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>There is no excess ...yet. But solar and wind power are becoming the cheapest way to generate electricity. Their naturally variable production will mean that

by D_Alex 12y ago

>There is no excess ...yet. But solar and wind power are becoming the cheapest way to generate electricity. Their naturally variable production will mean that there will be periods of excess power available, and finding a good use for that excess would be nice. But I agree that batteries, not hydrogen, are the way to go.

crimsonalucard 12y ago
When you factor in all the sources of energy consumed in this country, captured solar power amounts to well less than 1 quadrillion Btu out of an annual total of 96.5 quadrillion. There will never be an excess of solar or wind. Even if you continue the dramatic growth in renewables of the past decade there is utterly no chance that renewables can replace fossil fuels. The gap is too great. You are living in a dreamworld if you think that the path to a sustainable future can be found through technology alone. Sustainability can only be achieved by dramatically lowering our energy consumption rate.
- D_Alex 12y ago
  >There will never be an excess of solar or wind. Even if you continue the dramatic growth in renewables of the past decade there is utterly no chance that renewables can replace fossil fuels. The gap is too great. 1. Wind and solar energy is currently about 3% of the world's supply, and projected to grow at 6-8% per annum (source: BP Energy Outlook 2015, and others), meaning it doubles every 10 years or so... wind and solar may well become the dominant energy in our lifetimes. 2. There already is an excess of wind power, in some places at some times. Where I live (Perth, Australia) wholesale energy prices go negative several times per month, typically at night when the wind is blowing and power demand is low. > You are living in a dreamworld if you think that the path to a sustainable future can be found through technology alone. Sustainability can only be achieved by dramatically lowering our energy consumption rate. I disagree completely - lets see what happens say over the next ten years.

by D_Alex 12y ago

crimsonalucard 12y ago

When you factor in all the sources of energy consumed in this country, captured solar power amounts to well less than 1 quadrillion Btu out of an annual total of 96.5 quadrillion. There will never be an excess of solar or wind. Even if you continue the dramatic growth in renewables of the past decade there is utterly no chance that renewables can replace fossil fuels. The gap is too great. You are living in a dreamworld if you think that the path to a sustainable future can be found through technology alone. Sustainability can only be achieved by dramatically lowering our energy consumption rate.

D_Alex 12y ago
>There will never be an excess of solar or wind. Even if you continue the dramatic growth in renewables of the past decade there is utterly no chance that renewables can replace fossil fuels. The gap is too great. 1. Wind and solar energy is currently about 3% of the world's supply, and projected to grow at 6-8% per annum (source: BP Energy Outlook 2015, and others), meaning it doubles every 10 years or so... wind and solar may well become the dominant energy in our lifetimes. 2. There already is an excess of wind power, in some places at some times. Where I live (Perth, Australia) wholesale energy prices go negative several times per month, typically at night when the wind is blowing and power demand is low. > You are living in a dreamworld if you think that the path to a sustainable future can be found through technology alone. Sustainability can only be achieved by dramatically lowering our energy consumption rate. I disagree completely - lets see what happens say over the next ten years.