In the poorly understood world of electrical generation and transmission, a strange tale is unfolding. The mainstream media won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole, for a number of reasons – first, it is miles over their head, and second, the conclusions run counter to their current bombastic narrative about the “renewable energy revolution”. Here’s the full situation: the more predominant wind and solar power become on a grid, the less functional the grid becomes. Read on…
And “renewables” actually result in a higher consumption of petroleum products when it comes to powering a grid because of the problems of intermittency and unpredictability.
That’s indeed the case. In research I did after I finished my Ph. D., I looked in detail at the costs for the various components for a renewable energy system to power a one-bedroom apartment similar to mine.
Not surprisingly, the biggest expenditure was for genset back-up. Storage batteries, due to their present limitations on charge and discharge currents, simply weren’t adequate to provide the entire difference between the power produced by the wind turbines and photovoltaic arrays and the load demand.
The envirokooks and their political supporters simply refuse to acknowledge that.
The greens in Canada don’t care. Most of them live near hydro so they think this will not affect them.
When it does, because electric grids are interconnected, they’ll just demand isolation from the less reliable parts of the grid.
Perhaps California can do us all a favour and be the first state to go totally green. To be a pilot state showing us how it can be done.
The billionaires and rich politicians, like Pelosi can pay for it. Including buying everyone in California an electric vehicle.
If I was an American, I might run for President on such a platform. 🙂
Perhaps California can do us all a favour and be the first state to go totally green. To be a pilot state showing us how it can be done.
Two years ago, Tesla had a display in the shopping centre near where I live. I asked one young lady about the feasibility of the product and, in the word salad she responded with, she started babbling about Hawaii being just so successful with using renewables.
Having worked in that field for a number of years, I expressed my skepticism, but she could not be persuaded.
I’ll vote for you, Joe
Solar power in the dark, and wind power on a dead calm day means what?? If you don’t have a hydro dam nearby, the suppliers have to switch over to a coal or gas powered generator. The ultimate solution would be nuclear power, however the moronic leftist activists are afraid that someone will build a bomb with the spent rods.
I don’t know when the first wind powered generators were built, however I would guess in the early 1900s. My grandfather had a 6 volt battery powered lighting plant in the late 1920’s. The Jacobs Bros. (Minnesota) were selling 110 volt DC wind generators by the late 1930’s. The top of the line units utilized batteries, and also had gasoline powered generators for backup. I recall older farmers saying how happy they were when they hooked up to power likes in rural Sask. in the early 1950’s. Steady power night and day.
As for the article by ”Boe Report,” retired Sask Power engineers have told me that the whole wind and solar effort was just a sinkhole for government grants, and would result in exactly what is being predicted by experts. Just watch late night TV and the endless half hour programs that promote home generators such as Generac. A backup gen set may be your only hope in the future!! Sad!
I think we all need a lesson. Shut down the grid for 1 day. In the summer.
Most people would fold their tent. Couldn’t survive for only 24 hours without power.
It might shock them to their senses. A winter outage is another matter completely. People die in the cold.
Well, dont expect the UCP to Not go along with the GREEN BS. They have not stopped or even considered reversing Notleys ASSININE Anti Coal initiatives. As noted in this blog a few weeks ago or so, that when we have -30C Temps throughout the province and if there is an interruption of Nat Gas Supply – We are Fkd….all the Coal processing equip is FROZEN and wont be able to take up the slack – generating ZERO Power. (Two plants I believe it was that were affected) Sheerness and one other.
Didn’t this province tout its CLEAN COAL back in the early part of the last decade..?? Why on Earth are we carrying on with this Eco-BS from the NDP..??
The simple cases above are normal use. The system needs to be able to handle the edge cases too. In the Production/reconciliation/tracking systems I’ve worked with and helped develop, the old 90/10 rule applies (10% of the data is 90% of the problems).
One potentially deadly edge case for power supplies is a prairie winter with over a week of -45 to -50. No wind. So little solar as to be useless. Natural Gas won’t flow in any pipeline exposed to the weather.
After the (heated) stored natural gas reserves are drained, how many will die?
Coal can work in these circumstances. Nuclear can work in these circumstances. The amount of hydro available on the prairies isn’t ennough to make a difference.
The potential hydro available in northern Manitoba, where most of the prairie water ends up passing through because of the Hudson Bay watershed, is enough to make a big difference. We need the infrastructure to produce and distribute it though. Too bad hydro is not considered green energy for some reason.
https://www.researchgate.net/figure/HudsonBay-Watershed-combinaison-of-Canadian-Geographic-Environment-Canada-and_fig8_334250708
I will simplify it , wind and solar will never power a planet with 8 billion people.