Are Peaker Plants Almost at an End?
Kate from OhmConnect
Posts: 1,049Administrator
Green Tech Media posted an article suggesting that they can't see the need to build any new gas peaker plants after 2025. As we all know, these are exactly the sources OhmConnect aims to offset with #OhmHours.
The article focuses on storage, but OhmConnect's virtual power plant can also count itself among the entities chipping into peaker plants. Mentioned in the article as a sign is Tthe most recent example: the California Energy Commission's decision to reconsider a gas peaking plant planned for Oxnard.
What are your thoughts?
Best Answer
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Bstring
North SD County CoastalPosts: 84Member
OhmConnect is already proving that people's usage habits can be manipulated predictably (no proof, but I suspect accuracy is pretty granular). As long as the incentive is adequate enough to encourage a consistent reduction in demand and costs the utility less, sure then there will be no market for peaker plants and no reason to invest. Something else of interest - I notice I tend to use less energy the whole evening when there is an ohm hour due to the way averages are calculated. I wonder if this is seen across the board.
And if I can cast a vote here, I'd rather keep the ohm hour points rolling in and not buy a powerwall.
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Answers
Thanks for your response, @Bstring. We are indeed showing that usage habits can be shifted, which is really exciting. I'm curious what you think is adequate enough of an incentive.
I think adding a PowerWall as a spin to win prize using tokens would be a great incentive! I doubt that a start-up will be giving away a Tesla any time soon...probably not a PowerWall either, but I'm it'll be sooner than a Tesla.
Gosh, that's like asking what an adequate level of income is. It's kind of a gray area, but is always increasing. :-) and if it drops, well you just don't want that to happen. I believe this is why the increasing streak and level bonus so effectively encourage consistent and ongoing participation.
This is a little off topic, but:
Referral bonuses are good too, but I suspect a lot of people I mention it to through social media hesitate to click the personal shortened link. When I see those, I navigate or search myself since shortened links, in general, can route you anywhere, good or bad. Solving this isn't easy. I like to tell people to just check it out, letting them search "Ohm Connect" and ask them to use my link if it looks good. I think once they hit the landing page and enter their info, my link is useless. Maybe I'm wrong.
@Bstring , have you tried texting INVITE to the number we send you your SMS notifications? that passes back a link to your personal page you can forward to friends via SMS. I get the majority of my referrals that way, though I post about OhmConnect on Facebook too.
That's the personal shortened link I'm talking about. In general, it's a bad idea to blindly click on those because you really don't know where it leads. We all know the ohm connect ones are safe, but to strangers in an internet forum... It's like the link to costco $250 cash card for free on facebook. Bad. :-)
@Bstring thanks for the feedback.