Billionaire Michael Bloomberg Thinks Rooftop Solar Plus Storage Can Compete with Thermal Power Plants

 

     I just read an article in Bloomberg by Michael Bloomberg himself that I found to be wrought with inaccuracies, unfeasibility, and insanity. The title of the opinion article is – Winter Blackouts Highlight Need for Clean Energy. He notes that 9 people died in Western New York during Winter Storm Elliot due to power outages. These were due mainly to downed power lines resulting from near hurricane force winds. There was also snow measuring up to a few feet. Bloomberg’s solution? Rooftop solar with battery backup. Now I have rooftop solar here in Ohio on an open exposed rooftop with 18 panels which face directly south, and I know how poorly it produces in winter, maybe making 15% of household electricity at best, but 10% is more realistic. Heat is provided entirely by propane/LPgas, with unvented heaters. This propane has never not been available in 23 years. Winter days are short. Stormy days are cloudy. Snow needs to be physically removed from solar panels. I don’t have battery backup. It would not help much in the winter anyway. A rooftop solar system with battery backup is in the neighborhood of $25,000-50,000. But that won’t typically power a whole house on a cold winter day. You can get 26% or so of that investment back at the end of the year through tax credits but who has that kind of spare cash lying around? Bloomberg, maybe, but most people obviously don’t. Most people don’t even have ideal rooftops for solar deployment.

     He notes that solar and wind are more reliable than coal or natural gas. In some ways that’s true but in many ways it is not. Solar and properly weatherized wind turbines can often keep producing when thermal plants freeze-up or overheat. He also puts forth the tired old argument that solar and wind are cheaper than gas and coal. This is true in some situations but not true overall due to the unpredictable, intermittent, and variable output of wind and solar. He does mention the need for transmission buildout that would enable wind from windy places and solar from sunny places to be delivered long distance to where it is needed. This need is daunting. In order to transition to 100% renewables, the transmission requirements alone would require at a minimum tripling the size of the massive US power grid transmission system that was built over the past century. This alone would cost well into the tens of trillions, would face significant supply chain issues, parts and materials availability, regulatory slowdowns, and significant public opposition. Grid and transmission upgrades should no doubt be pursued but they are not a viable solution in the near or medium term.

     There are obviously better solutions for a homeowner or even a renter than rooftop solar and storage for energy security. Natural gas service or propane/LPgas service with unvented heaters is one solution. Expensive fuel oil burners are one solution many northeasterners have been stuck with for years. Pellet stoves and wood burning stoves are another solution where available. Another solution is home generators, which may run on natural gas, propane/LPgas, diesel, or gasoline. Another option is to buy a big amount of home energy storage and pre-charge it with grid power before a storm event. Even all these solutions are costly, but still much cheaper and far more reliable than rooftop solar and storage.

     Sorry Mike, but you are simply out of touch.

 

Reference:

Winter Blackouts highlight Need for Clean Energy. Michael R. Bloomberg, January 19, 2023. Bloomberg Opinion. Michael R. Bloomberg: Blackouts Signal Need for Clean Energy - Bloomberg