The Call For Affordable Green Power
Heavily discounted or even free renewably generated power is now possible, but only if the electrical suppliers allow it.
An opinion on the nature of free, or at least cheaper, electricity.
Many methods of renewable energy generation are intermittent, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow¹, as opposed to other similar green energy sources such as nuclear or tidal power are not.
Due to this unpredictability, or intermittent supply in the case of solar PV, supply can not always be matched with the demand of a conventional electricity grid.
Currently (no pun intended, honestly) when power is produced and it is surplus to immediate need by the electrical grid² it is either stored in batteries or is simply wasted when generative capacity is curtailed to match demand — wind turbines and solar PV panels are simply disconnected when they are not needed.
Batteries are often used for temporary storage and although their energy is quickly available it is generally only for short periods because of their limited capacity. Therefore their primary use is for grid stabilisation purposes at periods of quick, high demand.
They are an interim solution, at best, at least until larger scale or better developed technologies are available.
