It may not quite pencil out, yet, in normal times, – but these are not normal times.

Customers who are losing all their grid power due to Fire-induced blackouts are motivated,  looking at their options for power production and backup.

Of course, more sales, means more production, which means lower prices, which means more sales …..

San Francisco Chronicle:

At Solaria, an Oakland company that builds solar panels and related products, the latest blackouts have triggered a “continued surge in interest and demand for those systems,” said CEO Suvi Sharma. “In a way, there is almost no other event like that to spur interest in solar systems.”

Just adding solar panels won’t help in a blackout; homeowners need a way to store the power they generate.

Sunrun has over time installed over 6,000 batteries, which cost $10,000 and help people keep the lights on and food fresh for 8 to 12 hours on a single charge. A majority opt for a lease like Krause, the company said.

“Climate change is not going away and we’re going to have to adapt to this new reality, so investing in this is better than the short-term solution,” said Audrey Lee, Sunrun vice president of energy services.

Not everyone can afford the investment, which the state recognizes. Just before the outage earlier this month, the California Public Utilities Commission expanded its low-income home solar subsidy program to provide $8.5 million in incentives annually through 2030 to reduce the cost of going solar. A new incentive program rolling out in 2020 should pay for the system for critical facilities and medical need customers, said Scott Murtishaw, senior adviser for regulatory affairs with California Solar & Storage Association. He also predicted storage costs would decrease between 10% to 20% yearly.

But when an outage hits, people want cheaper and faster options.

Before Kensington resident Lauren Tyler lost power for less than 24 hours in the last outage, she rushed to REI and spent $2,600 on GoalZero solar panels and a lithium ion battery that could keep her fridge and internet going. For her, it was worth it to prepare for next time.

At GoalZero, a Utah company that makes portable solar panels, batteries and kits, the hottest selling product during and after the outage was a battery system costing $1,800 that’s strong enough to power a fridge for more than a day, according to spokesman Zach Allen. It takes 25 hours to recharge when plugged into an outlet and anywhere from 41 to 120 hours in the sun, he said.

Orinda resident Robert Eikel also lost power for more than a day, but he kept his lights on and communication devices charged through a Christmas present from his wife: a solar-powered kit by BioLite that includes lights, cables and a radio that lasted all night.

Biolite has sold more than 500 SolarHome 620 kits — which cost $150 — on its website, not including Amazon or brick-and-mortar stores, but it didn’t see a significant spike related to the power outage, spokesman Chris Dickey said.

The kit doesn’t have enough power to keep the fridge running, so Eikel still had to buy ice and pack food in coolers. He has looked at getting a larger solar system or a generator but hasn’t done so yet.

“If this becomes a regular occurrence, we would definitely think about it,” he said.

Solar storage systems may not work for everyone. Lafayette resident Joe Di Prisco said the two Tesla Powerwalls that it took a year to install at the cost of $40,000 have worked during past outages — but didn’t hold during the duration of the recent PG&E shut-off.

The high upfront cost of battery storage will probably be a barrier to many people, but some utilities are experimenting with novel lease arrangements that will equip their customers with battery storage, which then becomes part of the utility’s toolbox for meeting peak demand […]

via Blackouts Accelerate Trend to Solar, Batteries — Climate Denial Crock of the Week