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False equivalence. A similar argument could be made of nuclear power (which needs to run at/near 100% output), or supercritical coal (similar operating constrai
by ghouse 8y ago
False equivalence. A similar argument could be made of nuclear power (which needs to run at/near 100% output), or supercritical coal (similar operating constraint to nuclear). Do we need to add batteries to those as well to make an apples-apples comparison? (Incidentally, much of the pumped hydro in the US was built to integrate nuclear power).
Unless you're trying to power the grid with a single power plant (like on a small island), argument made above doesn't hold. The grid is a network of generators (and loads) with different operating characteristics.
- reaperducer 8y agoPlus, just because the sun goes down doesn't mean all solar generating stations stop making electricity. I'm not even remotely an expert in this field, but the towers at the solar furnaces I've seen continue to glow well into the night, meaning they're hot enough to still generate steam, and thus electricity, long after it's dark. I don't expect they generate electricity all night, but maybe not as much energy needs to be stored as people assume.
- abfan1127 8y agothe solar furnaces take time to heat up in the morning too, so its more of a skew of time, rather than a stretch of operating time, although depending on the efficiency, it may stretch too.
- CyberDildonics 8y agoNot only that, but solar generated in one place can supply electricity to areas where the sun has not hit yet, and likewise after the sun goes down, those same places can draw power from further west.
- aalleavitch 8y agoI like the idea of having essentially a grid “wave”: in the morning your power comes from the East, in the evening it comes from the West.