It’s safe to say that the solar power revolution has begun.
There’s only one thing currently keeping solar power from becoming the dominant source of energy throughout the world; inexpensive battery storage technologies.
Grid-connected solar power systems are already cheaper, over a 20 year period, than what most utilities are charging in the U.S. The key term here is “grid-connected”. A homeowner that can take advantage of net metering will get credit for excess power generated from his or her solar panel system. This credit, coupled with the cost of the system, is currently cheaper than what many states charge over the long term.
The possibility of completely disconnecting from the grid is a reality that many of us can realize in the not too distant future. Battery prices are still too expensive to consider installing them as a back up to a residential solar power system. However, considering some information from ThinkProgress.org, major battery players like Tesla Motors and its Gigafactory may be able to bring the cost per kilowatt from $600 to $100.
This would effectively allow for a $6,000 battery storage system based on a 60 kw battery. This cost plus the cost of the solar panel system would still be less than what a typical utility would charge over a 20 year period. Solar systems last longer than 20 years, so your savings would be even more.
Another encouraging revelation about this upcoming change in battery prices is that it is happening much sooner than later. We can expect to see much cheaper battery prices before the end of this decade.
The implementation of solar power is already growing exponentially in America and throughout the world. A steep decline in battery prices is all that is needed for the realization of a truly explosive solar industry. To add to this idea, the costs for solar panels and their installation continue to fall.
We can all look forward to a brighter, cleaner world as the solar power revolution continues to pick up speed.
I would definitely recommend solar battery systems although coming completely off-grid would certainly negatively affect your feed in tariff payments! Over in the UK we can pay less for electricity in the night than we do in the daytime, so it has been getting very common to have battery packs fitted to charge up over night on cheap rate that can then be used during the day to support what is being generated by the solar panels. This is the way forward!