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Fewer cars with AM radios...

Where did that statement come from? The only Millennials not owning a car are those in cities such as Noo Yawk or perhaps S.F. (where you can get around without one).
It's a holdover from when the Millennials were in their teens and not in a rush to get driver licenses at age 16. It hasn't been true for a long time. A 2019 study shows Millennials own 0,4 fewer cars per household than Baby Boomers did at the same stage of life (26-41).

That said, Tuna, there are Millennials in many major cities, including Phoenix, who don't own cars. "Only" is a big word.
 
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Both electric utilities serving my area offer off-peak rates but if off-peak use significantly rises you can bet the farm they'll "adjust" their rates accordingly.

I was talking to a solar installer a few weeks ago and he told me they do a significant business within the Phoenix Metro but he could not recall more than 1 or 2 installs where the solar power fed a charging (or, more accurately, a battery) station. Home battery storage systems are very expensive and even here, in the most significant sunny climate in the USA, it takes many years to recoup the initial outlay.

I will admit I'm not the most mobile guy in the world but I can't recall seeing a single solar powered charging station in my area. I have solar on my house but it would still cost in excess of several thousand dollars to install a battery to store the excess.
I think you may have misunderstood (or I didn't state it clearly)---I was talking about public charging when I was discussing solar storage. And what I linked to on that was about a facility that can store excess power for a region.

As for not seeing a single solar-powered charging station in your area, you need to go to the Phoenix Zoo more:


Also, you might be seeing solar-powered charging stations and not realize it. If it's covered parking at the charger, the panels are often atop the canopy.
 
According to the article, this is a "solar-covered electric vehicle (EV) charging station." A few kW of power, generated by the panels, is fed back to the grid, unless there are enough customers so that those kW of power are fed into the batteries of the car, rather than back into the grid. Nothing about battery storage at this location.
 
According to the article, this is a "solar-covered electric vehicle (EV) charging station." A few kW of power, generated by the panels, is fed back to the grid, unless there are enough customers so that those kW of power are fed into the batteries of the car, rather than back into the grid. Nothing about battery storage at this location.

My post to Landtuna, which included the link, started by mentioning storage, then shifted to his not having seen a solar-powered charging station. Two separate thoughts.

As to storage at the location, it doesn't need to be there---the massive Moss Landing battery installation near Monterey isn't at a charging site, but it can direct power to them if needed. And in paragraph ten of the news release about the Phoenix Zoo charging station, there's this:

The project comes following a series of renewable generation projects SRP announced this January, including a 100-megawatt (MW) solar-powered battery storage system to be added to SRP’s existing Saint Solar facility and a large-scale wind farm on the Babbitt's Ranches property in Northern Arizona. SRP also announced a brand-new Navajo Nation-based solar plant, Cameron Solar, to be developed in 2023, and an extended contract for Kayenta Solar which serves the Navajo Nation. These are in addition to existing renewable resources operating on SRP’s power grid and contribute to the utility’s commitment to add 2,025 MW of new utility-scale solar energy by 2025 and 450 MW of new battery storage by 2023.
 
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The only Millennials I know of who don't own cars are the undergrads at ASU (no place to park). :rolleyes:
Personal experience in Phoenix, Arizona is not universal, Tuna. In many American cities, the costs of insurance and parking become an issue big enough that younger people (and again, Millennials are 26-41 now) will live as close as they possibly can to work, shopping and public transit because it's actually cheaper. Not the majority, but they do exist.
 
As for not seeing a single solar-powered charging station in your area, you need to go to the Phoenix Zoo more:
Perhaps. I can't remember the last time I visited our zoo. It may still have had hitching posts and water troughs.
Also, you might be seeing solar-powered charging stations and not realize it. If it's covered parking at the charger, the panels are often atop the canopy.
My old company has installed a bunch of solar collectors in its parking lots but I'm way too old to be tracing the wiring to see if they feed vehicle chargers. My wife's company does have 2 charging stations near the employee entrance but I've never seen them occupied.
 
Personal experience in Phoenix, Arizona is not universal, Tuna. In many American cities, the costs of insurance and parking become an issue big enough that younger people (and again, Millennials are 26-41 now) will live as close as they possibly can to work, shopping and public transit because it's actually cheaper. Not the majority, but they do exist.
I understand that. I've lived in SF, NYC and Portland to know every city is not car centric. We used to have a DJ here in Phoenix who used to frequently tell his listeners to "live where you work" and I've always tried to do that my whole working career. It even meant living in Queens, NY when I had to commute into Manhattan (UGH!).
 
I understand that. I've lived in SF, NYC and Portland to know every city is not car centric. We used to have a DJ here in Phoenix who used to frequently tell his listeners to "live where you work" and I've always tried to do that my whole working career. It even meant living in Queens, NY when I had to commute into Manhattan (UGH!).
Yes, but those insurance and parking costs aren't just limited to transit-friendly cities like San Francisco, New York and Portland. A lot (again, not a majority) of young adults could afford the car, but not the insurance and the parking on top of that. So, even in cities not famous for their transit, they seek out places to live where there's a bus, subway or light rail line nearby---or that puts them in walking or biking distance from work.
 
The project comes following a series of renewable generation projects SRP announced this January, including a 100-megawatt (MW) solar-powered battery storage system to be added to SRP’s existing Saint Solar facility and a large-scale wind farm on the Babbitt's Ranches property in Northern Arizona. SRP also announced a brand-new Navajo Nation-based solar plant, Cameron Solar, to be developed in 2023, and an extended contract for Kayenta Solar which serves the Navajo Nation. These are in addition to existing renewable resources operating on SRP’s power grid and contribute to the utility’s commitment to add 2,025 MW of new utility-scale solar energy by 2025 and 450 MW of new battery storage by 2023.
I wish SRP hadn't gotten out of the good music business. From what I can tell, they were superior to Bonneville.
 
What a small list...my AM had/has over 2800 in rotation...even 20 & 30 yr old love it!!! They HATE the same songs over and over
I programmed a classic rock station in a market of about 20 million some years back. Research revealed about 600 playable songs. We went to over an 18 share in the first book, nearly double that of the #2 station.

With that share, we pretty much invited a competitor. And we got one... playing over 1800 songs and a slogan of "more of your favorite rock".

They got up to a 1.8 share, good for about 20th in the market. We increased to over 20 share in some books.

People like to hear their favorite songs over and over. The fist lesson for new PDs is that "variety" does not mean "more songs". It means "no songs I don't like".
 
My nieces husband is an engineering supervisor with Dominion Energy, one of the largest utilities on the East Coast. He's been passing along their progress in decommissioning coal and natural gas-fired utility generation, to solar and wind. The largest hurdle has been the battery storage component, as it's expensive. Converting some farmer's cow pasture to put a solar farm in is the easy part. They're even talking about a floating barge solar farm.
There is an idea from the Republic of Korea that I personally find more intriguing than outfitting cropland or barges with solar: solar arrays in the median or shoulder of highways.

The US has a lot of highways, many of which are rural and would seem to be a good fit for such a scheme. And not one acre of pasture or cropland would be consumed.
 
I wish SRP hadn't gotten out of the good music business. From what I can tell, they were superior to Bonneville.
SRP here is "Salt River Project", the administrator of of water rights.

Stereo Radio Productions (Shulke) close when the Beautiful Music format died in the late 80's. No new music, no listener interest, no advertisers.

Bonneville beat Schulke as often as Shulke beat Bonneville. Often it depended on who was in first and who executed better.

I had Bonneville go up against me in San Juan. They lost, big time. The programmer of Bonneville wrote to the owner of that station saying that my operation was so well positioned, promoted and executed that there was no way to beat me. I was in first and spent lots of time and money on imaging, marketing and promotions.

So it was as much the local owner and manager as the syndicator.
 
Also, you might be seeing solar-powered charging stations and not realize it. If it's covered parking at the charger, the panels are often atop the canopy.
I am starting to see more and more of those here in The Desert. Solar panels over the shade canopies that are very common where the summer heat can reach 124° and we have only a few cloudy days a year.
 
Okay---I have to ask: How many 20 and 30 year olds listen to your AM station and how do you know how they feel about your library size?
If n < 100 in this kind of survey the results are not valid.
 
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