Solar + battery power plants are on the rise. We need to skate where the puck is going to effectively integrate #Bitcoin with #solar. 1/n 🧵
Here are some excerpts from a report by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory: emp.lbl.gov/news/2021-was-…
At the end of 2021, there were nearly 300 hybrid plants (>1 MW) operating across the United States, totaling nearly 36 GW of generating capacity and 3.2 GW/8.1 GWh of energy storage.
PV+storage dominates in terms of plant number (140), storage capacity (2.2 GW/7.0 GWh), storage:generator capacity ratio (53%), and storage duration (3.2 hours).
This relatively high storage ratio and duration in particular suggest that storage is providing resource adequacy (i.e., capacity firming) and energy arbitrage (i.e., shifting power sales from lower- to higher-priced periods) capabilities to PV+storage plants.
Last year was a breakout year for PV+storage hybrids in particular: 67 of the 74 hybrids added in 2021 were PV+storage! @thetrocro gradually, then suddenly?
At the close of 2021, there were more than 670 GW of solar plants in the nation’s queues; 285 GW (~42%) of this capacity was proposed as a hybrid, most typically pairing PV with battery storage (PV+storage represented nearly 90% of all hybrid capacity in the queues).
Though PV+storage PPA prices have fallen over time, “levelized storage adders” have recently increased somewhat to ~$5500/MW-month, ~$45/MWh-stored (assuming one full cycle per day), or ~$15/MWh-PV 👉 @nimacheeps we need optimization on sizing and utilization to increase value
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How #Bitcoin mining can be used to monetize surplus solar and increase the return on investment for projects and reduce payback period for #solar. Here is a four page case study 👇🧵1/5
A manufacturing plant with an average load of 5MW per hour is seeking to deploy #solar to reduce costs. Exports from behind-the-meter generation is not allowed.
An optimized solar and battery project result in a 14-year payback but due to non-export rules, 22% of the electricity generation is stranded.
A conversation about #bitcoin draws critics in to imagine how bitcoin “should” be vs. focusing on how we it can be utilized.
Example brought up was should supply be fixed and not diminishing? There is a two part response for addressing any question/criticism of bitcoin.
1 - There are no mysteries in #Bitcoin . It is a transparent network. Bitcoin is valued by the users of the bitcoin network as-is, comprised of all the features it has whether or not those features can be altered/improved.
What they should have highlighted is that “In 2020, CAISO curtailed 1.5 million MWhs of utility-scale solar, or 5% of its utility-scale solar production.”
To put that in perspective, an average home in Sacramento uses about 8 MWhs of electricity per year. The wasted solar energy in California is enough to power all of the 200,000 homes in the city of Sacramento for a year.
This is how we get to an energy abundance future with renewables ⚡️ Australia reached 104.1% net renewables over the week of Dec 11-18 👇🧵
"To be clear, this 104.1 per cent relates to the amount of wind and solar compared to state demand. The state is connected to the rest of the grid so imports and exports are inevitable..."
It is important to note this is a "net" calculation over the state demand.
"The state is benefiting from new wind and solar joining the grid and the roll out of synchronous condensers that are cutting back the amount of gas needed for system security."
Data: similar to last year's report, solar provides below-average value in regions with high solar penetration
Signal: #Bitcoin miners should focus on co-locating with solar in established regions
Data: solar curtailment is a feature of the grid and will continue to rise
Signal: TX and CA solar could benefit the most by diverting curtailed energy into #Bitcoin mining