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Just a layman. But wind and solar have big limitations. They are available only in a limited amount only under certain conditions and their variability isn't un
by rohit2412 8y ago
Just a layman. But wind and solar have big limitations. They are available only in a limited amount only under certain conditions and their variability isn't under our control. And if you think energy storage would solve all this, batteries aren't cheap. We would like to have an infinite source of energy that we can control on demand.
- rock_hard 8y agoOh, but a fusion power plant is gonna be cheap?
- jnxx 8y ago> They are available only in a limited amount only under certain conditions and their variability isn't under our control. If one connects wind turbines to an electrical grid in a larger area, the variability averages out. Battery storage is being discussed. But what is probably more economical is that a significant proportion of energy usage is somewhat flexible in time. Take hot water generation. It is expensive to store the amount of electricity to bring 100 liters of water to boil, but it is very easy to store 100 liters of hot water for a few days. Heating and cooling make a very big proportion in modern energy use. And this isn't a new idea at all - all of human history, our energy management was around making use of a surplus of energy, like food, for times when less was available, and using storage.