Stage 1: Solar Panels and the Inverter
Producing Clean Energy
The first phase of the energy transition focused on generation.
Solar panels paired with an inverter allowed households and businesses to:
- ●Produce their own electricity
- ●Reduce dependence on the grid
- ●Lower energy bills through self-consumption
At this stage, the system was fundamentally one-directional: produce energy, use it immediately, and export the rest.
This worked well when:
- ●Electricity prices were stable
- ●Grid export was simple and predictable
- ●Solar penetration was low
However, solar alone could not solve the mismatch between when energy is produced and when it is needed.