile, by the taxes on gas. It's just fair that EV owners also do their part, because their vehicles create much more road degradation (and also more tire/rubber pollution) than ICE cars, due to their ridiculous weight.

[@PyroShields]

@@hiram1923 If you take a taxi or an uber you pay by mile. So who would buy a car to pay per mile lol. Even better get an Ebike. No registration required.

[@gtziavelis]

5:40 "batteries are taking charge". No pun intended.

[@waywardgeologist2520]

2:06 “during parts of the day,” did you catch that part.

[@carlinglin7289]

Thanks!

[@electricviking]

Welcome!

[@skagi4182]

And we have the highest electric rates in nation....so...yea us?

[@frankcoffey]

Isn't everything else also more expensive in CA? What do you have that's cheaper than anywhere else? Sushi?

[@dzcav3]

“. . . a naïve observer might conclude that the rising share of new renewables (solar and wind) will usher in an era of falling electricity prices. But in reality, the opposite has been true.” Vaclav Smil, Numbers Don’t Lie, p.172

[@frankcoffey]

@@dzcav3 That's not because of the cost of generation it's because of greed.

[@Guvament_bs]

Did you all miss the key phrase. It reached 100 percent for part of the day. Not all day every day. And they still require a complete fossil fuel back up system for when the wind isn't blowing and the sun ain't shinning. So how can running 2 complete systems be cheap.

[@leshigger6517]

But when your not paying for those hours that's big bucks savings. As more gets added longer times will come.

[@Guvament_bs]

@@leshigger6517 but you have to pay for the infrastructure weather you are using it or not. To have a complete highly capital intensive plant sitting there unused is expensive both in opportunity cost and holding cost. So when the plant is running the sale price of the electricity must be huge to cover the cost of having the plant sitting idle for most of the time. It is basic economics.

[@dzcav3]

There you go using facts and logic, rudely interrupting their fantasy. “. . . a naïve observer might conclude that the rising share of new renewables (solar and wind) will usher in an era of falling electricity prices. But in reality, the opposite has been true.” Vaclav Smil, Numbers Don’t Lie, p.172

[@orionbetelgeuse1937]

@@leshigger6517you pay because the gas power plant is not closed, it is running idle but disconnected from the grid, it burns gas and all the workers are at work and being paid.

[@leshigger6517]

If you use battery storage like megiapacks you are not running a speaker plant generator. AZ has been doing that for a few years now. I believe Texas in building one now. My brother in law just leased property for 20 packs to replace a proposed peaker NG plant in AZ. This is where it's going. Newer cheaper megapacks coming on line are replacing gas and oil and coal peaker generators.

[@terrya6486]

Well I can tell you living in california during this transition is incredibly painful. I see some of my neighbors paying nine hundred And up to sixteen hundred dollars a month just to keep their house cool in the summer per month. I personally went off of the California grid 8 years ago.I saw this coming.

[@jimstack3694]

GRID Batteries and home Vitual Power Plants are making a big difference. Thanks

[@trevorevans7101]

Great to hear

[@mddell24]

5:36 So looks like if the battery storage was X10, and the solar was x3, and no more EVs and every day had that much sun, supply would meet demand. The only BIG issue is what happens when the sun don't shine for a week. Assuming no more increase for heating/AC, lighting, or EV, you really need X70 battery storage and X10-20 (approx) solar to cover 1 week of minimal solar.

[@ianollmann9393]

They've worked through this. There isn't any such thing as the sun not shining for a week, or even a day. It just shines less, but it still shines. The low cost solution is therefore to just overbuild the panels. This even works in Alaska. It's just a question of how much panel overbuild is needed, and what to do with the excess when the sun is shining.

[@brennus01]

Here's what I think...Cali residential power costs 2x to 3x what Mountain, East South Central, West South Central power costs. Generally speaking, so long as Cali wants to pay the bulk of net zero costs, I'm all for it. The world thanks you for your donation, Cali residents!

[@UncleNiikii]

No that's not true. There is a limited amount of lithium. We will run out and it only last so long.

[@randreas69]

Sorry to mention the sound but has the Gain been set too high? Had to give my headset a charge and it sounds clipped still.

[@socalrob26]

Love it!!!! The Future is looking better.

[@chrisconklin2981]

One of your Australian youtubers had a good presentation on China's rapid development of UHVDC. I live in the southeastern part of the USA and our power companies are rather slow about things. Maybe the southwestern USA and Mexico could send us some of that surplus electricity. Interesting subject of time zone power shifting.

[@GG-si7fw]

Just a question for Californian rooftop owners. If you were originally grandfathered in NEM 1 or 2, and sell your house, would the next owner be NEM 1/2 or will they be NEM 3?

[@mk1st]

“Batteries are taking charge” I see what you did there 😂🤣

[@jimmiller5600]

Transmission costs drive a big piece of total costs. They aren't going away. Reasonable expectation is -- cost of production drops. (Plus you're not roasting the planet).

[@edmundplawsiuk9909]

Funny, the more green electricity they make the more expensive it is..Joke

[@Dr_b_]

CA also has some geothermal. Quack!