Ry-Fi

Yes and no. It is true that 8/1095 days isn't that big of a deal, but for a large company it certainly would be as that is almost 2 full reporting weeks where you do no business! Moreover, it is a big deal relative to what solar is competing against given that base load fossil fuels provide power 100% of the time.

I hear you and appreciate the response. Solar is certainly an intriguing technology going forward, however, I think we can almost certainly all agree on a large scale fossil fuels' strength lies in its reliability if nothing else, so solar has an uphill battle in that category. But as you have pointed it out, it is not necessarily a deal breaker and can be mitigated by being on grid + solar. Best of luck going forward.

Hydro is usually considered a renewable energy source, not a fossil fuel. But point taken. I am speaking in generalities here, but fossil fuels are basically nature's batteries as they represent dense forms of stored energy over time. A lump of coal will provide the same amount of power when ever, where ever under normal conditions (generally), where as wind and solar are intermittent sources of energy (only when the wind blows only when the sun shines, etc). So basically fossil fuel's real strength is that they will produce energy whenever you want because they are stored forms of energy. The benefits of this are obviously immense, as generators can provide on demand energy in the event the grid has issues even in the event of storms, chaos, and whatever else the world throws at you. The costs are also obvious, such as pollution and noise.

Good catch! Thanks, I have edited it. And as I said, it is a yes/no kind of significance. On an absolute scale we likely won't notice it or care, but relative to peers this type of thing is noticed even if it is silly. OP has been making the argument for solar as a clear switch for businesses, but not having power for something like 5 days can be significant when scales are increased and your competition continues producing. Every business is obviously different, but losing volume can threaten orders and contract fulfillment, not to mention certain machinery and processes take several days to start up once they shut down. So losing power for even a few days can result in added costs and delays beyond just getting power back. I work in finance and when a Company has operations knocked out for a week or so it is in fact noticeable in the numbers and often disclosed in Company filing's as a result. In OPs defense, he has been recommending most pursue an "On Grid + solar" strategy which would help mitigate solar's intermittent nature while also increasing ROI.