Freedom4um

Status: Not Logged In; Sign In

Science/Tech
See other Science/Tech Articles

Title: Musk Pushes Utility Industry One Step Closer to Doomsday
Source: [None]
URL Source: http://www.newsmax.com/Finance/Stre ... 05062015&s=al&dkt_nbr=vdleyfii
Published: May 6, 2015
Author: Patrick Watson
Post Date: 2015-05-06 17:35:49 by BTP Holdings
Keywords: None
Views: 56
Comments: 10

Musk Pushes Utility Industry One Step Closer to Doomsday

Wednesday, 06 May 2015 07:00 AM

By Patrick Watson

No one likes utility companies. Most are monopolies and it shows in their customer service.

You pay a lot and you get whatever they feel like giving you.

I wrote back in February (see Clock Ticking Down for Electric Utilities) that serial entrepreneur Elon Musk had a plan to change all this.

Last week, he unveiled the last missing link.

In theory, solar energy is an ideal way to provide electricity for homes and businesses.

Prices for rooftop panels dropped sharply the last few years. Amortized over a decade or two, the price is considerably lower than what your regulated utility delivers over the grid.

Solar cells last a long time. Unlike wind, hydro, gas, coal, or nuclear, they don’t have any moving parts. There are no spinning turbine. They absorb sunlight and produce electricity.

The one drawback to solar is storage. You still need to power your home at night or on cloudy days. People with rooftop solar arrays usually stay connected to the grid. This complicates the systems. Many utilities impose extra fees to hook up this way, too.

Elon Musk just changed this. On April 30, he unveiled the Tesla Powerwall, a giant battery that can store enough juice to keep your home running all night.

With this device, it will be practical to disconnect homes from the grid completely. You can kiss your electric company good-bye. To use the current buzzword, they were just “disrupted.”

The Powerwall isn’t cheap. The home-size model will cost $3,500 at launch later this year. People in Hawaii, California and Arizona will probably be the first buyers. Musk expects big demand in Germany, too, since a high percentage of homes use solar there.

The potential market is really the whole planet, though. Solar isn’t quite as practical in far northern latitudes where winter days are short, but might still outperform the alternatives.

Imagine if you are in a remote area. Compare the cost of installing one or two Tesla Powerwalls with the cost of hauling in generator fuel or running utility wires for miles.

Solar will usually win.

I’m portraying all this as good news – and it will be good for many homeowners. For the electric utilities who currently serve those homes, the news isn’t so good. They are going to lose customers, lose revenue, and lose their comfortable monopolies. Some will not survive.

Notice, also, that I haven’t said anything about solar energy being environmentally friendlier. It certainly is “greener,” but solar now has a purely economic advantage. You don’t need government subsidies to make it cost effective. If solar energy saves us from global warming, great, but that’s a side benefit.

This is how free markets should work. Sadly for the utilities, the market now has a better solution than theirs. People will buy it because it makes sense.

Thanks, Mr. Musk.

Read Latest Breaking News from http://Newsmax.com www.newsmax.com/Finance/P.../id/642812/#ixzz3ZOePr5qj

Post Comment   Private Reply   Ignore Thread  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest

#1. To: BTP Holdings (#0)

Wonderful news, thanks!

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2015-05-06   18:17:36 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#2. To: BTP Holdings, Lod (#0) (Edited)

I'm not an engineering wizard by any means, but it seems like replacing the asphalt shingles on the roof of my National Homes house (1265sq ft, thank you very much) with photovoltaic and hot water exchanger could be done at a reasonable price. I am going to look into it.

corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus

Dakmar  posted on  2015-05-06   18:44:29 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#3. To: Dakmar (#2)

Great idea and keep us posted; the technology and gear is out there.

Move to Waco, live larger.

“The most dangerous man to any government is the man who is able to think things out... without regard to the prevailing superstitions and taboos. Almost inevitably he comes to the conclusion that the government he lives under is dishonest, insane, intolerable.” ~ H. L. Mencken

Lod  posted on  2015-05-06   18:56:43 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#4. To: Lod (#3)

I've temporarily abandoned idea of moving to Tulsa, the Mexicans are running the shines out of here, property values are on their way slowly up. The guy that ran a cycle repair shop two houses down is gone, too. All day, every day, V-twins, vbmnvbvbv,vnbvovbvVbv. No big loss and in fact one of the factors that made me hate this neighborhood this time last year.

corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus

Dakmar  posted on  2015-05-06   19:03:35 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#5. To: BTP Holdings (#0)

Solar isn’t quite as practical in far northern latitudes where winter days are short, but might still outperform the alternatives.

Fridge and deep freeze food storage currently uses a good deal of electricity. In northern latitudes power consumption can be reduced by building a well-insulated, underground ice cellar as was done by pioneers a century ago.

Tatarewicz  posted on  2015-05-07   0:01:56 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#6. To: Dakmar (#2)

I'm not an engineering wizard by any means, but it seems like replacing the asphalt shingles on the roof of my National Homes house (1265sq ft, thank you very much) with photovoltaic and hot water exchanger could be done at a reasonable price. I am going to look into it.

I've looked into it and my current understanding is that the typical set of solar panels that would fit onto a typical roof does not generate enough electricity to heat water and otherwise provide for all of the electricity required by the average American family.

The one drawback to solar is storage. You still need to power your home at night or on cloudy days. People with rooftop solar arrays usually stay connected to the grid. This complicates the systems. Many utilities impose extra fees to hook up this way, too.

Propane is one good solution to that, at least one can power-up without being connected to the grid. I suppose heating oil can be used too, but not sure that's less expensive. Propane fills are easy and clean.

I'd love to stay current on this. Perhaps a solar energy group or something. I'm hoping to build my own home within the next few years, if I do, solar will definitely be something that I'm highly interested in. Seems like residential lags commercial in that arena right now though. Hopefully that will change in the next few years.

Katniss  posted on  2015-05-07   0:23:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#7. To: Dakmar (#2)

http://home.howstuffworks.com/green-living/question418.htm

Katniss  posted on  2015-05-07   0:26:41 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#8. To: Dakmar (#2)

Eh... photovoltaic shingles?

What happens when a kid's stray baseball hits a solar array? They look pretty vulnerable in Katniss' picture.

NeoconsNailed  posted on  2015-05-07   1:43:53 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#9. To: NeoconsNailed, Katniss (#8)

What happens when a kid's stray baseball hits a solar array?

Just daydreaming when I posted...

corruptissima re publica plurimae leges - Tacitus

Dakmar  posted on  2015-05-08   18:33:14 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


#10. To: NeoconsNailed (#8)

What happens when a kid's stray baseball hits a solar array? They look pretty vulnerable in Katniss' picture.

Nah, those things are solid. I used to think so too, but they're made of seriously tough "glass." Probably more likely some kind of polymer.

Katniss  posted on  2015-05-09   1:20:29 ET  Reply   Trace   Private Reply  


TopPage UpFull ThreadPage DownBottom/Latest