3 ms·

Hungary is already using that (today we were 90% carbon-free thanks to solar), the problem is what to do when it gets dark.

ccozan 2mo ago
Batteries? Starting this year, in Romania you cannot put new PV capacity online without the storage for it, is mandatory. Possibly for existing ones, but I am not sure.
- chpatrick 2mo ago
  They're being installed but it's going to take a while.
  - SiempreViernes 2mo ago
    Much faster than any nuclear build though.
    - chpatrick 2mo ago
      Sure, but it doesn't solve today's problem with the low Danube.
- imoverclocked 2mo ago
  Mechanical ones so we aren’t left with a waste disaster in 10-20 years?
- ifwinterco 2mo ago
  Yes, absolutely colossal amounts of batteries though - what if it’s quite hot but also cloudy for 5 days in a row? You either have to significantly oversize the PV (easier said than done, when its energy density is already not that high per m2), or have enough batteries to last for multiple days of full load. If you do the maths that’s a lot of batteries
  - Kon5ole 2mo ago
    >what if it’s quite hot but also cloudy for 5 days in a row? The main idea is to then import power from somewhere sunny and/or windy or mountainous, using money you saved when they had the rain and you had the sun. Batteries and other storage mechanisms will gradually reduce the need for doing so, but aiming to entirely eliminate all need for cooperation with others seems a bit paranoid.
- pojzon 2mo ago
  In Poland you cannot own big capacity storage because it makes you independent from the grid and Gov does not want that. So you can have storage, but not too much, only as much to still be dependant on the grid. See the hypocrisy here?
  - leonidasrup 2mo ago
    You are not allowed to have own PV and big capacity storage without connection to electric grid?
    - pojzon 2mo ago
      You cannot have big storage either way. Its normal to have two installations and be able to switch between them. Not in Poland, because you are too independent.
      - leonidasrup 2mo ago
        The legislation was updated: "According to the adopted act, devices with a capacity of up to 30 kWh are exempt from any construction procedures; only reporting to the grid operator (OSD) is mandatory. Those between 30 kWh and 300 kWh in a building and 30 kWh and 2000 kWh freestanding are obliged to prepare a land development plan and make fire safety arrangements." https://renewablesnow.com/news/poland-adopts-rules-to-ease-energy-storage-in-dialogue-with-industry-1284887/ https://renewablesnow.com/news/poland-adopts-rules-to-ease-e...
dofm 2mo ago
"the problem is what to do when it gets dark" Batteries (or pumped storage hydro, which is more like a gravity-driven capacitor)
- riffraff 2mo ago
  Hungary is flat as hell, there's nowhere to build enough hydro storage. But yeah batteries would be nice.
  - dofm 2mo ago
    AFAIK the mountains are about as high as Wales? It looks like there's a 600MW storage scheme in the planning stages. That's about a third of the capacity of Wales's largest system (which is the biggest in Europe) and about twice the capacity of the second system. It's a meaningful contribution I would have thought.
  - JeremyNT 2mo ago
    You can do low(er) head pumped hydro storage [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludington_Pumped_Storage_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludington_Pumped_Storage_Power...
    - notabotiswear 2mo ago
      Can't speak for Hungary specifically, but the problem with flat terrain wrt hydro storage isn't just elevation difference - which can be offset with flowrate - it's the large surface area to storage and to depth ratios. Large lake means more losses, mainly due to evaporation, but seepage is also to be expected. Now put this fact in the thread's context: water shortage/stress...
      - dofm 2mo ago
        > Now put this fact in the thread's context: water shortage/stress… But doesn't adding a large reservoir mitigate both? You're not pumping the entire reservoir up and down hill every day.
RunSet 2mo ago
Collect solar power in orbit (where sunlight is uninterrupted) and microwave[0] it to earth. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_power_transfer#Microwaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_power_transfer#Microw...
- derdi 2mo ago
  I'm fairly sure that when it's dark where I am (because I'm in the shadow cast by Earth), it's also dark in orbit above me (because it's in the shadow cast by Earth).
shalom1112 2mo ago
[dead]

ccozan 2mo ago

Batteries? Starting this year, in Romania you cannot put new PV capacity online without the storage for it, is mandatory. Possibly for existing ones, but I am not sure.

chpatrick 2mo ago
They're being installed but it's going to take a while.
- SiempreViernes 2mo ago
  Much faster than any nuclear build though.
  - chpatrick 2mo ago
    Sure, but it doesn't solve today's problem with the low Danube.
imoverclocked 2mo ago
Mechanical ones so we aren’t left with a waste disaster in 10-20 years?
ifwinterco 2mo ago
Yes, absolutely colossal amounts of batteries though - what if it’s quite hot but also cloudy for 5 days in a row? You either have to significantly oversize the PV (easier said than done, when its energy density is already not that high per m2), or have enough batteries to last for multiple days of full load. If you do the maths that’s a lot of batteries
- Kon5ole 2mo ago
  >what if it’s quite hot but also cloudy for 5 days in a row? The main idea is to then import power from somewhere sunny and/or windy or mountainous, using money you saved when they had the rain and you had the sun. Batteries and other storage mechanisms will gradually reduce the need for doing so, but aiming to entirely eliminate all need for cooperation with others seems a bit paranoid.
pojzon 2mo ago
In Poland you cannot own big capacity storage because it makes you independent from the grid and Gov does not want that. So you can have storage, but not too much, only as much to still be dependant on the grid. See the hypocrisy here?
- leonidasrup 2mo ago
  You are not allowed to have own PV and big capacity storage without connection to electric grid?
  - pojzon 2mo ago
    You cannot have big storage either way. Its normal to have two installations and be able to switch between them. Not in Poland, because you are too independent.
    - leonidasrup 2mo ago
      The legislation was updated: "According to the adopted act, devices with a capacity of up to 30 kWh are exempt from any construction procedures; only reporting to the grid operator (OSD) is mandatory. Those between 30 kWh and 300 kWh in a building and 30 kWh and 2000 kWh freestanding are obliged to prepare a land development plan and make fire safety arrangements." https://renewablesnow.com/news/poland-adopts-rules-to-ease-energy-storage-in-dialogue-with-industry-1284887/ https://renewablesnow.com/news/poland-adopts-rules-to-ease-e...

dofm 2mo ago

"the problem is what to do when it gets dark" Batteries (or pumped storage hydro, which is more like a gravity-driven capacitor)

riffraff 2mo ago
Hungary is flat as hell, there's nowhere to build enough hydro storage. But yeah batteries would be nice.
- dofm 2mo ago
  AFAIK the mountains are about as high as Wales? It looks like there's a 600MW storage scheme in the planning stages. That's about a third of the capacity of Wales's largest system (which is the biggest in Europe) and about twice the capacity of the second system. It's a meaningful contribution I would have thought.
- JeremyNT 2mo ago
  You can do low(er) head pumped hydro storage [0] [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludington_Pumped_Storage_Power_Plant https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludington_Pumped_Storage_Power...
  - notabotiswear 2mo ago
    Can't speak for Hungary specifically, but the problem with flat terrain wrt hydro storage isn't just elevation difference - which can be offset with flowrate - it's the large surface area to storage and to depth ratios. Large lake means more losses, mainly due to evaporation, but seepage is also to be expected. Now put this fact in the thread's context: water shortage/stress...
    - dofm 2mo ago
      > Now put this fact in the thread's context: water shortage/stress… But doesn't adding a large reservoir mitigate both? You're not pumping the entire reservoir up and down hill every day.

RunSet 2mo ago

Collect solar power in orbit (where sunlight is uninterrupted) and microwave[0] it to earth. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_power_transfer#Microwaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wireless_power_transfer#Microw...

derdi 2mo ago
I'm fairly sure that when it's dark where I am (because I'm in the shadow cast by Earth), it's also dark in orbit above me (because it's in the shadow cast by Earth).

shalom1112 2mo ago

[dead]