The evidence that renewables need to be supported by gas and oil is evidential in northern Europe, observed by anyone who pay their own electricity bill. When t

The evidence that renewables need to be supported by gas and oil is evidential in northern Europe, observed by anyone who pay their own electricity bill. When the wind is weak the market price is determined by gas and oil prices. When the wind is strong the price goes down to basically transit costs. Since the average wind condition is pretty much the same each year, the market cost for electricity has been 100% determined by gas and oil prices for the last decade. If one also follow energy politics this has also been very clear by the politicians themselves. The green political movement has been advocating the concept of "reserve energy" over nuclear "base load". The strategy is to build out as much wind and solar as possible, while keeping natural gas and oil plant on subsidized plans. When the weather is bad for energy production, those natural gas and oil plant starts up and supply the missing supply. For oil and gas operators this is a pretty great deal. They get paid twice, once by the government and then a second time by the market. They also only need to spend fuel when the market price is at its highest, reducing fuel costs and improving profits. It is pretty much a win-win situation for the government and power plants operators.