The states don't care if you install rooftop solar
... just don't
expect to sell your power generation to the grid without paying for
upkeep to distribute your generation
... which is why states have added
grid fees or other 'disincentives' as many articles on social media claim ...
IF all
homes and all generation was solar, then many would be without
electricity, and the price structure would be reversed, so that
nighttime would have scarce, high-priced power delivered by expensive
and consumable batteries, while daytime on sunny days, power would be
more abundant
... thus the people would depend on burning down all the
trees and vegetation for firewood at night to keep warm or return to
burning coal
... which rather defeats the 'ideal' of saving the planet
with solar
... I suggest people pay their share, do the numbers, understand how electric
generation and distribution occurs and imagine what you would do
without power at night
... in the mean time, a typical solar install at
a home does not produce enough amperage to start an air conditioner
...
and the hotter it gets, the less efficient the solar becomes (same as
the grid),
.... which means on the hottest days, there is going to be a
shortage for starting your AC while running your computer and charging
your electric car, and you will need a reliable grid to provide power
to all, not just you.
So buy your boutique-priced solar rooftop and
enjoy the robust 14-20 amp generation
.... but don't expect other folks to pay for
grid upgrades that support your purchase.
More:
Many folks know that electric wires have an amp rating that limits how many amps (current) can flow down the wire
... including a
typical 37-strand 15/16" diameter bare aluminum-alloy conductor (wire) used for
distributing power to local area with numerous homes and businesses
...
if more amps (electrons) are getting pushed through the matrix or
atomic structure of the conductor, then the loss from heat increases,
driving up grid costs, or tripping substation breaker
.... so either the power company has to install
larger wire, or increase the voltage, so the distribution line can
carry more electrons without power loss.
If the voltage is increased
from 7900 volt to whatever non-standard voltage you think is available,
then the substation transformer must be changed to match the turns
ratio needed to deliver that voltage, the substation circuit breakers
and switchgear changed to match power rating, and each transformer at
each home and each business must also be changed.
Plus the wires raised
higher off the ground since air is the insulator that helps keep high
voltage lines from arcing to earth
... the insulators at each pole would
also need to be changed and wires moved farther apart
... which seems
costly.
If instead the power company installs larger diameter wire to
carry more electrons with the same 7900 volt, then substation
transformers would need to be changed into higher rating with larger
wires for each winding, the substation circuit breakers changed to
match the amps, and the insulators on each pole likewise changed to
meet the higher power
... and wires raised higher off the ground to
prevent arcing to earth
... and wires moved farther apart from each
other.
... again it seems costly
... and this is true whether the grid is
supplying power through the transformer to home, or the home is
supplying power through the transformer to the grid
... the conductors
have a limit to the number of electrons (amps or current) that can pass through a
conductor
... just like a 12 gauge wire inside your home will heat up and trip the 20 amp breaker if too many amps flow on the wire
... it's just rudimentary math that controls how
electricity generation, transmission and distribution works on the AC
side
.... seems logical that when a business model that exists within
that rudimentary math experiences need for change, then that change
will cost money, and if rooftop solar wants to add their generation,
good for them, it's appreciated if they understand how the grid works,
and do their part to help
... which starts with reading memes and
facebooks posts while differentiating between rants sponsored by the
solar industry, and more subtle facts of real world physics ... volts x
amps = watts
... which some might wish to alter but we can't.... not
unless someone can perfect a method of superconductivity for free.
... and I say the above using Hawaii as example where it was determined
that if more than 50% of the homes on a distribution line are
generating solar power during a good solar day, it overclocks the
distribution wire.
And I might add that Hawaii temperatures are not as
high as say Arizon and Texas, nor are the distances or miles needed to distribute power
...plus Hawaii tends to have more wind
...
hotter temps lower the ampacity (the amount of electrons that can flow
on the wire without overheating the wire) of a wire, while cooler
temps, wind and cloud cover increase ampacity so the wire can carry more
electrons.
...
the longer distances of western states requires higher level of
generation ot offset power loss caused by length of wire, costing more
per mile in western states that in Hawaii, to reach remote
sparcely-populated areas
FYI, volts are the force that push electrons through the
conductor matrix, and amps are the number of electrons getting pushed,
with more electrons flowing when electricity is being consumed. Volts
remain relatively unchanged throughout. The more electrons getting
pushed through the matrix of a conductor, the hotter the conductor
becomes
... this is the result of natural resistance of all materials
to the movement of electrons.
Lloyd says, but wait ... amps, are coulombs per second, the RATE of flow of electrical charge, not electrons.
Running
a magnet over top of a coil of wire dislodges negatively-charged
electrons from their orbit around the positively-charged nucleus
... in a process called electromagnetic induction
... the electrons jump from atom to atom traveling one direction down the coil of wire
...
if the magnet is spinning end to end, and the north and south pole
alternately rotate past the coil of wire, it creates alternating
current
... where the electrons move one direction when the N pole
passes the coil, then slow, momentarily stop, and reverse
direction when the south pole passes the coil
... the power company generator has 3 coils of wire located 120° apart
... the magnet passes each coil at a slightly different time
... producing 3 lines of out-of-phase electric power, with 1 wire taken from the end of each coil
... the other 3 ends of each coil are combined into one line called the Neutral that is bonded to the ground rod array
... coulombs is a measure of the magnitude of the current (amps) of negatively-charged electrons oscillating on the wire
...
the charge on energized AC electric wire from the grid is always
different than charge of the earth, thus electricity will seek to
equalize with the charge of earth
... or to any object with unequal charge...