Probably True Solar Stories

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Today's Probably True Solar Stories episode is about a solar superhero that you may already know...

("The Story Behind the Solar Panel" is a new Prbably True Solar Stories mini-story series that is supported by sponsors. The stories are still fun and original fictional solar stories, but they're shorter and written in collaboration with the episode's sponsors.) 

True Solar Takeaways

• Learn more about Maxeon Solar Technologies' solar panels.
• If you're a solar installer, learn about Maxeon's partner program.
• Visit Maxeon's booth at RE+ in Las Vegas at Booth 3368.

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we’re bringing together our previously published solar dragon story, "The Red Knight and the Dawn of the Solar Dragon." It’s the same Season 2 story, but instead of three 20-minute episodes, we’re telling this dragon tale in a single hour-long version for those who prefer a longer audio-novella version.
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Once upon a time, there were honest and friendly dragons who heated the boilers for steam-powered electric turbines. The dragons enjoyed the job and were paid good union wages. However, due to the high cost of dragon energy, the King decided that the dragons needed to be replaced, sparking a bloody dragon war that led to the invention of solar power.

 True Solar Takeaways

• Fossil fuel-based generators work by burning fossil fuels, which boil water to high temperatures. The boiled, high-pressure water produces steam that spins an electric turbine, generating electricity.
• Unionized labor dominates the energy industry, including solar. 
•  All utilities contract or own stand-by power plants known as "spinning reserves" or "Peaker plants." Peaker plants run 24/7 to provide backup power for when the grid is overloaded--typically when it's a hot summer day and more homes and buildings are using air conditioning.
• Utilities, states, and kingdoms pay a significantly higher price for Peaker Plant energy.
•  The photovoltaic effect is how solar power is produced. When sunlight shines on a special semiconductor material, the sunlight excites electrons and creates a flow of electricity into a direct current. 
• Tandem perovskite solar cells are coming soon. They promise higher solar cell efficiencies (more generated solar power) at a lower price, but as of July 2023, they haven't been commercialized yet.
• Wind power is one of the least expensive forms of energy today.
• Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries are increasingly gaining market share for backing up solar power. 
• Energy wonks often refer to the cost of energy over time as the "Levelized Cost of Energy" or LCOE. It allows them to compare the total cost of a solar plant to, say, a gas or coal plant. Today, solar has the lowest LCOE. 
• For all the True Solar Takeaways in this dragon story, read the episode notes of Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we end our Solar Noir season where we began. We continue the ongoing story of "The Solar Heist, or How I Got Into the Solar Business." In this next chapter, it’s all about Trust. Charlie finally comes clean about who he is and what his goals are. But will Mazz help? Or will he run? Or worse.

There's also another reveal at the end, so if you haven't listened to the previous Solar Hiest episodes, here's where you can catch up here:

Part 1: The Proposal
Part 2: The No-Good, Rotten Heist 
Part 3: The Favor
You can also listen to all of the above in one episode.

Part 4: The Warning
Part 5: The Escape
Part 6: Trust (Press play on this episode.)

True Solar Takeaways in Part 6

• Yes, the Italian mafia was caught laundering $1.7 Billion through solar and wind projects.
•  Yes, there is a US  intelligence agency called the Department of Energy Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.
• A Feed-In-Tariff or "FIT" is a government solar incentive that was popularized in Europe. It paid solar owners a certain amount for every kilowatt-hour generated for a set number of years. So many people signed up for the European programs that the programs quickly ran out of money, causing governments to significantly cut down the price per kilowatt-hour.  There are only a few active FITs in the U.S. today.

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we conclude the Red Knight and the Dawn of the Solar Dragon. The evil King Maxwell and his Red Knight, Goran, have started the Second Dragon War, trying to replace the moody, but docile energy dragons with fossil fuels. The dragons fight back with their fire breath. But can they win the war without the help of solar power?

True Solar Takeaways

• The world needs more solar and clean energy workers. Transitioning to clean energy will create more jobs than the jobs lost from winding down fossil fuels. In fact, The World Economic Forum (WEF) estimates that the clean energy transition is expected to create 10.3 million net new jobs by 2030, which will offset the 2.7 million expected to be lost in the fossil fuel industry.
• Yes, converting the world to 100% solar and renewables has some challenges. As mentioned, they include the need for:
  • More batteries for short and especially long-duration storage
  • New transmission lines and related infrastructure, and new utility interconnection infrastructure must be built. 
  • Excessive and non-standard permitting regulations increase costs and are slowing down the solar and wind deployment.
  • The Duck Curve, which is actually an energy wonk graph. It shows that as solar becomes more dominant on the grid, its share of grid power goes down dramatically as the sun sets. As a result, the need for batteries or other power ramps up dramatically from 4pm to 10pm. 

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On the next Probably True Solar Stories, we continue with part 2 of The Red Knight and the Dawn of the Solar Dragon. Gorin, The Red Knight has invented a technology to replace dragon power with short-sighted fossil fuel power. But can Gorin quietly replace hundreds of fire-breathing dragons without getting burned and starting a Second Dragon War? Maybe not...

True Solar Takeaways

• Unions are truly a part of our utility energy operations and construction. They bargain for good prevailing wages and benefits, and they can also get involved in energy politics. For example, utility unions largely oppose rooftop solar and will lobby for legislation and regulations that support large-scale solar (and their members). They also support legislation and regulations that disincentivizes rooftop solar. Why? Because small installation companies aren't part of the union and because they fear that rooftop solar will decrease utility solar jobs. In fact, we need both rooftop and utility solar in order to fight climate change.
• Likewise, coal, gas, and oil unions oppose solar because they also know that their jobs will decrease. But the clean energy writing is on the wall and their leadership understands that they will eventually need to support retraining their workers for clean energy and other industries.
• Energy wonks often refer to the cost of energy over time as the "Levelized Cost of Energy" or LCOE. It allows them to compare the total cost of a solar plant to, say, a gas or coal plant. Today, solar has the lowest LCOE. 
• Milanium is an imaginary rare-earth metal. However, solar and clean energy is in great need of many rare-earth metals and not-so-are minerals. These include silicon, the base element for making solar cells for solar panels, and lithium for making rechargeable batteries. 
• Peaker power plants are always on standby, so the cost to use them is very expensive. Utilities use speakers for backup power on hot days when more people are running their air conditioners.
• Solar technology is now mature and reliable. There are over 4 million solar installations in the U.S. and millions more around the world. PERC and TopCon are the current leading solar panel technologies. Perovskite solar panels haven't been commercialized yet, but they're close. Once commercialized, they will make solar panels less expensive and generate more power per square inch.
• Lithium-iron phosphate batteries are becoming more popular for home backup power.  However, most home batteries use Lithium-ion chemistries.
• The chemistry formulas for iron-air batteries are now being commercialized, allowing for affordable and long-lasting storage of solar and wind power. These batteries can provide several days' worth of stored energy, rather than just a few hours.
• Wind power is already an inexpensive and reliable renewable power.
• Geothermal energy is a promising new source of renewable energy. It harnesses heat from the Earth to create steam that powers electric turbines. Geothermal power plants currently exist in Iceland and Sonoma, California, providing base power for cities.

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Once upon a time, there were honest and friendly dragons who heated the boilers for steam-powered electric turbines. The dragons enjoyed the job and were paid good union wages. But due to the high cost of dragon energy, the King decided that the dragons needed to be replaced and sparked a bloody dragon war that led to the invention of solar power...

FYI, this is a three-part episode. 

True Solar Takeaways

• Fossil fuel-based generators work by burning fossil fuels, which boil water to high temperatures. The boiled, high-pressure water produces steam that spins an electric turbine, generating electricity.
• Unionized labor dominates the energy industry, including solar. 
•  All utilities contract or own stand-by power plants known as "spinning reserves" or "Peaker plants." Peaker plants run 24/7 to provide backup power for when the grid is overloaded--typically when it's a hot summer day and more homes and buildings are using air conditioning.
• Utilities, states, and kingdoms pay a significantly higher price for Peaker Plant energy.
•  The photovoltaic effect is how solar power is produced. When sunlight shines on a special semiconductor material, the sunlight excites electrons and creates a flow of electricity into a direct current. 
• Tandem perovskite solar cells are coming soon. They promise higher solar cell efficiencies (more generated solar power) at a lower price, but as of July 2023, they haven't been commercialized yet.
• Wind power is one of the least expensive forms of energy today.
• Lithium-iron-phosphate batteries are increasingly gaining market share for backing up solar power. 

-----

• Visit ProbablyTrueSolar.com to sign up for the newsletter to learn about new episodes and live solar storytelling events.
• Support the show by visiting the merch store and buying a tee shirt!
• Learn how sponsors can be a part of Probably True Solar Stories and tell their own creative stories. 
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• Don't forget to:
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Rufus, the pet and mascot of a solar installer, is dognapped out of the installer's truck while on the job.  A chase ensues, but we learn that the dog, the solar installer, and the dog napper aren't quite what they seem.

True Solar Takeaways

• As of 2020, there are 20,000 military veterans in the solar industry, making up about 9% of the solar workforce.
• IREC, the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, supports veteran training programs. Get more information on these programs here.
  • The Solar Ready Vets Fellowship connects mid-to-senior level transitioning service members with on-the-job training in leadership and management roles in the civilian solar workforce.
• The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) has more information for solar veterans.
• GRID Alternatives is another solar job training organization that supports both veterans and non-veterans.
• The U.S. Department of Energy also has job training information and programs for military veterans.
• Here's a photo of the original Rufus with my real cat--for size comparison.

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A solar installer thinks he hears a gunshot while performing a drone solar site survey. The shot--if it was a shot--came from the ranch house of his ex-fiancé. Can the solar installer’s drone footage solve the gunshot mystery? And even if it does, will anyone believe him?

True Solar Takeaways

• Drones are an increasingly common tool for inspecting and designing residential solar systems.
• A "POI" is an acronym for a drone circling program. It stands for "Point of Interest."
• Solar design software incorporates drone footage and photos. The software then sizes and designs the solar system and a visual sales proposal.
• When preparing a solar design, the installer will gather information about your electric service panel and sometimes inspect your roof's rafters from your attic.
• As mentioned, this episode incorporated characters from a 10-minute play that Tor wrote, called "Harrison's Choice." It's part of an anthology of 10-minute plays that Tor published in 2008 called "Just Give Me 10 Minutes."

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Bob is a winemaker who is having a mid-life crisis. Trying to pull it together, he converts the oldest part of his vineyard into a solar farm, adopts a lost dog, and tries to make great wine. But nothing goes as planned, so he decides to take a psychedelic trip that takes him on a solar magical mystery tour that sparks joy in everyone—especially the dog.

True Solar Takeaways

• Vineyards use a tremendous amount of energy for irrigation pumps, refrigeration, bottling operations, and resort energy costs. Consequently, many wine companies are now converting a part of their acreage to a solar farm that reduces the energy costs of the vineyard's operations.
• 1 MW of solar can be installed on about 5 acres of land.
• Solar trackers can be installed on a vineyard's rolling hillsides and use AI to precisely track the sun and generate the most energy throughout the year.
• The acreage will always be cleared of vegetation, so a vine would not survive, even a hardy one. But this is a fairy tale, so please roll with it.
• "Piles" are the posts that support the trackers.
• While it's true that solar panels don't talk, inverters are like "solar energy translators." They convert the solar's direct current (DC) energy into alternating current (AC) that is used by homes and businesses in the U.S.
• Here are some solar-powered vineyards. If you drink enough wine and use your imagination, you might taste a bit of the sun! Cheers.

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Happy July 4th. I decided to do a quick, Probably True Solar Story by asking ChatGPT to write a version of the Declaration of Independence for solar power. The result was pretty good, so I wanted to share it. 

"When in the course of human development, it becomes necessary for individuals and communities to break free from the dependence on unsustainable and finite sources of energy, and to embrace the abundance of renewable solar power, a respect for the laws of nature and sustainability requires that they should declare the reasons.

For this transition, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all individuals and communities have the right to access and generate energy from the sun, the ultimate source of light and life on our planet..." (listen to the full episode).

Thanks for listening. If you agree with this declaration, make a commitment to only vote for politicians that support the rapid deployment of residential, commercial, and utility solar power.

Tomorrow, July 5th, 2023. We returned to our regularly scheduled probably true solar story. See you then. 

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