58 June 2015
PV needs GEO
by John Manning, Earth Sensitive Solutions, LLC
As I listen to the true believers of sustainably generated electricity,
specifically PV & Wind, I find myself applauding their enthusiasm
and vision of 100% of our electricity coming from sustainable and
renewable sources. However, there seems to be a sense of denial
as to the enormous capital investment to transform the grid so it can
respond and manage the asynchronous challenge between genera-
tion and load. One does not have to be an expert in grid manage-
ment, a basic understanding of mechanical and electrical systems
clearly illuminates the enormous challenge and corresponding capi-
tal investment in R&D, hardware and software systems.
Allow me to use a simple thought experiment to illustrate this per-
spective – What if we were to awaken tomorrow morning with every
rooftop having sufficient PV to create a 100% offset where onsite
annual generated kilo-watt hours equals the total annual electricity
consumption. There is no doubt that the grid would essentially col-
lapse and the cost per kilowatt-hour of any offsite generation would
sky rocket.. We would be awash with excess electricity during the
sunny summer days and be deprived of any electricity during the
long dark winter nights. Additionally, the generating infrastructure
that would undoubtedly be needed would have to provide this basic
level of service with essentially no annual revenue. What appears
very attractive as a 100% "sustainable" electricity generation is fun-
damentally flawed because it is an unsustainable business model.
There is no doubt that there has to be a huge transformation in the
business model as well as the storage and management infrastruc-
ture. This somewhat nebulous "smart grid" holds a lot of promise
but at what cost?
Now allow me to use a second thought experiment – What if we
were to awaken tomorrow morning and every building was heated
and cooled with geothermal heat pumps and your morning shower
water was heated with a geothermal heat pump. The electrical grid
would essentially become stronger and the cost per kilo-watt hour
would decrease. By reducing summer peaking loads and transfer-
ring heating revenues away from the fossil fuel industry the electric-
ity providers will become the financial vehicle to transform our grid.
It must also be mentioned that each building owner would realize a
reduced annual energy bill leaving increased disposable dollars to
further strengthen our overall economy.
Obviously, both of these scenarios are absurd, but it does illustrate
that there is a synergistic benefit associated with aggressively in-
stalling geothermal heat pump systems while also shifting to more
renewably generated electricity and having the means to do so.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/pv-needs-geo-john-manning?trk=hb_ntf_MEGA-
PHONE_ARTICLE_POST
TheTakeaway
