Alternative‿ energy

My name‿ is‿ Ivan. We installed solar panels two years‿ ago and‿ our bills fell by forty^for-dy percent,│ which‿ is the portion‿ of the story everybody wishes to hear. The portion nobody mentions‿ is the grid.

Renewables‿ are‿ intermittent,│ which means the system mus(t) manage‿ a supply fluctuating‿ hourly. Solar generates│ when the sun shines‿ an(d) wind│ when‿ it blows,│ so either one constructs storage‿ or one retains fossil capacity as‿ an‿ insurance policy,│ an(d) neither‿ option‿ is‿ inexpensive. Pretending‿ otherwise‿ is how energy policy degenerates‿ into populism. What renders the transition feasible‿ is‿ infrastructure:│ cables,│ batteries,│ and‿ a grid designed for‿ a handful‿ of large generators│ an(d) now expected to accommodate millions‿ of small producers. The incumbents have scant‿ incentive to accelerate that,│ which‿ is why subsidy must‿ attach to the network‿ as much‿ as to the roof.

Subsidies‿ are defensible provided‿ it‿ is‿ eviden(t) what they purchase. A subsidy for solar panels purchases decarbonisation‿ and‿ energy security;│ a subsidy for‿ a win(d) farm‿ upon the hill│ where‿ I played‿ as‿ a chil(d) purchases the same‿ an(d) costs‿ a landscape,│ which my uncle will never forgive. The externality is real‿ an(d) should be acknowledged rather than dismissed. Were‿ I to select‿ a single policy,│ it would be panels‿ upon‿ every public building,│ since‿ it‿ is visible,│ inexpensive,│ an(d) teaches children│ where‿ electricity originates‿ instead‿ of leaving them to argue about‿ it‿ abstractly.