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posted by martyb on Sunday June 28 2015, @03:55PM   Printer-friendly
from the but-using-same-old-approach-for-non-humans dept.

The renewable-energy boom is here. Trillions of dollars will be invested over the next 25 years, driving some of the most profound changes yet in how humans get their electricity. That's according to a new forecast by Bloomberg New Energy Finance that plots out global power markets to 2040.

Here are six massive shifts coming soon to power markets near you:

  1. Solar Prices Keep Crashing
  2. Solar Billions Become Solar Trillions
  3. The Revolution Will Be Decentralized
  4. Global Demand Slows
  5. Natural Gas Burns Briefly
  6. The Climate Is Still Screwed

 
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  • (Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2015, @04:58PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2015, @04:58PM (#202455)

    just want to start by saying that electricity is a good thing. more of it is not a bad thing.
    how it is generated however is a issue.
    -
    i got some grid-tied solar, licensed and unlicensed.
    it is still a pain in the butt to get a licensed solar-generator up and running.

    i really do NOT understand that you can go to home depot, home pro or whatnot a see isles and rows of fridges, water-heaters, fans and whatnot from every imaginable manufacturer on the planet to chose from but if wanting to connect a PV-generator then sheets and sheets of paper are required to proof that it is "national grid conform".

    imagine if every grid connected device, like your microwave or dust-sucker needed a individual certification before it could be used.

    i'm pretty sure the scientific and technology workings of a power-grid are well understood and that pv-generators shouldn't be "made difficult" to use then say a grid-connected tooth-brush.

    why can a grid connected PV-generator not be the same as a grid-connected fridge or grid-connected TV or grid-connected popcorn-maker?
    how can a "green" government implement a feed-in-tarif and at the same time not create a central country wide "certification" buero for grid-tie inverter? they do it for every other freaking grid-tie appliance!!!

    so before off-loading your mega-ton container ship with PV-generators head-over to the buero, let them run it thru their "certification" process and then you're free to sell it to anyone anywhere. Isn't this how they do it with every other grid-tied appliance?

    but this last hurdle comprised of a stigma that PV-generators generate (duh!) electricity and are thus not the same as devices using electricity seems to be the last firewall before solar can be exploited by anyone: alternating current go figure.

    the planet is climate-changing but daily sunshine isn't the answer because our legacy grid cannot handle it ... so too bad .. go away. :P

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  • (Score: 5, Touché) by M. Baranczak on Sunday June 28 2015, @05:08PM

    by M. Baranczak (1673) on Sunday June 28 2015, @05:08PM (#202459)
    Are you trying to save energy by not using your SHIFT key? I don't think it works like that.
    • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2015, @05:17PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2015, @05:17PM (#202462)

      i'll send you a email next time i comment SHIFT-less so you can gather some more mod points.

      • (Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Sunday June 28 2015, @05:50PM

        by M. Baranczak (1673) on Sunday June 28 2015, @05:50PM (#202468)
        No, just send a postcard. I'm old-school.
        • (Score: 2) by JNCF on Sunday June 28 2015, @08:38PM

          by JNCF (4317) on Sunday June 28 2015, @08:38PM (#202495) Journal

          ...and then M. Baranczak got a postcard from the ghost of E. E. Cummings.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 29 2015, @08:46AM

            by Anonymous Coward on Monday June 29 2015, @08:46AM (#202698)

            "Oh no! It's e e cummings man!"

            "Evildoers!
            Faaaa
                          a
                            a
                              a
                                a
                                  a
                                    all beneath my might!"

            Free beer to anyone who can identify that reference.

            (Posted anonymously so I don't have to buy anyone any actual beer)

  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by pogostix on Sunday June 28 2015, @10:39PM

    by pogostix (1696) on Sunday June 28 2015, @10:39PM (#202519)

    There's safety issues when you are putting power into the grid that don't exist when you are just drawing from it. And it will get easier in time.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2015, @10:44PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday June 28 2015, @10:44PM (#202521)

      Sounds like we need a certified device that sits between the grid and the electrical panel so that whatever generators are on the house-side of the circuit are isolated from the grid when the utility power is disabled for things like guys working on the lines. Probably also needs some sort of shunt to dump that power to ground(?) in those situations so that the generators don't have to be very smart about it either.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Sunday June 28 2015, @11:36PM

      by sjames (2882) on Sunday June 28 2015, @11:36PM (#202536) Journal

      Yes, and any device that can be approved will not feed power if the grid goes down. That would be one of the criteria for certifying devices. There's no reason to make that happen individually. Surely, that approval could be applied to all units in a model so you just need to write the approval number onto a single sheet of paper and you're done.

      I note they don't have such a problem with gas powered generators even though the occasional idiot does end up back-feeding the grid while people are working on the lines.

    • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Monday June 29 2015, @01:13PM

      by LoRdTAW (3755) on Monday June 29 2015, @01:13PM (#202767) Journal

      You don't need safety approval for a hot water heater, fridge, microwave, computer or desk lamp. The manufactures already ensured this. The same standards can and are easily applied to the grid tied solar systems. As long as they certify that their system will operate safely and properly in accordance with government and possibly even utility guidelines then you should be free to install as big or small a PV system as you like. From there it should be as simple as calling a contractor or electrician. If you want rebates then paperwork would be involved which makes sense.

      • (Score: 2) by pogostix on Monday June 29 2015, @04:04PM

        by pogostix (1696) on Monday June 29 2015, @04:04PM (#202861)

        Yes, and I think it will get easier in the future... it's just not "easy" now. I wouldn't be surprised if a solar tie in point became a code requirement for new installations in the future.