4 ms·
1GW is roughly the output of one nuclear reactor (most plants have 2 or more) for one hour. We'll need at least half a day's worth of storage, likely much more
by Manuel_D 5y ago
1GW is roughly the output of one nuclear reactor (most plants have 2 or more) for one hour.
We'll need at least half a day's worth of storage, likely much more if we want to use wind for a significant portion of power generation.
- pydry 5y agoI remember people saying something similar about the amount of deployed solar and wind shortly after it became cost competitive. There used to be a tiny amount deployed but it was the cheapest form of power. Then over the course of a few years there was a lot. All that really matters is A) is it cost effective B) will there be scaling problems C) will there be political impediments.
- coryrc 5y agoSolar is not cost-effective today for applying power after the sun sets (duck curve) or at night. Wind is not cost-effective at supplying power on calm days. If they were required to build the rest of the system to be reliable (longer interconnects, batteries, etc) it suddenly wouldn't be cost-effective, this explaining why energy cost continues to go up while this supposedly cheap power ramps up.
- pydry 5y agoCombined solar+battery is not just cost effective at dealing with the duck curve it is downright cheap. Hawaii canceled an inter-island grid interconnect because of this.