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I'd agree. Clearly solar is sun-dependent, and other options may be more suited to other locations. That said, electricity is one form of energy that is really
by bruce511 2y ago
I'd agree. Clearly solar is sun-dependent, and other options may be more suited to other locations.
That said, electricity is one form of energy that is really cheap to distribute (once you are close to "the grid".) Which means that moving electricity from sunny places to darker corners is very practical.
There are some economics in play. Remote populations (like on islands, or in Alaska) are unlikely to be connected anytime soon. These populations are generally dependent on coal.
Nuclear might be appealing, but refueling nuclear takes time. So if it's your only electrical source, you need two reactors, each capable of supplying enough power. And of course the expertise to run it (expertise possibly harder to find in far-north Alaska.)
Ultimately diesel is likely to remain the fuel of choice for small communities because engines are cheap, fuel is easily transported, and expertise is local.
- mlindner 2y agoI think you're underestimating the costs of transporting power long distances.
- bruce511 2y agoThere are losses, sure. And yes it requires infrastructure to be built. Unlike an oil pipeline there's no possibility of spilling, or blocking wildlife. And the costs are tiny compared to trucking oil or coal around.
- EasyMark 2y agoRefueling is why you build more capacity than you need. It’s not like you have to “refuel” every night. It’s also not 1 for 1 (1 running, 1 “waiting”)
- bruce511 2y agoIt kinda is though because refueling is a long job. Typically in the order of weeks. I'm not sure most communities would enjoy running on no power, or limited power for some number of weeks every couple years. And sure, maybe "fast refueling " gets built into new designs. A day or two is likely the longest you can tolerate though. Obviously that's before we consider other concerns of being dependent on a single source. I'm not sure living in remote Alaska, being dependent on a single complex machine for power is an ideal situation.
- kragen 2y agoincidentally i don't think it's true that engines are cheap; diesel-engine generators seem to be on the order of 100¢ per watt, while pv modules are 8¢ per watt and falling. at least, at the few-kilowatts level where i've been able to find prices. maybe wärtsilä's multi-megawatt diesel power plants are cheaper per watt but they don't seem to publish a price list maybe you just mean that diesels and especially otto engines scale down to smaller scales than nuclear or coal power plants?