An estimate I’ve seen is 2% loss in transmission (voltages 230 kV and above) and 4% in distribution (voltages from 7.2 to 34.5 kV). You’re right; it is far easier to build solar generation in neighborhoods than any type of thermal power plant (nuclear, natural gas, coal, biomass, etc.), but what’s happening is that big solar farms are being built where there is transmission or distribution capacity. We’ll see if solar ends up being more centralized in these big farms or distributed as it was envisioned by most planners before solar became the cheapest energy option. What would really make a difference for efficiency (avoiding losses between generation and consumption) is standardizing on 48V DC for lighting and motors. Then we could go solar to battery to device without having to invert the signal to AC. I believe there are a few car manufacturers who are building vehicles with a 48V DC low-voltage bus and an 800V DC high-voltage bus. No reason those two voltages couldn’t be used for residential and small commercial properties. If that happens, then distributed solar might be able to take on solar farms that have to play nice with the AC power grid. For most solar arrays, you’ve got losses of about 3% inverting the DC module output to AC, and then you’ve got additional losses rectifying the AC to DC to run LEDs, computers, and electronically commutated motors. I believe you’d be in the 10% or greater range of savings comparing a remote solar PV module that sends power over the grid versus a local solar PV module that can power DC loads.

John, it’s $2million for Slovakia, Czech Republic, and Poland combined, to study feasibility of coal-to-SMR conversions (Small Modular Reactor). Given how coal plants are embedded in that region’s grid, this looks like it might make sense.

Poland doesn’t need to be “given” wind farms. There are at least 35 wind farms there, with over 6GW capacity, and new capacity, including off-shore coming online continually. Yes, wind potential is there: https://globalwindatlas.info/en/area/Poland

One site, erected in 2012, used to be the tallest wind turbines in the world (now surpassed by a site in Denmark). There are several wind turbine manufacturers in Poland, and two wind two turbine tower manufacturers slated to start production in 2024.

Opinions are fine, incomplete and manipulated data is not.

Sorry, I can’t reply to JC since it is too deep.
JC: “Battery storage must be as stable and reliable as thermal generation.”
As stable and reliable as thermal is during a Texas winter storm event?

I know the U.S. has already given Poland (I think it was Poland) several million $$ to study the feasibility of a nuclear reactor. What a waste. They could have given them a wind farm instead.

In 2022 coal produced 831.5TWh of electricity according to the EIA, not 960TWh. In 2019 coal produced 961TWh, but that was a few years ago. In 2023 coal generation will be right around 700TWh.
The first coal electric generation was installed in the U.S. in 1882. The first utility scale battery was installed 3-4 years ago. Of course, batteries aren’t at the same scale as coal.
ERCOT is the largest grid in the U.S. They have 7GW of batteries currently and another 17.5GW of battery projects that have an interconnect agreement.
Coal capacity is dropping so fast and batteries are rising so fast that battery capacity will far outstrip coal capacity by 2030.

Not to mention little things like safety standards.

Most panels are warrantied for 30 years and starting to be warrantied for 40. Why would a manufacturer warranty panels for longer than they last?
There hasn’t been a recycling stream until recently because there weren’t enough panels to recycle, but 99% recycle is pretty decent:
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/mining-old-solar-panels-metals
How is coal ash recycled?

Funny they can’t sell them and yet EV sales volume is up 50% from 2022. That is some funny math.
https://electrek.co/2023/12/05/us-ev-sales-pass-1-million-2023/
EV sales in the first 9m of 2023 surpassed 2022 sales.

Hmm, I am not sure where the 1.28Q solar came from. In 2022 it was 1.87Q from the LLL chart. In 2020 it was 1.25Q.
1.87 + 3.84 = 5.71Q which would be 15%.
I would also argue that 2020 was an extreme outlier year and that probably even 2022 is not a representative year with solar panel shortages. I think in 9m when LLL publishes the 2023 it will be interesting. EIA data is saying the U.S. is about 40% non-carbon electric generation for the year. Coal is ~16%. Solar+wind generation will be greater than coal in 2024.