Solar Power in Texas : Boom soon ?

[loves2read]

I have read several articles about solar power going more main stream and storage IS a big issue
right now the types of storage are expensive and not very translatable to solar power...
having a better battery with longer storage life would be VERY helpful in making solar power more economic/useable energy source
right now it is SO expensive that it is almost cost prohibitive since natural gas prices are down so much

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by loves2read

I have read several articles about solar power going more main stream and storage IS a big issue
right now the types of storage are expensive and not very translatable to solar power...
having a better battery with longer storage life would be VERY helpful in making solar power more economic/useable energy source
right now it is SO expensive that it is almost cost prohibitive since natural gas prices are down so much

I think Electric powered automobiles are going do a lot to drive the research into better batteries. I was reading the other day about a huge incentive reward for the first person to produce a significantly better battery.

I have also read that even when the current automobile batteries need to be replace for peak performance in automobiles, they still have a useful life as storage batteries for solar applications and at a significantly reduced cost. Nice to know all of those automobile batteries will be recycled.

[CptnRn]

Originally Posted by mayhem154

I wasn't implying overnight, while everyone is sleeping. I guess I should have said evening, or those hours between 5-10PM while most people are at home using power. These are peak hours for residential usage. These are the hours you, as a residential customer would need the grid the most.

I'm not sure you are correct on those peak hours. The information I was aware of in the past and what I'm finding currently indicates otherwise.

In Arizona (and I assume Texas is similar) the peak hours are:

May to Oct: 1-8PM
Nov to Apr: 5-9AM and 5-9PM

Consumer Energy Education Group (http://manageenergycosts.com/ManagingCosts.html - broken link)
In contrast, peak-load units (also known as peakers) are power plants that generally run only when there is a high demand, known as peak demand, for electricity. In the U.S., this occurs in the afternoon, especially during the summer months when the air conditioning load is high.

In Seattle where Air Conditioning is less of a drain the energy company identifies Peak Zones as:

Two peak zones are from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Solar would definitely be less beneficial in Seattle which has lots of cloudy days, short days and long winters.


In summary, in many parts of the southern, hotter states, solar could help reduce the peak loads during substantial parts of each day.