General > General Technical Chat
This doesn't make sense - NYT article about a solar installation in the US
(1/12) > >>
ckambiselis:
Here's an article from the NYT that makes me wonder if the correct writer was chosen to write it. (The link is a bit long because I used the button that gives you access to the full story with having to pay)
 Old Power Gear Is Slowing Use of Clean Energy and Electric Cars https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/28/business/energy-environment/electric-grid-overload-solar-ev.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqohlSFUZCybfQMMmqBCdnr_CxrEmiW67IS6LSCxFyeEYBZTH9kPAbrZ5ZtB20C6aSJpGLrI1QPt7wqpEOEhkUUylvN2EhJEBaW0TmL6EY1kXjdjLTKxqtnjjdHW4I-Nyg-fh5RzZa2DhRKXZ2XM-IF1goo82dQqoxXJekquWQOR339J1j-wzRcwvHUd2byGItvTjDh9-PczXLU2Pr1lrBJwKHG3bjtWe6LofcAxNClKgTX534Ww06t00K8pAde-kbEZmIJyi9O1XXm94L46pB4kyR5zXlNhotL3Oqx-Nwamm1gOP1yYDNTuTwh7SXho8g_I
Ed.Kloonk:
Whilst I heard about this story elsewhere, the article don't tell us more than what we already know. I'm wondering if it was simply a non-story and the paper has sexed it up with keywords to attract google juice and eyeballs.
richard.cs:
This is a well understood problem isn't it? The electricity network impedance is on the high side, and the transformers are set near the max voltage so that the minimum voltage can be maintained at the end of the line without generation. Then when you have generation and the voltage slopes the other way the inverters trip on overvoltage. Sometimes you can put the transformers on a lower tap, sometimes you have to add more copper to get the impedance down.

How much it costs to fix depends exactly which part of the network needs adjusting. It's probably worse in the US style system of many small transformers. Do those even have selectable taps or does it have to be fixed at MV?
bdunham7:

--- Quote from: richard.cs on October 29, 2021, 04:32:21 pm ---How much it costs to fix depends exactly which part of the network needs adjusting. It's probably worse in the US style system of many small transformers. Do those even have selectable taps or does it have to be fixed at MV?

--- End quote ---

No, they typically don't have and don't need taps.  Actually the small local transformers work very well where they are used, which is in the vast majority of rural and suburban areas in the US.  Problems such as are reported here are the result of very advanced decrepitude in the main distribution system, along with poor understanding and planning when installing the systems that they are talking about.  The people with the solar system that they can't hook up should have thought about batteries and the guy whose Tesla melted his panel (or whatever) should sue his electrician. 
Siwastaja:
There are two solutions;

Fix the grid,

Or accept broken grid and add local energy storage, creating your own island of better "grid". The original grid then becomes just one unreliable source of energy that can be consumed when it's available and needed. Also push back some charge into that grid when that is possible, at power level which works.

Living with crappy infrastructure sucks but really, what can you do. Complain to politicians; or build a proper system for you; possibly shared with neighbors if they are sensible people.

I'm lucky to have decent grid available but if it wasn't so, I would see no other option than to build by own island consisting of solar, possibly wind, battery storage, thermal storage and diesel generator (with waste heat recovery). Then if there was some joke of a grid, I could consider adding it to my mix, depending on the monthly/yearly fee.
Navigation
Message Index
Next page
There was an error while thanking
Thanking...

Go to full version
Powered by SMFPacks Advanced Attachments Uploader Mod