On Tue, 12 Aug 2014 00:44:12 -0500 Fmiser via Mercedes <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote:
> And there is the issue with solar - and wind. It can never be a > significant fraction of the base load generators because it isn't > dependable. Nor can it be used for on-demand peak load. Any electrical power grid MUST have non-solar, non-wind resources available to immediately cover what wind and/or solar provide or it will be unstable and will crash. Consider an area that is using 400 megawatts, 100 megawatts of which are supplied by wind and/or solar. What happens when, on a timescale on the order of 30 seconds, the wind stops blowing and/or the sun is obscured by a cloud? If the system has only 300 megawatts of base capacity, from where will the other 100 megawatts come? If it doesn't come from somewhere, the grid will collapse, leaving everyone with nothing, or 100 megawatts of demand will have to be shed (meaning a total blackout for those users). > Using a mechanical battery is a really good way to make average capacity > meet unpredictable demand, but EPA gets their grubby fingers into > that pot too. I think they were reason a system like that in south > central Missouri was _not_ repaired. Yes, an energy storage system will solve the intermittency problems with wind and solar. Many different types have been proposed. Suitable only for small applications are flywheels and lifted weights (5 kWh is stored in a 5 ton weight lifted just over a quarter of a mile). Utility-scale systems involving pumped water (as someone else mentioned) use very large quantities of water. There has been research into utility-scale storage batteries. These typically involve noxious chemicals being pumped through the systems. There has also been research in direct conversion of water into hydrogen and oxygen by sunlight. Stored hydrogen would be the energy storage system. It could later be used to generate electricity with fuel cells or by burning in a turbine or reciprocating engine, leveling the supply of solar or wind energy and making a source that plays well with the electrical grid. > Still, every Watt generated some way other than fossil fuel is one > Watt less that must come from fossil fuel. True. The U.S., however, is the Saudi Arabia of coal. The technology to clean stack emissions can be applied with less difficulty than that for energy storage systems other than coal. Were it not for the political environment that hysterically and falsely labels CO2 as a pollutant, this would be the way to go while the other systems are being developed on utility scales. We do need something to meet demand now or our economy will fall apart. Craig _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com All posts are the result of individual contributors and as such, those individuals are responsible for the content of the post. The list owner has no control over the content of the messages of each contributor.
