I think by focusing on insolation, Russell has misunderstood my point.
Insolation is a given, and generally not easily changed without
changing location.  Allen is in a fixed location, and is concerned.

What matters most for a given location is the spot price into the
network, the cost of extending the network, and how the price varies
across the insolation curve.

Here's a farm with the panels all facing west instead of solar
optimum.

https://goo.gl/maps/CZ71fMiRjrs

Here's their spot price per megawatt by scheduled demand

https://aemo.com.au/Electricity/National-Electricity-Market-NEM/Data-dashbo=
ard

So this farm is facing for the evening peak, and can bid into the
market based on generation forecasting and cloud observations.  With
error bars on the forecast, they can potentially limit generation to
avoid hitting over-generation penalties.

https://solcast.com.au/ is a forecasting service I'm familiar with,
and I've been experimenting with the data.

https://solcast.com.au/utility-scale/short-term-solar-forecasting-core-busi=
ness-or-distraction/
has an interesting explanation.

It's about the same level of optimisation and engineering that is
applied to grid scale thermal generation, but the fuel price is much
lower.

--=20
James Cameron
http://quozl.netrek.org/
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