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Dr Thomas Grant

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Posted By Thomas Grant 03-28-2023 08:59 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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David Appreciate your analysis. I see we both agree that EVs will add an additional TWh load on the grid. That is just the start of additional load on the grid; however, which will ultimately include electric rail system, heat pumps, industrial needs etc. Can we upgrade the grid to an all electric ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-28-2023 02:46 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Keith Yes, I was using the word "Sustainability" to refer to profits, to make the point that the grid and the utilities are necessary players in the plan to eliminate GHG emissions. "Profits" for any organization, are like air to us. Without them you die. I worked for a not-for-profit research organization ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-27-2023 11:00 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Steven Thanks for your reply. I hope you are right but I think it is going to be hard. Where I am coming from is my concern for global warming and the need to reduce our carbon emissions. That is my priority and I dont care if we do it with solar power or burning bat guano, or with the grid or munies ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-26-2023 03:49 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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The goal of net carbon zero by 2050 is quite ambitious and we will need all the tools in our toolbox. I believe the most important tool in our toolbox is the electric grid. In 2022, over 40% of electricity produced in the US was from renewable or carbon free sources (nuclear). Of that amount, over ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 01-23-2023 09:49 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Who manufacturers a solar panel is a complex question, and anything I say can be corrected by someone else, but here goes. The list of American solar manufacturers was first published in 2020 by Forbes magazine (it was incorrect then and is incorrect now, or perhaps some would say misleading). There ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 01-14-2023 11:38 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Mr Fitch, I admire your detailed knowledge of solar components and systems, but sometimes you get on a thread that I just cannot follow the logic. This "currency" thread happens to be one of them. Currency is just a means for purchasing goods and services, and providing an accounting system. Every country ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 12-30-2022 08:45 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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I attended a lecture by Jonathan Payne a year or so ago. Dr Payne is a well known professor at Stanford whose research emphasis is extinction. He has published extensively on the 6th Extinction or Anthropocene Extinction. When asked what is the major cause today of species decline/endangerment, he responded ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 12-20-2022 09:38 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Surprised by the vociferous reaction to the fusion announcement. I dont see solar and fusion competing with each other. Solar is here and now, while fusion is decades away from commercialization. Can fusion compete with renewables in the future? - maybe, although they have some serious barriers to overcome. ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 05-10-2022 04:43 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Michael. The fact is that this has not been settled. I am very glad you referenced that NREL study. I am a great fan of NREL. They do good work and I encourage anyone to read the study included in Michael's link. The study does not conclude what the VOS (value of solar) is but lays out various methodologies ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 05-08-2022 03:07 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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It is good to see this discussion on net metering. Typically when you have something to sell, you and the buyer come to terms about the price. In regards to net metering, nothing of the sort has happened. There has been no dialogue, no understanding of the others point of view or economics. I believe ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 05-01-2022 07:17 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Steve Thank you for your reply. My original post had two points: 1. We need the utilities and the grid to meet our net zero carbon emission goal by 2050, and 2. A 1 for 1 net metering requirement is non-sustainable in the long run. Your reply had some points that made me think. The first point you ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 04-28-2022 11:02 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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What is a "fair" price for electricity imported back to the Utility? That is a good question and I would love to see the utilities and the renewable energy community sit down and work this out. I have no hope of this happening soon as both sides are entrenched in their own self interest. Some observations ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-24-2022 02:22 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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I am a little surprised by parts of this thread that want to dismiss cost as a decision factor. Companies, utilities, consumers, and you and I will always weigh costs when making any decision. We dont always take the cheapest alternative, but the added expense has to be outweighed by other benefits to ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-22-2022 06:17 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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South orientation will produce the most energy but West can be more profitable depending on the Time-of-Day rates of the utility. A West orientation delays the peak production time by several hours compared to a South orientation. If the electric usage is higher in the late afternoon/early evening when ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 04-29-2021 03:05 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Andrew, thanks for your reply. I read your link about the concept of Virtual Power Plants. Interesting and I agree it could be a factor in the future of behind-the-meter residential battery storage, but many of the Virtual Power Plant applications, such as the Utility accessing the energy storage of ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 04-24-2021 12:40 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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There are many analyses published about battery storage for residential PV systems. The overwhelming consensus is that if you are doing it for backup when the grid goes down - OK. If you are doing it to maximize your system's impact on the environment - OK. If you are doing it as a financial investment ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-27-2021 08:49 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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William Fitch. Not knowing what EV Gordon had, I used the Tesla S in my analysis because that is the most popular EV. Every vehicle and state situation is different, and each of us can calculate what would the highway tax be for a IC car of equivalent size to their EV. You are correct in that governments ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 03-27-2021 09:50 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Gordon, your post ignited my penchant for analysis. Is your $250 fee more than a "gas guzzling" SUV? In Alabama the Federal Highway tax is $0.184 per gallon and the State tax is $0.26 resulting in a total of $0.444 per gallon tax a regular motorist would pay. According to the US Dept of Transportation ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 02-26-2021 11:59 AM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Regarding the value of a used solar system, I do not think the original cost of the system has any merit because the cost of solar systems have decreased so much. Plus the original cost was subsidized. Unlike cars there is no viable market for for used solar systems to get sale data. (Is there a market ...
Posted By Thomas Grant 02-25-2021 02:00 PM
Found In Egroup: Everything Solar Forum
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Dara, I am not disputing that a solar system on a house for sale has a value, just that it is not necessarily easy to calculate that value. I will take issue to your statement of "free electricity". The electricity is not "free" if you paid a premium on the house sale price because of the solar system. ...