Bringing up Iceland as an example is a little disingenuous since the whole island is a volcano so they can use geothermal cheaply. Costa Rica uses its large am

Bringing up Iceland as an example is a little disingenuous since the whole island is a volcano so they can use geothermal cheaply. Costa Rica uses its large amount of rainfall and dams to use generate hydro power, and this article discusses a drought they had in the last year that meant they had to fire up the old fossil fuel plants: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/30/truth-behind-costa-rica-renewable-energy-reservoirs-climate-change http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/30/truth-b... So I'd still consider having some base load capacity available fairly important.