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In Minnesota solar produces three times as much electricity in the longest days of summer than in the shortest days of winter. So either you need massive overca
by pasttense01 4y ago
In Minnesota solar produces three times as much electricity in the longest days of summer than in the shortest days of winter. So either you need massive overcapacity or lots of long term storage or a massive expansive expansion of the electric grid [which Nimbys will oppose]--and probably all three.
- pfdietz 4y agoOr wind, which is somewhat anticorrelated with solar. Also, the PV can be arranged at an angle that maximizes production in winter rather than total annual production. This has the added benefit of allowing some sun to hit the ground in summer, so something can be grown there.
- ianburrell 4y agoThe point is that renewables are cheap enough that can build overcapacity for same price as nuclear capacity. Overcapacity is an advantage since there can be dispatchable users of the free power. We will need to pull carbon from air, make hydrogen, and make carbon fuel. Those could turn out to be long term storage. Also, we shouldn’t think of power regionally. Minnesota is good at wind, Arizona is good at solar, California and Texas are good at solar and wind. This will require more transmission lines but those are affordable compared to alternatives. We would need more transmission lines in all nuclear world.