The utility. The utility operates a 24/7 electricity marketplace that perfectly matches supply and demand. Supply must follow demand. If demand decreases, pricing becomes negative until supply decreases. This is problematic because we aren't utilizing all the excess energy generated by solar and wind. Which is all free.
Regional clusters emerged, for example, in the Permian Basin in western Texas, and in Kansas and western Oklahoma in the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), negative prices accounted for more than 25% of all hours. Negative electricity prices result either from local congestion of the transmission system leading supply to exceed demand locally or due to system-wide oversupply. :https://emp.lbl.gov/publications/plentiful-electricity-turns...
Ive read this (as much as i can due to paywalls) but still don’t get it. Why would anyone pay to get of power? And if that happens, why would they build a solar farm over a carpark ton pay users of that power?
Someone with generation that takes time to curtail will need somewhere to put it; at the limit, they may pay someone else to take it. Also, some generators are getting paid in multiple ways, if you're getting a subsidy for every kWh you put on the grid, you might be willing to pay for the privilege of putting it out there.
I agree though, if the typical case is negative pricing, during solar peak, it doesn't make sense to build more solar capacity. One trend is to have solar panels oriented toward morning or evening sun rather than midday sun, less kWh generated overall, but possibly more valuable kWh due to time of day.
If you get enough grid accessible battery capacity, during normal conditions, the price ceiling falls and the floor raises. Of course, when all the batteries are full or empty, the price can go negative again.
How would this work? Who is then paying for the solar?