Just to add that I was told by a very reliable person who is at the centre of these thingsthat no domestically produced electricity from solar panels reaches the grid.
He told me that all such electricity is lost at the first substation it meets, dissipated as heat.
Well, he's kind of correct, but also wrong. The 'National Grid' consists of the 400kV Transmission Network and the 12 or so 240V Distribution Networks, so to say 'it never reaches the grid' is only correct if you mean the Transmission Network element of the grid. Locally produced 240V Export is only used in the part of the grid downstream of the local substation, so he's right there, but each substation feeds a number of homes so to be 'dissipated as heat' implies that no other premises in the area are using any electricity at the time, the odds of which are vanishingly remote. Any locally produced power will be used rathe than drawing more power through the substation.
But yes, the grid was originally set up to deliver rather than collect and there's a lot of engineering work to be done yet. None of it is impossible though, it's just a matter of time. And yes, the intention is that we should be producing the energy we need rather than becoming mini power stations, exporting to all and sundry. That's why having batteries is a key part of a modern installation.
