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As Congress gears as much as contemplate a tax package deal that may deal with credit for photo voltaic and storage, there are not any scarcity of speaking factors concerning the business that lack context and are sometimes deceptive.
Let’s set the report straight on photo voltaic and share the reality concerning the position photo voltaic performs in our vitality methods:
Delusion #1: Photo voltaic is unreliable
Photo voltaic is without doubt one of the most predictable vitality sources on our grid. It experiences fewer unexpected outages than other era sources, particularly in excessive climate circumstances. Throughout scorching summer time months, photo voltaic scales to energy air con when it’s wanted most. Whereas many era sources require common, well timed supply of fuels throughout hundreds of miles, photo voltaic era predictably ramps up rapidly in the course of the day with out the necessity for off-site gasoline. This supplies grid operators with assurances that photo voltaic can be accessible in the course of the day, whereas batteries might be dispatched to fulfill peak calls for within the early evenings. For these causes, photo voltaic is a wonderful low-cost complement to assets that run with variable gasoline prices or expertise provide interruptions. For owners, photo voltaic and storage methods present vitality freedom and insulation from grid-level blackouts.
Delusion #2: Photo voltaic makes vitality dearer
Photo voltaic vitality has decreased family vitality prices for many years, as confirmed by President Trump’s Division of Vitality, which found that the costs of new solar installations had been slashed by 80%. A number of recent studies, and even utility CEOs, have said that if energy credits are repealed, your electricity bills will go up the very subsequent day. Photo voltaic additionally enjoys zero marginal gasoline prices—as a result of sunshine is and all the time can be free. As households face greater payments for necessities each day, protecting photo voltaic reasonably priced will assist prospects and companies make ends meet.
Delusion #3: Photo voltaic hurts the grid
Photo voltaic is a key resiliency asset for grid operators. Essentially the most reasonably priced and dependable grids have a mixture of completely different vitality sources that present flexibility and redundancy. Photo voltaic additionally supplies ancillary providers like voltage and frequency management and might be flexibly deployed as a part of microgrids and digital energy crops. These belongings have been very important when America’s grids have been threatened. When low temperatures have frozen infrastructure or storms have interrupted gasoline provides, it is solar and storage that has shined as a resilient option in the most challenging conditions.
Delusion #4: Photo voltaic takes up an excessive amount of land
Photo voltaic and storage might be put in near the place electrical energy is used—on rooftops and close to massive demand facilities—lowering the necessity for different infrastructure. This geographic variety is a function, not a bug, offering further resilience to the grid when environmental components shut off assets in sure areas.
Delusion #5: Photo voltaic is made abroad
At present, the U.S. makes enough solar panels to supply 100% of domestic demanda six-fold improve from only a few years in the past. And the components of these panels as well as batteries are increasingly made herein factories stretching from the Carolinas to California, offering hundreds of Individuals with good-paying jobs.
Initially revealed on the SEIA blog.
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