The Duck Curve [0] is the enemy of grid reliability. Until the electric system figures out what to do with the useless energy generated in the middle of the day

The Duck Curve [0] is the enemy of grid reliability. Until the electric system figures out what to do with the useless energy generated in the middle of the day, we'll be chained to natural gas plants for surge generation. [0] https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/confronting-duck-curve-how-address-over-generation-solar-energy https://www.energy.gov/eere/articles/confronting-duck-curve-... Perhaps blowing bubbles in the ocean dead zones [1] would be a productive use of excess power? The bubblers would be turned on and off to bleed off extra electrons from the grid. [1] How big is the Ocean Dead Zone off the Coast of California? - https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010AGUFMOS33D1492H/abstract https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2010AGUFMOS33D1492H/abstra... From the cnbc submission: > Finally, once the wheels are in motion to shut a nuclear plant down, it's expensive and complicated process to reverse. > > Diablo was set on the path to be decommissioned in 2016 and will operate until 2025. Then, the fuel has to be removed from the site. If the next two winters are excessively cold [2], a real leader might arise to tell the anti-nuclear activists, 'you mean well, but we do actually need these thing for the next 20 years.' This leader would point out that the alternative is for all the Californians who are priced out of expensive electricity/natural gas to use coal from the Navajo Nation/etc to heat their homes [3]. [2] South Pole posts most severe cold season on record (seattletimes.com) (2021) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28734308 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28734308 [3] Coal Heating in the United States - https://forgreenheat.blogspot.com/2017/06/trends-in-heating-with-coal-in-united.html https://forgreenheat.blogspot.com/2017/06/trends-in-heating-...