I wrote an article about 3 years ago when I bought my first electric car which used 10kWh per day. While my solar install reduced my energy purchase by about 25kWh per day on average, I was still a net loss in energy for my utility (a regulated monopoly). Things have now changed. I have now transitioned to a full electric car which will use about 30kWh per day with my normal commute. I may be an outlier, but not much considering I am owner #101,111, but my solar is now completely neglected by my additional energy consumption. So here is my tip to utility execs (that may or may not have the ability to look ahead by more than a quarter), forget solar. It’s a minor blip in your growth in electric vehicles. Invest in the infrastructure that increases the amount of energy used in transportation so that you can compete with BP, Chevron, Exxon, et al for the first time in history.
- New York Times: Enemies of the Sun
- CNBC: Utilities’ newest solar battleground – California
- EDF: A Stealth Tool to Modernize the Electric Grid
- NRDC: Cuomo Tells Students and The World – New York Must Lead On Clean Energy
- PV-Magazine: Renewables could meet 22% of Africa’s energy needs by 2030, PV capacity to reach 55 GW
- Bloomberg: Merkel Pledges 1 Billion Euros to Fund Indian Solar Projects
- Utility Dive: Austin Energy approved for 300 MW utility solar buy under 4¢/kWh
- Huffington Post: How the Solar Decathlon Provides an Innovative Education
Opinions
Have a great day!
Yann