Why going off the grid may not actually be such a good idea - The Washington Post
▻http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/03/30/why-ditching-the-electric-grid-may-not-actually-be-such-a-good-idea/?tid=sm_fb
According to a new study just out in the influential journal Energy Policy, however, ditching the grid is likely to be more an individualistic dream than an economically viable solution for most people. The paper, by Rajab Khalilpour and Anthony Vassallo of the University of Sydney, finds that in the future, going off the grid is unlikely to make much economic sense — even as the cost of solar panels and battery storage continue to decline.
The surprising upshot is that leaving the grid rarely seems to make sense — for two reasons. First, with a relatively small and thus cheaper solar and/or battery system, you just can’t generate enough power to be independent, so you have to stay connected. Thus, “100 % grid independence is only possible with a very large PV-battery system which is subject to significant capital costs,” the authors wrote.
Someone willing to dish out enough cash would, therefore, seem able to get off the grid. But here’s the trick — why would they want to? With a large enough system to actually have the potential to be independent, the study finds, you could also make a significant amount of money selling excess power back to the grid, meaning that…it remains economically rational to stay connected!
“The benefit of grid connection in terms of revenue from…the unused energy is notably high when a large PV system is installed,” the paper observed.
And thus, all the talk of going off the grid notwithstanding, it may remain a rare option. “Leaving the grid in a widespread scale might not be a realistic projection of the future, if economics is assumed as the main driver of customer behavior,” the authors concluded. “Rather, a significant reduction of energy demand per connection point is a possible option when the PV-battery prices decline.”