One valuable lesson has been learned from the California blackouts concerning the greens' vaunted solar power.Forget being reliant upon it; even being connected to a centralized system turns out to be a fatal flaw when the system collapses. But hey, at least they got a tax break for installing them, right?
People with solar panels fitted to their homes have long acted under the impression that these granted them some immunity to blackouts. They now know better. Those who went to the heavy expense of purchasing and installing solar panels are in the same situation as their neighbors: no light, no heat, no power.
How does this make sense? If you've got a system that generates power all by itself, with no outside aid or assistance necessary, then it's a sure thing that it'll continue generating power even after the grid itself is shut down, right?
Ah, but we're dealing here with corporate policy. And when that enters the picture, then sense of any kind quickly departs the stage.
It turns out that solar panels do not supply power to the homes they are attached to. Instead, they transmit power out into the grid itself. A complex system of credits is employed to reimburse the homeowner.
Labels: technology, trainwreck