Grid-Tied vs Off-Grid: A Complete Cost-Benefit
Choosing the right solar system involves evaluating initial costs, long-term savings, and your specific energy goals. While plant-level
With the falling costs of solar PV and wind power technologies, the focus is increasingly moving to the next stage of the energy transition and an energy systems approach, where energy storage can help integrate higher shares of solar and wind power.
Energy storage has become an increasingly common component of utility-scale solar energy systems in the United States. Much of NREL's analysis for this market segment focuses on the grid impacts of solar-plus-storage systems, though costs and benefits are also frequently considered.
Sometimes energy storage is co-located with, or placed next to, a solar energy system, and sometimes the storage system stands alone, but in either configuration, it can help more effectively integrate solar into the energy landscape. What Is Energy Storage?
Hybrid solar systems are both grid-tied and storage-ready. Most solar system owners should choose a grid-tied solar system because it's typically the most cost-effective. You may go off-grid if you live in a remote area, don't consume much electricity, and have the capital to invest in a complete home storage backup system.
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