> solar roofs should come with batteries
The way I understand it, batteries tend to be bad for the environment if/when they need to be replaced, because often they are improperly recycled and/or there are no adequate facilities for that.
If this is correct, do we really want to have more of them around? Wouldn't an environmentally-friendly(ish) central plant be better in the long run?
I don't understand why these utilities are not creating a centralized battery in the form of, for example, pumped water. Use excess energy in the day to pump the water up, and let it down when the current energy demand exceeds standard production rates.
Pumped water is not the only possibility either, there are plenty of alternatives which are not terrible for the environment. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_storage
Quick googling suggests that Australia is already looking at this: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-06-06/tasmanian-pump-hydro-s...