XPost: alt.politics, alt.politics.usa, alt.fan.rush-limbaugh
XPost: alt.survival

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/business/2025/07/25/china-stealthy-solar-exports/

The hum of solar panel factories in this steamy island city
doesn’t sound like much. But to American trade officials,
it’s the muffled noise of rules being bent — or broken.

In recent months, Batam, a duty-free Indonesian enclave a
short ferry ride from Singapore, has become a key waypoint
in a convoluted global shuffle. Chinese solar manufacturers,
facing stiff U.S. tariffs, are quietly assembling their
equipment in Indonesia and slipping their products into the
American market, tariff-free.

. . .

Not really unexpected. Create any system and
everybody will immediately find a hundred ways
to game/cheat that system.

China is large/rich/global enough to arrange many
ways around tariffs.

Despite Trump pooping on solar power there's still
a huge market for it - now mostly for home/biz owners
who want to be at least partially 'off grid' for
various reasons. Some biz just want to cut their
overall electric bills. Making a typical home
literally off-grid IS an expensive proposition
alas ... you need lots of PV cells, but also
a lot of battery capacity. For 'survival' purposes
though you'd need at least 72 hour capacity if
the sun isn't shining - think hurricane or blizzard.
That's a LOT of vanadium flow batteries ........

Western-made PV cells DO exist - though some are
really rebranded Chinese cells. They all HAVE
become better - more oomph, longer life - but
you still need a LOT of them for true off-grid.
That's more than just the roof of your house,
you'd better have a clear acre of land - and a
security setup to stop midnight thieves.

Let's see ... A/C unit ... 70 amps, running
maybe 50% of the time, a couple of fridges
at about 10 amps each running maybe 25% of
the time. Perhaps a water pump, 8 amps every
so often. Those are the major consumers. With
LED bulbs that end of things has diminished
considerably. Work the numbers, see how much
PV you really need to stay ahead of the
typical daily total consumption, leaving
enough extra to charge your batteries. $$$ !

As such, off-grid is really for greenie-posers
with at least 6-figure+ salaries who WANT TO, or
for people with seriously crappy grid power
who HAVE TO. It's that latter group I feel
bad for.

LNG generators - "Generac" sells tons - are OK
but don't bet on LNG deliveries after a bad
hurricane or during a prolonged blizzard.

Whole-house generators ain't that cheap either
and typically you can expect maybe just three
or four days before the fuel runs out. Diesel
gens may actually be 'safer' - diesel fuel WILL
be stocked nearby - but they're not as simple
and clean as LNG and they have to be run every
few days ... and if you don't use all the fuel
you need to DO something with the stale stuff
about once a year even if you add stabilizer.
(on the plus side, diesel isn't gonna leak
and explode like LNG might)

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