Diesel + Solar for Intermittent Grids

While developed nations are accustomed to the challenge of intermittent renewable sources on a stable grid, for the developing world, the problem is different: the grid itself is unreliable. Those affected turn to diesel backup generators. Once this investment has been made, resistance hardens against investments in more sustainable alternatives. However, the high cost of diesel makes a case for diesel+solar hybrids - already commonplace for off-grid applications - in these grid-tied systems as well. Displacing diesel fuel for just a few hundred hours each year can raise the project rate of return by several percent. The benefit of grid-tied diesel+solar is illustrated using a notional commercial/industrial PV project in India.