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Renewable Energy: If you're on grid with PV are you green or greener or neither?

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    Just a silly question, but something that has completely baffled me, so thought I'd get some views and opinions.

    Installing PV next week, more money than I'd wanted to spend, but decided to put in a larger system for economies of scale (discount and less scaffolding costs) and to aim for an annual output equal to or greater than the amount of leccy we currently use.

    I new we would still use the grid for at least half of our power due to night time use and lower PV production in the darker months. But thought a good start to being greener was to produce at least as much KWh as we use.

    So big question, are we using green electricity this way, as for every grid unit we use, we have hopefully supplied a PV unit previously. Or are we of little to no benefit to anyone?

    Does this situation need to be scaled up to millions of micro-generation units, and hopefully the closing or mothballing of a fossil fuel plant, before it works? Or will it never hold water (hydro or otherwise).

    I'm not pushing an agenda, I genuinely can't contemplate the whole picture.

    Cheers

    Martyn
    •  
      CommentAuthorSteamyTea
    • CommentTimeAug 5th 2011
     
    Posted By: Martyn1981Or are we of little to no benefit to anyone

    As an individual you are of little benefit to anyone.

    But


    Posted By: Martyn1981Does this situation need to be scaled up to millions of micro-generation units

    Imagine everyone equalling their own usage (and some storage) and it would make a vast difference.

    Trouble is that very few people can afford or have the right type of property (around a quarter to a third of us) to install a large enough system for today's electrical usage.
    There is also a difference in how one gauges energy use, is is just electrical and does this include space and water heating, or is it totally energy use, regardless of where the energy comes from (gas, coal, oil, wood, solar thermal, wind, PV) for all your needs (which is a lot higher than you think and directly pay for).
    • CommentAuthortony
    • CommentTimeAug 5th 2011
     
    Definitely green and probably greener.

    Every little helps.
  4.  
    Hmm little steps I suppose. I'm sure I'm only thinking what many before have already realised, but the more you get into PV or any renewable the more it makes you think about the big picture.

    The thought of all houses (well a reasonable %) was what I had in mind, followed by factories, warehouses, flat roofed office buildings etc with PV and possibly wind. It occurred to me that as a 2.5Kw PV system is now about £8k it doesn't have much further to go, perhaps down to £5k, before it would be a fair rate of return even without FITS, especially if energy prices rise another 50%.

    I've read a few comments on the Navitron forum about domestic PV being artificial due to FITS etc, but if it wakes people like me up, and I tell a few friends, and people get used to seeing renewables on others houses, then it can only help to promote the renewable agenda, regardless of whether it is currently cost effective.

    Maybe FITS and PV are investments in the future in more ways than one.

    Brain needs rest.

    Martyn
    •  
      CommentAuthorDamonHD
    • CommentTimeAug 6th 2011 edited
     
    FiTs are at least in part, IMHO, to "wake people up" as you put it. To make the knee-jerk NIMBYs think for a moment and possibly even concede that there may be something in it...

    And as ST says, if everyone who could matched some or all of their consumption with production then the world's energy situation would be very different.

    A recent detailed LIDAR mapping of New York City indicated that even in that very dense urban environment about half of energy demand could be met from PV.

    Rgds

    Damon

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