It's definitely a problem with the grid, since too much supply is at least as big a problem as too much. Hopefully we'll get things like molten salt batteries so we can soak up this excess and decarbonise heavy industry.

[–] OpenStars@startrek.website 3 points 7 months ago (3 children)

Why couldn't the solar panels simply be turned off - is that not an easy solution to having too much intake?

[–] Deebster@programming.dev 1 points 7 months ago (2 children)

You're wasting energy then, and you also need to have some controller on each one to communicate with the grid. No country has a smart grid yet.

[–] OpenStars@startrek.website 3 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yeah but you said it was a "problem" - like I dunno, likely the excess energy start a fire or something? - whereas turning them off seems like it would reduce that to the system merely being less efficient than would otherwise be possible.

Anyway, definitely some kind of energy storage battery seems naively to me like it would be the best solution, even if used in conjunction with several forms of energy production (solar, wind, geothermal, maybe biomaterials etc.).

[–] Deebster@programming.dev 2 points 7 months ago

They do shut off ("curtail") renewable energy because it is a problem - excess power can destabilise the grid, causing brownouts and blackouts and also physically damage grid equipment like transformers and transmission lines over time.