We have not been particularly smart about the way we democratized electricity. The mass emergence of home air conditioners strained our grids, requiring more power generators and cable networks. All electricity consumers share the increased maintenance cost. Thus, those without air-conditioning subsidize those who have it. We have not been particularly good at harvesting renewable home electricity either.
The Case for Harvesting Renewable Home Electricity
Battery manufacturer Sonnen believes standalone battery storage is also disturbing supply-demand balance. Since these ‘energy islands’ destabilize the grid when the weather obliges.
“Why? Because the individual consumer is using less electricity. This is not optimizing the grid; it is not even helping to stabilize the grid. Rather, it is destabilizing the grid,” they explain. The battery manufacturer thinks we should rather tackle the fundamental problems of home renewables.
First, the current business model sustains them with taxpayer subsidies. Moreover, the ‘decentralized assets’ stand idle when there is no wind or sun. They want to connect ‘critical masses’ of 2,000 home batteries. Then we can start harvesting renewable home energy for the greater good of all.
Turning Communities of Battery Users into Utilities
Their proposal involves turning these communities of batteries into temporary grid storage. However, this time the energy will come from wind farms at night or over weekends.
The farms sell these surplus volumes at giveaway prices that almost pay anybody to take them off their hands. Further, during peak demand times the volumes command highest prices.
In this model, home solar no longer captures its own electricity from the wind or the sun. Instead, it buys it during off-peak times at lower prices. Then it sells the surplus back to a utility for a neat profit.
In theory, consumers need never to pay for electricity again. From where we sit, harvesting renewable home energy this way sounds a great deal.
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