LANCASTER, CA - MARCH 31: An array of solar panels near the Antelope Valley Poppy Preserve is ... [+]
Faced with worsening destabilization in the Persian Gulf, an unhinged U.S. president talking up war in the midst of an undeniable and unprecedented climate emergency only fools still deny, and with some oil companies still determined to increase output, surely it’s time for a radical rethink about how we generate the energy we need.
Los Angeles has just signed a solar power deal with a large company based in the outlying Mojave Desert, Beacon Solar, which will provide the city with between 6% and 7% of the city’s annual needs, at prices below natural gas plants. The plant combines solar panels with storage batteries, meaning not just lower prices, but also electricity at night, thus rubbishing the two most unfounded myths about solar energy, that it is expensive and cannot meet demand when the sun isn’t shining.
Until now, California had an excess of power during the day, and not enough at night. Laws passed by the state require that all of its energy must come from renewable sources by 2045, which encourages such initiatives.
The agreement follows recent experiences in Australia, where huge battery parks are not just providing huge savings, but are also able to recover their installation costs in record time. Australia plans to meet 35% of its electricity needs through renewable sources over the next two years, in addition to exporting renewable energy to countries such as Singapore.
The combination of increasingly cheaper and more efficient solar panels and batteries is able to provide clean energy cheaper than fossil fuels. What’s more, the combination works at all levels, including for homes, while generation facilities, in addition, are significantly less aggressive and can even work alongside farms (agrivoltaics). Batteries are constantly being improved, providing better performance that are realistically able to meet the needs of the power industry.
There is a growing strategic need to consider a radical redesign of the energy landscape based on renewable sources, including solar energy combined with batteries and other storage mechanisms. Batteries, in fact, are increasingly becoming one of the most important elements for the future, which concerns countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, the United Arab Emirates or the United States.
Batteries are going to be a key part of all homes, as well as major infrastructure. Is your government drawing up plans to radically rethink its energy landscape, or does it still have its head in the sand?
