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Idaho energy profile overview : https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ID https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ID Hydroelectric power supplied 60% of net electricity genera

by mrpopo 8y ago

Idaho energy profile overview : https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ID https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=ID Hydroelectric power supplied 60% of net electricity generation in Idaho in 2017. If a large share of it were pumped storage hydro, that would be very helpful for a 100% renewable target (free electricity storage to replace batteries). Idaho generates 0.4% of the USA's electricity.

lucidguppy 8y ago
I still like these articles. They should still be published. If we cannot go full renewable here - why would we be able to do it anywhere else?
- Jedd 8y ago
  Where is 'here' in your world?
  - jacobush 8y ago
    In Idaho I infer?
    - Jedd 8y ago
      That was my initial thought, but the double 'still' made me wonder. The idea that Idaho (or 'here') was the litmus test for going renewables made me wonder if parent might not be in Idaho (or the last great renewable energy site).
Arnt 8y ago
You don't need pump storage when you have 60% hydro, all you need is to change the rate of production. When the sun shines so the shops run out of sunscreen and facebook explodes with complaints you go down to 20% hydro, when the situation is the opposite and facebook explodes with complaints, you go up to 100% hydro (both numbers totally fudged of course).
- C1sc0cat 8y ago
  Pumped storage is for managing peak demand - you can go from zero to huge amounts of power very very quickly and avoid using the expensive and polluting standby by capacity.
  - Arnt 8y ago
    I'm curious. If you have 60% hydro, you have a lot of water coming into the reservoirs from snow melt. Why would you bother with pumping up more water from below?
    - reubenmorais 8y ago
      They might not be able to change production quickly enough in hydro plants to serve daily demand peaks, or the peaks might be higher than the total produced amount from the 60% hydro.
    - Aromasin 8y ago
      There's rarely ever enough water coming from upstream to counter the huge amount of water that gets dumped during peak energy consumption hours. If you've got extra grid power left over that's not being used during trough hours and it's not used to refill the reservoir, or stored in some other way (lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen gas production etc.) it's just going to go to waste.
      - Arnt 8y ago
        I see. That doesn't apply to the present subject though; Idaho uses mostly snow, and for a reservoir that buffers most of a winter's snow, a day's peak/trough energy consumption is a rounding error.
      - kortilla 8y ago
        >There's rarely ever enough water coming from upstream Not the case in Idaho
  - gnode 8y ago
dmurray 8y ago
Pumped storage can't contribute to net electricity generation, so all 60% has to be from regular hydro. Unless I misunderstand what is meant by "net" here.
- masklinn 8y ago
  You seem right, but maybe they mean some of the currently "regular" hydro would be converted to pumped hydro[0], allowing for storage & smoothing of other renewable energy sources. [0] most dams are not suitable for conversion[1], but some can be e.g. France's Bissorte was converted from the original 75MW gravity dam to a 750MW pumped hydro station in the 80s. [1] at least not without gigantic work to create a discharge reservoir from nothing

by mrpopo 8y ago

lucidguppy 8y ago

I still like these articles. They should still be published. If we cannot go full renewable here - why would we be able to do it anywhere else?

Jedd 8y ago
Where is 'here' in your world?
- jacobush 8y ago
  In Idaho I infer?
  - Jedd 8y ago
    That was my initial thought, but the double 'still' made me wonder. The idea that Idaho (or 'here') was the litmus test for going renewables made me wonder if parent might not be in Idaho (or the last great renewable energy site).

Arnt 8y ago

You don't need pump storage when you have 60% hydro, all you need is to change the rate of production. When the sun shines so the shops run out of sunscreen and facebook explodes with complaints you go down to 20% hydro, when the situation is the opposite and facebook explodes with complaints, you go up to 100% hydro (both numbers totally fudged of course).

C1sc0cat 8y ago
Pumped storage is for managing peak demand - you can go from zero to huge amounts of power very very quickly and avoid using the expensive and polluting standby by capacity.
- Arnt 8y ago
  I'm curious. If you have 60% hydro, you have a lot of water coming into the reservoirs from snow melt. Why would you bother with pumping up more water from below?
  - reubenmorais 8y ago
    They might not be able to change production quickly enough in hydro plants to serve daily demand peaks, or the peaks might be higher than the total produced amount from the 60% hydro.
  - Aromasin 8y ago
    There's rarely ever enough water coming from upstream to counter the huge amount of water that gets dumped during peak energy consumption hours. If you've got extra grid power left over that's not being used during trough hours and it's not used to refill the reservoir, or stored in some other way (lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen gas production etc.) it's just going to go to waste.
    - Arnt 8y ago
      I see. That doesn't apply to the present subject though; Idaho uses mostly snow, and for a reservoir that buffers most of a winter's snow, a day's peak/trough energy consumption is a rounding error.
    - kortilla 8y ago
      >There's rarely ever enough water coming from upstream Not the case in Idaho
- gnode 8y ago

dmurray 8y ago

Pumped storage can't contribute to net electricity generation, so all 60% has to be from regular hydro. Unless I misunderstand what is meant by "net" here.

masklinn 8y ago
You seem right, but maybe they mean some of the currently "regular" hydro would be converted to pumped hydro[0], allowing for storage & smoothing of other renewable energy sources. [0] most dams are not suitable for conversion[1], but some can be e.g. France's Bissorte was converted from the original 75MW gravity dam to a 750MW pumped hydro station in the 80s. [1] at least not without gigantic work to create a discharge reservoir from nothing