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Batteries and dams can be used to store energy. It doesn't have to be sunny and/or windy all the time. Excess generation capacity takes care of the issue. Rega

Batteries and dams can be used to store energy. It doesn't have to be sunny and/or windy all the time. Excess generation capacity takes care of the issue. Regardless, burning natural gas for heat is burning 100% fossil fuels for heat, while electricity is not generally generated 100% by fossil fuels. Using electricity is still a huge improvement even now. And if you're using baseboard heating (electric), heat pumps are way more efficient.

tomcam 4y ago
If batteries and dams are so effective, why were Germany and Texas caught off guard during the last few years?
- afterburner 4y ago
  Wow, this says everything I need to know about you. You are arguing in incredibly bad faith. Germany? What the natural gas thing? They heavily relied on it through building up gas heating and then they had to embargo Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine. You can't replace all German homes with heat pumps overnight, and they hadn't even started until the war started. Texas? They refuse to winterize their energy grid against winter weather and have repeatedly suffered failures over the last couple decades when they get an bad winter storm. Note that the biggest parts of the grid that failed were natural gas power generation. They are also not connected to the rest of the US grids which could have helped, because they don't want to be federally regulated, because they don't want to spend money to winterize their grid. Now, what does that have to do with dams and batteries? Absolutely nothing. It's just fossil fuel generation failing thanks to regressive policy. You realize you have to build the new power generation before you can blame it right? Nice try. Don't worry, I don't have to convince you. Solar and wind will get so cheap even stubborn regressives will want to build it. Only the fossil fuel companies will resist. I guess maybe you work for one?
  - tomcam 4y ago
    Didn’t mean to trigger you. Sorry. The point I’m making is that no matter how cheap solar and wind are, with electric cars increasing in popularity, usage is getting more and more lopsided. The network just cannot deal with peak loads, especially in places with harsh winters. Solar and wind are pretty useless at night or when there’s no wind, which is a lot of the time. And thanks for the detailed answer!
    - afterburner 4y ago
      "The network just cannot deal with peak loads" It can if it gets upgraded. Which is happening. "Solar and wind are pretty useless at night or when there’s no wind" Did you forget about the batteries already? And are you forgetting that power grids operate on a continental level? Your power doesn't have to come from next door.

tomcam 4y ago

If batteries and dams are so effective, why were Germany and Texas caught off guard during the last few years?

afterburner 4y ago
Wow, this says everything I need to know about you. You are arguing in incredibly bad faith. Germany? What the natural gas thing? They heavily relied on it through building up gas heating and then they had to embargo Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine. You can't replace all German homes with heat pumps overnight, and they hadn't even started until the war started. Texas? They refuse to winterize their energy grid against winter weather and have repeatedly suffered failures over the last couple decades when they get an bad winter storm. Note that the biggest parts of the grid that failed were natural gas power generation. They are also not connected to the rest of the US grids which could have helped, because they don't want to be federally regulated, because they don't want to spend money to winterize their grid. Now, what does that have to do with dams and batteries? Absolutely nothing. It's just fossil fuel generation failing thanks to regressive policy. You realize you have to build the new power generation before you can blame it right? Nice try. Don't worry, I don't have to convince you. Solar and wind will get so cheap even stubborn regressives will want to build it. Only the fossil fuel companies will resist. I guess maybe you work for one?
- tomcam 4y ago
  Didn’t mean to trigger you. Sorry. The point I’m making is that no matter how cheap solar and wind are, with electric cars increasing in popularity, usage is getting more and more lopsided. The network just cannot deal with peak loads, especially in places with harsh winters. Solar and wind are pretty useless at night or when there’s no wind, which is a lot of the time. And thanks for the detailed answer!
  - afterburner 4y ago
    "The network just cannot deal with peak loads" It can if it gets upgraded. Which is happening. "Solar and wind are pretty useless at night or when there’s no wind" Did you forget about the batteries already? And are you forgetting that power grids operate on a continental level? Your power doesn't have to come from next door.