Comment Re:TFA has no supporting data (Score 1) 153
The rebates on the batteries you earn over time, and to do so you must export some of your stored battery power back to the grid during peak hours.
Is this actually a substantial amount of energy? I'm in Utah (Rocky Mountain Power) and RMP also pays me to use my batteries... but the amount of energy they draw is tiny. 8-10 times per week they draw on my batteries, but it's like 4 kW peak draw (my batteries can sustain 20 kW), and generally for less than 30 seconds, so in any given week I'm only contributing like 0.2 kWh. As I understand it, this is because RMP uses my batteries not really to "serve loads", per se, but just as grid stabilization; brief backfill to keep the voltage from sagging.
Obviously my batteries do serve *my* loads, which reduces the load on the grid, but that's not what RMP pays me for.
Does CA make heavier use of residential batteries to feed the grid?