Sick of expensive gasoline and overpriced gasoline cars? Not only are EVs getting cheaper than gas cars (and still have years of economy-of-scale price reductions ahead), but paired with renewables, their fuel source is getting ever cheaper, too.
This is how the fossil fuel industry will die. The alternatives will just keep getting cheaper and cheaper. In a few years' time, it will be obvious to everyone that only spendthrift fools will be choosing gasoline-powered cars.
South Australia is a glimpse of the rest of the world's future. As it nears 100% renewable energy, electricity prices are plunging, down 30% in one year. Over 50% of homes have rooftop solar, and many use little or no grid electricity.
byu/lughnasadh inFuturology
22 Comments
Nah. Australia has all sorts of room to grow and no close political threats to its security. They could become the Switzerland of their hemisphere and most people would be ok with that.
They should be able to build a nice lifestyle for everyone out there. Too bad they take after the US and South Africa
So the lobbyists will go into overdrive to prevent solar from entering the regional markets. This is the nightmare scenario for oil. They will pay any price to prevent it.
… And this is PRECISELY why the fossil fuel industry funds lobbying groups here in the US and other parts of the world to prevent this ….
The biggest wrong assumption everyone makes is the US governments policies are aligned with the economic benefits for its working class citizens , they are not, maintaining a strong oil energy industry and a strong petrodollar reserve currency is what’s most important… For the elites
Yeah but do they have publicly owned utilities that somehow also have shareholders so the government is on the hook to ensue the share holders keep making profits so the government allows yearly rate hikes to fight the loss of revenue due to solar panel installs?
No? Damn, must be nice.
Tesla implemented [one of the world’s largest power grid battery storage systems a few years ago in Victoria](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/08/australia-switches-on-victoria-big-battery-powered-by-tesla-megapacks.html) to load balance renewable electricity sources.
I think it’s time for the next American president to create a trade deal with China that’s pretty much “we’ll buy as many solar panels and batteries as you can make.” The big problem with solar in America is that getting a whole home system installed is prohibitively expensive. The tax credits are gone and yeah they can finance it out to where it’s the same price as a power bill but still, it’s tough if you can’t qualify for that financing. But if you could get a whole home system for $5,000 that would be a game changer.
Cool, cool. Now how do I make rooftop solar work beyond the polar circle?
We still have a long wsy to go though, with quite some hickups along the way. In The Netherlands, electrification is only starting, but we’re already experiencing net congestion, meaning no new electricity users can be hooked up to the net in large parts of the country. Meanwhile, customers are urged to switch from gas to electricity, to EVs and more.
It will take decades before we’re entirely electrified (and green) as a country.
I have solar and haven’t paid for power for 20 years. The upfront cost is steep but you do get it back over time
Power is $0.08 per kwh where I live. No amount of solar and batteries will save money or have any return on investment. If I installed solar today, it would be worn out or outdated way before any financial benefits.
My power is also 100% from renewable hydro. So no case about saving the environment from coal or gas power.
Now, you can call it an investment. Pay a ton of money now and no power bills going forward. But I don’t have $30,000 cash so it would be a loan with payments and interest. Didn’t drop my monthly power bill for a loan with interest bill.
What about government subsidy? Now I’m converting my power bill to higher taxes. No thanks.
So is Australia going to be uninhabitable because of global warming or turning into a paradise mixing the best of West and East together with a fantastic geography?
China is by far the world leader in anything solar.
wait, you don’t have to compete with data centers for power?
And Alberta is still stuck in the stone age. Fuck the UCP government.
The problem with solar is by the time you pay off the solar panels and equipment (20-30 years) its time to replace the panels. The cost isnt worth the savings
So, a country with a total population smaller than a city like Tokyo, but spread out over an entire continent, has enough renewable energy for everyone there?
Am I supposed to act surprised or impressed? Why? Australia is 3 million square miles of mostly empty wasteland and a tiny population. That’s the best case scenario for renewable power.
Unfortunately not in red America. My dumbass state is trying to ban solar…
In current US administration climate those cultish true believers are just too brain dead and short sighted for this to happen. Remind me in 3 years
# “Over 50% of homes have rooftop solar, and many use little or no grid electricity.”
this is the Key to Solar for Homes and that they MUST have Battery Storage Systems to get Off Grid and thus INDEPENDENCE from the Electric Companies !!
Anyone stuck to the Grid WILL BE controlled by the GRID PRICES regardless of how much Solar they collect !!
South, use the actual word. Great place for subsidiary power. Not the rest of the planet. Are those even accurate?
I feel like the for profit structure in the U.S. prices would just continue to climb even if demand dropped off because corporate profits and greed…and little to no regulation in some regions to allow them to completely screw over customers.
Good. Post scarcity energy is the future, glad to see Australia is embracing it even with the mineral oligarchs resisting every step toward renewable energy.