Solar power should be included in any plan to help with ongoing environmental changes. Technological advances need to be planned and developed to create a more effect energy system for the US. A study by MIT Future of Solar Energy, revealed that “One of the big messages of the solar study is that the power system has to get ready for very high levels of solar PV generation,” says Ignacio Pérez-Arriaga. New technology is rapidly growing but it may be growing at a slower rate than needed by the US.
Photovoltaic (PV) devices create electricity that flows into the power system, other power plants can lower the generation or completely shut off if the generation isn’t going to be used at the time. During the dark sunless hours other power plants are needed to connect back online to meet user demand. This includes two issues: “First, PVs send electricity into a system that was designed to deliver it, not receive it. And second, their behavior requires other power plants to operate in ways that may be difficult or even impossible.”
Research is looking to match up peak times from around the world by moving power from wherever the sun is out to where it is needed. The energy that is demanded could suggest tens or hundreds of GW of power to be moved across continental distances.” This approach would require local planning that could take years to develop and pose environmental concerns. Solar power is prone to unpredictable effects on the “operations, investment costs and prices, for both the local networks that deliver the electricity to the user and the majority power systems that are unified systems made up of generation and transmission facilities.” As the growth in demand for solar increases these factors are amplified.
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Storage advances may pose issues for the growth of solar because the economic viability is not suitable because the delivery costs easily double if PV flow goes beyond a third of its yearly load prediction. Several panels are a necessity if insolation is low, and installations need to be able to keep up with demand. Networks must prepare for the effects of electricity flowing through solar devices at the same time on a clear and bright day.
Incorporating energy storage locally could lessen the work of distribution networks. The high prices for storage effect the economic value that it could provide and may decrease deploying costs of solar PV. With minimal constraints or a long construction process, “system operators must carry on using existing equipment and methods of deploying it to meet the needs of customers.” Unlike a conventional coal or nuclear plant the main power system could be switched on and off easily and quickly.
The cheapest power plant is dispatched first to meet consumer usage, later using the more costly yet flexible power plants to finish the job. If it is sunny the net demand could fall but when energy levels reaches fifty-eight percent, the solar energy forces the net demand to go down just as when the sun isn’t out, and the generators need to increase production quickly. Coal and nuclear power plants cannot keep up and so the costlier gas-fired power plants are needed to step in and do the job. Issues may arise during the night or cloudy days when gas-fired power plants turn back on and raise consumer costs.
Electric companies continue to move PV systems online, leading to the extinction of consumer reimbursements, no longer making it economically viable. During high PV penetrations, prices for the consumer remain low but flip when penetration is low. Fluctuation in cost could become a huge determining factor for solar. The storage of energy plays a critical factor in securing financial rewards to the consumer of the future. These incentives may be the boost needed to continue technological growth in solar without major consequences of the operations or the financial aspect.
Solar power can lessen climate change but the scale needed will cause obstacles for the current electric power system. The current electrical networks will have to tend to both incoming and outgoing electricity flows. Technological advances in the production of PV that tends to the fluctuations of the sun calls for the costlier plants with the ability to connect with the real time demands of consumers. According to energy.gov, “costs will rise, yet market prices paid to owners of PV systems will decline as more PV systems come online, leading to more PV investment unprofitable at market prices.” The future of solar depends on the improvements of current equipment, the updating of regulations and costs, and the advances made in solar technology, which should involve lowering the costs, energy storage devices on a larger scale that can smoothly deliver the PV-generated electricity.
