Comment by volkl48
10 months ago
Now.
I will point out that in 2016 when they started this project, the cost of new batteries would have been multiple times higher than it is today, so it would have been a moderately more "sensible" thing to do than it currently seems.
Yes, of course, this cost consideration is only relevant today.
I can imagine that ~9 years ago there might have been very little reasonably priced LiFePO4 cells available and if someone could get their hands on used 18650 cells very cheaply, it might have been a reasonable choice at the time.
Particularly if you can narrow down a couple brands where it tends to be a single cell or two that goes poopy while the rest are still good. Driving around picking up dead batteries that only have 1-2 good cells per pack is a thankless job.
Now what?
The costs their parent mentioned are the costs now, not back when the system was originally built.
It's likely just a statement of emphasis, though the correct usage would be something like, "now, something something something..." with a comma instead of a period
"Now" as in "all of those things are true now, but they weren't when this project started ten years ago."