Solar Farm economics....

[sdkid]

I discovered there is a small solar farm here in Pierre SD that was built in 2016. I didn't even know it was there. It is listed as being a 1MW facility.



I gave Grok this prompt:

"Approximate the cost of building a 1MW solar panel electricity generation facility. How long would it take that facility to generate enough electricity (at 9 cents per KWH) to pay for itself. To calculate seasonal daily sunlight and percent of cloud-covered days, assume the facility is in Pierre, South Dakota."

Grok chugged away at this for a LONG time, taking 5 minutes to generate an answer. It was really impressive watching it break down the details of this calculation to account for so many different factors. It's also really pretty ironic that my question made some processors work harder and puke more CO2 into the air... LOL

The final answer is between 5.2 and 6.5 years at 9 cents per KWH (the approximate rate in Pierre)



Now-- someone needs to try that on ChatGPT and CoPilot...

 

[David L]

I discovered there is a small solar farm here in Pierre SD that was built in 2016. I didn't even know it was there. It is listed as being a 1MW facility.

View attachment 226246

I gave Grok this prompt:

"Approximate the cost of building a 1MW solar panel electricity generation facility. How long would it take that facility to generate enough electricity (at 9 cents per KWH) to pay for itself. To calculate seasonal daily sunlight and percent of cloud-covered days, assume the facility is in Pierre, South Dakota."

Grok chugged away at this for a LONG time, taking 5 minutes to generate an answer. It was really impressive watching it break down the details of this calculation to account for so many different factors. It's also really pretty ironic that my question made some processors work harder and puke more CO2 into the air... LOL

The final answer is between 5.2 and 6.5 years at 9 cents per KWH (the approximate rate in Pierre)

View attachment 226245

Now-- someone needs to try that on ChatGPT and CoPilot...

Assuming all works well, Add a hail storm to that equation...lol

 

[David L]

We found a huge one being built here in East Texas. 1000 acres. Found out it will be used as secondary power to help grid's demand...

I heard an Ad on the radio the other day:

Texas Solar Sheep LLC

Discover how solar sheep grazing can revolutionize vegetation management in solar farms. Texas Solar Sheep LLC offers sustainable and efficient solutions for solar grazing.

texassolarsheep.com

 

[tigerwillow1]

If Grok thinks that the electricity produced is worth what the consumer pays, it made a big mistake. The only quick example I have is my own bill, where about half of the kWh rate pays for the electricity itself. Most of the rest is the "Delivery Charge", followed by fees and taxes.

 

[jpc-s4]

If Grok thinks that the electricity produced is worth what the consumer pays, it made a big mistake. The only quick example I have is my own bill, where about half of the kWh rate pays for the electricity itself. Most of the rest is the "Delivery Charge", followed by fees and taxes.

Yeah, it's all part of the total charge.

Where I live, the county pulled some crap where they automatically shifted people to a different generation company unless they opted out. They claimed to be cheaper than the god-awful, convicted felon PG&E. When looking into it, the savings is miniscule. And on top of that, the generation is nowhere near the largest part of the bill... Here is my latest bill (I have a time-of-use billing that charges more at peak times):

Peak 207.1292 kWh @ $0.62569 == $129.60
Off-Peak 756.2313 kWh @ #0.50269 == $380.15
Basline Credit 255 kWh @ $-0.10301 == -$26.27
Generation Credit -$148.21
Power Charge Indifference Adjustment $10.69
Franchise Fee Surcharge $1.01

This is all the crap I pay to PG&E-- a total of $346.97

This is the generation charges:

Peak 207.129 kWh @ $0.18948 == $39.25
Off-Peak 756.2313 kWh @ $0.11478 == $86.80
Energy Commission Surcharge == $0.29

Total for generation == $126.34.

Based on this, my generation is 26% of the cost, with 74% being the distribution and other bullshit (including me paying for their negligence of not updating equipment that starts wildfires that kill people).

 

[tigerwillow1]

I keep track of these solar issues because I'm one of the leeches that has a PV system subsidized by the non-solar customers. Oregon still pays the retail rate for power pushed into the grid. Over time, other states have pulled away from that, paying the lower wholesale rate instead. I followed the California changes a few years ago and have forgotten the details, but my memory of the big picture is that new solar installations without a battery are more-or-less penalized financially in recognition of the instability and costs they add to the grid.

 

[jpc-s4]

I keep track of these solar issues because I'm one of the leeches that has a PV system subsidized by the non-solar customers. Oregon still pays the retail rate for power pushed into the grid. Over time, other states have pulled away from that, paying the lower wholesale rate instead. I followed the California changes a few years ago and have forgotten the details, but my memory of the big picture is that new solar installations without a battery are more-or-less penalized financially in recognition of the instability and costs they add to the grid.

Yeah, I'd have a solar setup as well, except for the fact that it would cost me about six figures to remove enough trees to get sunlight, and then I'd have to worry about the fog half the year. The payback just isn't there for me.

 

[sdkid]

Yeah, it's all part of the total charge.

Where I live, the county pulled some crap where they automatically shifted people to a different generation company unless they opted out. They claimed to be cheaper than the god-awful, convicted felon PG&E. When looking into it, the savings is miniscule. And on top of that, the generation is nowhere near the largest part of the bill... Here is my latest bill (I have a time-of-use billing that charges more at peak times):

Peak 207.1292 kWh @ $0.62569 == $129.60
Off-Peak 756.2313 kWh @ #0.50269 == $380.15
Basline Credit 255 kWh @ $-0.10301 == -$26.27
Generation Credit -$148.21
Power Charge Indifference Adjustment $10.69
Franchise Fee Surcharge $1.01

This is all the crap I pay to PG&E-- a total of $346.97

This is the generation charges:

Peak 207.129 kWh @ $0.18948 == $39.25
Off-Peak 756.2313 kWh @ $0.11478 == $86.80
Energy Commission Surcharge == $0.29

Total for generation == $126.34.

Based on this, my generation is 26% of the cost, with 74% being the distribution and other bullshit (including me paying for their negligence of not updating equipment that starts wildfires that kill people).

here are the TWO LINES for electricity on my utility bill...
In the winter, that could go to 3 lines in the winter months when they add an extra tier to the per kwh rates. The tier for higher usage in the winter goes DOWN in price. (see lower graphic)

 

[David L]

When Electric Plans started becoming available I was quite confused how they worked and which plan would work best for us. To accomplish this, you need a good history of your usage. So I started keeping a chart/spreadsheet. Since most plans have Tiers as sdkid mentioned it is important to get the lowest rate for the Tier you use the most kWh. This is from our Spring/Houston one story 1900 sq. ft. house. Usage went up the year my wife retired in '22.



What I did learn later is stated in the second sentence/example above, the rates adjust/scale base on kWh usage, finally got a supervisor to explained this to me. So if your rate is 12.3 cents at the 500 kWh and 11.3 kWh at 1000 kWh, 750 kWh would be at 11.8 kWh
That is why the Fact Sheets state Average rates...

So for us we had more months with usage in the 1000-2000 range so this is where we focused on getting the lowest kWh

Our last plan was a 5 year plan. Electric Rates don't go down over time, so glad we jumped on this plan since at the end of the 5 years, rates offered were 15 cents kWh and higher...
As you can see we were 5.9729 cents perkWh but when you add Centerpoint's Delivery charges (They maintain the Electrical Lines/Equipment), this is where you get the 10 to 12 cents avg. depending on your plan...

 

[tigerwillow1]

Pacific Power offers optional renewable energy plans. At first glance it sounds like you're being a good citizen to use green energy. When you drill down to the details, it's just solicitation for donations to fund green energy projects, and in one case, fish habitat. I don't understand why anybody falls for this. It's so illogical, that it must be driven by politics.