Would you like to be paid to heat your water?

New solar and wind electric generators are being installed at increasing rates because their costs are declining and utilities are getting better at integrating intermittent generation into their grids. New renewable generation plants are more economical than new coal or natural gas plants. Renewable generators are, therefore, displacing fossil or nuclear fueled plants when the old plants are retired.

However, generation from solar and wind sources doesn’t necessarily happen at the exact same time electricity is being used. The inevitable result is that renewable generation is being overbuilt...