All About Demand
March 14th, 2007 at 8:33 pm
Behold, the day of reckoning: Aug. 9, 2007. The sun shall rise, and our grid shall go dark. Perhaps. While many folks figure the dire predictions are just the electric industry angling to build more plants, even conceding their concerns, the main issue is peak usage. The state’s output is widely acknowledged to be just fine, except during those instances when consumption spikes — that August contains the date of doom is no coincidence.
That’s why one thing really stood out at a press conference yesterday announcing Garnet Coleman’s bill to offer rebates to homeowners who install solar panels. Well, two things — it was that rare press briefing where experts outnumbered reporters, since Coleman invited a baker’s dozen. Anyways, check out this graph:
The hotter it gets, the better solar gets. No duh, I know, but it was a point that never registered until someone put it literally in front of my face. So you can add one more benefit to solar, besides pollution-free energy and lower energy bills: each panel does a little to help reduce peak demand and possibly avert more power plants. Now if only an increase in market demand really would drastically reduce the prohibitive price of home installation, as solar energy company reps claim, we’d be in business.
