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Solar is great but it doesn't work at night. At least here in California it seems like the toughest times for the grid currently are around 7-9pm when they do
by Rebelgecko 6y ago
Solar is great but it doesn't work at night.
At least here in California it seems like the toughest times for the grid currently are around 7-9pm when they do the solar to fossil fuel transition (wind can be sporadic). I imagine that'll coincide with when a lot of cars are charging so hopefully we're able to step up our energy storage capacity
- seanmcdirmid 6y agoNuclear is pretty constant (hard to stop and start like coal), if it is part of the mix then EVs can soak up output at night. I live in the PNW, hydro is fairly flexible so we don’t get off peak discounts. California uses a lot of hydro also, I suspect they are using more of that rather than coal to fill in the gaps between solar
- njarboe 6y agoCalifornia is shutting down its last nuclear plant in 2025 due to new cooling water regulations.
- Rebelgecko 6y agoNatural gas is the preferred fossil fuel here. It spins up faster than coal, and as a result California has had to delay the decommissioning of nat gas plants as nuclear ones have been shut down. Hydro is a pretty small part of our grid (real-time and historical data here: https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.html)
- seanmcdirmid 6y agoHydro is almost as much as solar according to https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/california-electricity-data/2019-total-system-electric-generation/2018 https://www.energy.ca.gov/data-reports/energy-almanac/califo... when PNW imports are considered.