On: Africa's solar revolution is vast and speedy

But why can't we get away from needing the most expensive form of power generation, even at peak power?

Because most of Africa is great for solar, while Sweden is not.

Solar is also a great match for countries that need A/C during the day (like Africa), and less so for those that need heating at night (like Sweden).

Sweden's grid is already mostly decarbonized thanks to abundant hydro, but they participate in the European market for electricity and the rest of Europe is still behind Sweden.

In the US, it’s to make sure shortsighted investments in fossil fuels pay off (they cap rooftop solar below what makes financial sense for individuals so that rates stay high) or to shelter investors from criminal negligence. (e.g., when PG&E embezzles maintenance funds then burns towns down or blows up city blocks, its customers pay for damages. Lots of people die, but no one goes to jail.)

Because the peak requires on-demand power.

So you either need surplus in some way, to over cover the peak, or storage.

Both are still more expensive than fast gas turbines.

The old system with a nuclear surplus was evidently cheaper. If you don't care about emissions, coal is also cheaper.

Sweden used to have twice as many nuclear reactors as it does today. There's also more export capacity, and for Germany anything from Sweden is considered cheap.

Accept you'll have to work with China for solar and batteries.

I'm working with China for everything else already.