Yes and even worse... *community* solar is a thing.
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@susankayequinn This is happening in areas of Africa which have no public utilities.
@jackcole Yes! I'm so glad for the continent with all the solar that's surging into Africa right now. It's exactly the "skip the fossil fuels, go straight to renewables" strategy for developing nations that I'd hoped for. And the stories I've seen are showing it's not just insulating them from predatory fossil fuel companies and providing electrification/quality of life but also a bulwark against the ravages of climate change.
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Yes and even worse... *community* solar is a thing. Microgrids would allow communities to site solar where it's most effective, spread the cost, share the benefits. Add a few batteries and suddenly your community is not only more self-sufficient, they're sharing resources.
Corpos would never.
@susankayequinn Think of the rent seeking middlemen though /sarcasm
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Yes and even worse... *community* solar is a thing. Microgrids would allow communities to site solar where it's most effective, spread the cost, share the benefits. Add a few batteries and suddenly your community is not only more self-sufficient, they're sharing resources.
Corpos would never.
@susankayequinn I dream of severing ties to the power company. Last year we replaced our gas stove with induction. we’ve been looking at replacing the HVAC and water heater with electric. Then we just need a few more panels and batteries.
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@jackcole Yes! I'm so glad for the continent with all the solar that's surging into Africa right now. It's exactly the "skip the fossil fuels, go straight to renewables" strategy for developing nations that I'd hoped for. And the stories I've seen are showing it's not just insulating them from predatory fossil fuel companies and providing electrification/quality of life but also a bulwark against the ravages of climate change.
@susankayequinn It's bringing a huge quality of life improvement at low cost and low level of difficulty. Electricity night life, for refrigeration, for water pumps, for internet. A huge leap. The fossil fuel world is on its deathbed.
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Yes and even worse... *community* solar is a thing. Microgrids would allow communities to site solar where it's most effective, spread the cost, share the benefits. Add a few batteries and suddenly your community is not only more self-sufficient, they're sharing resources.
Corpos would never.
@susankayequinn the same goes in a long way for electric vs hydrogen vehicles. For an EV, you’re not dependent on large corporations selling you power, a normal outlet can be enough (yes, on long distances fast charging is nice, but otherwise overnight (slow) charging is fine). Hydrogen has to be bought at a fuel station. That’s why large corporations have tried to push H2 for transport (even though you need 3x the amount of energy and an H2 vehicle is electric with a tank)
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@susankayequinn Think of the rent seeking middlemen though /sarcasm
@Lightfighter which is why you make it actually community owned
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@susankayequinn I dream of severing ties to the power company. Last year we replaced our gas stove with induction. we’ve been looking at replacing the HVAC and water heater with electric. Then we just need a few more panels and batteries.
@sigsegv I (gently) push back on the rugged individualism of wanting to "go it alone" — the grid has a purpose, it needs to be supported, it's good to have in emergencies and in the transition, even for those who are making more power than they use (because time variability). The utility companies need to be collectively owned/managed but I worry that a lot of our first impulses are "I'll survive on my own" when what we need to do is build strong COMMUNITIES.
https://susankayequinn.com/2025/04/how-to-prepare-not-prep-for-uncertain-times-and-build-a-better-world-in-the-process.html -
@sigsegv I (gently) push back on the rugged individualism of wanting to "go it alone" — the grid has a purpose, it needs to be supported, it's good to have in emergencies and in the transition, even for those who are making more power than they use (because time variability). The utility companies need to be collectively owned/managed but I worry that a lot of our first impulses are "I'll survive on my own" when what we need to do is build strong COMMUNITIES.
https://susankayequinn.com/2025/04/how-to-prepare-not-prep-for-uncertain-times-and-build-a-better-world-in-the-process.html@susankayequinn That is fair. I’m more interested in turning off my gas supply than I am in turning off my connection to the grid. But the grid is frustrating. I live in SoCal and we’ve had multiple wildfires that have been caused by downed power lines. Reducing the scope of the grid to something more localized would help. Newer strategies of proactive power outages have been employed to avoid fires, but without batteries, all I can get out of my solar array when that happens is a miserly 110v 20A socket in my garage. I appreciate the reasons of not wanting to electrify lines because I happen to be generating in such a situation. I would still like to use the power I’m generating within the confines of my home though.
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@susankayequinn That is fair. I’m more interested in turning off my gas supply than I am in turning off my connection to the grid. But the grid is frustrating. I live in SoCal and we’ve had multiple wildfires that have been caused by downed power lines. Reducing the scope of the grid to something more localized would help. Newer strategies of proactive power outages have been employed to avoid fires, but without batteries, all I can get out of my solar array when that happens is a miserly 110v 20A socket in my garage. I appreciate the reasons of not wanting to electrify lines because I happen to be generating in such a situation. I would still like to use the power I’m generating within the confines of my home though.
@sigsegv I personally think every utility should be mandated to provide batteries to every homeowner. It would improve grid reliability and enable solar users (like yourself) to do exactly what you want — keep power in an outage. I think Vermont had some kind of program like that. And I do think California has incentives for batteries, but they're still expensive.
Turning off the gas supply in California especially (where you don't get the harsh winters) is
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@sigsegv I personally think every utility should be mandated to provide batteries to every homeowner. It would improve grid reliability and enable solar users (like yourself) to do exactly what you want — keep power in an outage. I think Vermont had some kind of program like that. And I do think California has incentives for batteries, but they're still expensive.
Turning off the gas supply in California especially (where you don't get the harsh winters) is
@susankayequinn as long as the utilities are for profit entities, I can’t see battery mandates working. As public owned services though, I could see it becoming a requirement. There are some subsidies available to purchase portable battery units that could allow a few things to be plugged in, or for a generator, but that’s a far cry from what we really need. Utilities, just like medical and prisons, should not have a profit motive.
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@susankayequinn as long as the utilities are for profit entities, I can’t see battery mandates working. As public owned services though, I could see it becoming a requirement. There are some subsidies available to purchase portable battery units that could allow a few things to be plugged in, or for a generator, but that’s a far cry from what we really need. Utilities, just like medical and prisons, should not have a profit motive.
@sigsegv I thought for sure CA had better incentives than that (a "generator" is just a battery with panels plugged in, right?). This is what I recall seeing before — 13.5 kW is the size of my house battery (not a "generator") plugged into my solar.
https://solartechonline.com/blog/california-solar-incentives-2025-guide/
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@sigsegv I thought for sure CA had better incentives than that (a "generator" is just a battery with panels plugged in, right?). This is what I recall seeing before — 13.5 kW is the size of my house battery (not a "generator") plugged into my solar.
https://solartechonline.com/blog/california-solar-incentives-2025-guide/
@susankayequinn this was a small gas generator or a small battery rebate through the power company. I haven’t looked at the battery rebates recently. I’d like the tech to improve a bit more before I take the leap. We are grandfathered on NEM1 so we get essentially an even trade on what we send to the grid. That’s good for another 8 years or so. In my immediate area we’ve had limited outages so for now the grid is my battery. So far not getting the battery has worked out for us, but it could change. There was some legislation proposed to remove our NEM1 status ahead of the 20yr lifespan from time of install back in 2014. Hope that doesn’t go anywhere, but if it does, I would be looking more closely at battery tech.
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Yes and even worse... *community* solar is a thing. Microgrids would allow communities to site solar where it's most effective, spread the cost, share the benefits. Add a few batteries and suddenly your community is not only more self-sufficient, they're sharing resources.
Corpos would never.
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Yes and even worse... *community* solar is a thing. Microgrids would allow communities to site solar where it's most effective, spread the cost, share the benefits. Add a few batteries and suddenly your community is not only more self-sufficient, they're sharing resources.
Corpos would never.
@susankayequinn There are some kinds of weird rules as well that stop small solar projects selling their electricity to others. I read about a school that wanted to sell the electricity their solar panels produce during the summer holidays, when the school is closed, so power needs are minimal. They wanted to sell the excess to the local community, but they're not allowed to.
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@chewie this is impressive but I wish we could get people to understand that "biogas" and "biomass heat" are not sustainable practices (and likely produce a lot of pollution).
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@susankayequinn There are some kinds of weird rules as well that stop small solar projects selling their electricity to others. I read about a school that wanted to sell the electricity their solar panels produce during the summer holidays, when the school is closed, so power needs are minimal. They wanted to sell the excess to the local community, but they're not allowed to.
@beecycling this is entirely the utilities lobbying to keep people from creating microgrids... and to make solar as unprofitable as possible. The good news is those are laws/regulations that can CHANGE and the citizens of those communities should absolutely demand that their local and state reps change the laws so that they benefit the people not the utility.
(My local food bank community farm has put up solar and wants to sell the excess to the grid...fortunately, they can)
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@chewie this is impressive but I wish we could get people to understand that "biogas" and "biomass heat" are not sustainable practices (and likely produce a lot of pollution).
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