Renewable drawback
Physics of energy generation makes Polis’ 100 percent renewables goal unlikely
““Electric grids are complex networks and interconnections that rely on a steady supply of electricity, but that also must maintain extremely close control of the frequency of the alternating current.
America operates on 60 cycles per second, or 60 Hz. That grid frequency can vary only about 2 Hz in either direction, says Griffey. “These are small variations, but if it drops below that you start kicking off loads,” he said. “Bad things happen and your system crashes.”
The grid is so sensitive to these variations that power producers must provide both reserve capacity to deal with sudden load increases and “grid inertia” to keep the frequency stable.
“You have to have inertia on the system that helps buffer load changes, and inertia is provided by turbines that spin. Renewables don’t have inertia,” said Griffey.
Without the electrical inertia available from fuel-powered, constantly-spinning generators, the entire grid can crash unexpectedly if the wind stops blowing while the sun isn’t shining.
This means that renewables like wind and solar will always require backup generators to provide both inertia and reliable power to take up unexpected loads.
And how much backup is required increases with the amount of renewables in the system.
“The more intermittent capacity you have, or the more unreliable capacity you have, you actually have to increase that reserve margin to carry more backup,” Griffey said.
“In the case of an all-wind system you’re going to be carrying 90 percent, give or take, to back it up because [windmills] only provide 5 to 15% of equivalent capacity,” said Griffey.
By equivalent capacity Griffey means that the advertised theoretical capacity of a wind farm of say 30 megawatts, called the “nameplate capacity,” only ever actually produces a fraction of that amount, called the “efficiency factor.”
Other sources place the efficiency factor of wind generators between 25% and 40%.””
— Scott Weiser
Friday roundup clearence
It’s Negative 24 Degrees and the Wind Isn’t Blowing. This is Why We Need Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power, Not Renewables
South Bend Mayor and Possible Presidential Candidate Pete Buttigieg Decries "Endless War"
Bill Nye’s Latest Climate Warning: The Us Will Have To Grow Its Food In Canada
Florida Gov. DeSantis signs executive order scrapping Common Core
The 16th Amendment: How the U.S. Federal Income Tax Became D.C.'s Favorite Political Weapon
Whatever Mueller Finds, Gag-Orders and No-Knock Raids Should Appall EVERYONE.
What the Press Missed About Vanguard Founder's Fortune
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VA announces new rules giving veterans access to private providers
Primetime CNN, MSNBC Ignore Virginia Dems Supporting Late, Post-Term Abortions
PRESIDENT PELOSI? House Speaker holds public bill signings — to compete with Trump?
Noncitizens registered to vote in Pennsylvania and Texas show vote fraud is real
Dems Are Shocked, Shocked To Learn That 'Medicare For All' Outlaws Private Insurance
No-Knock Warrant for Deadly Drug Raid Describes Heroin and a Gun Cops Didn't Find
Yoho’s ‘Zero-for-Zero’ Sugar Plan To Curb Foreign Subsidies Returns
Water From the Air and Power From Trash
“Technology extracts at least 2,000 liters of water per day from the atmosphere at a cost of less than 2 cents per liter.”Politico: Liberals Developing New Phraseology to Hype 'Climate Change'
Europe 'coming apart before our eyes', say 30 top intellectuals
South Carolina Police Hauled in $17 Million Through Civil Asset Forfeiture Over Three Years
France’s Red Scarves: Ready-Made Counter-Protest and New Media Darlings
Howard Schultz Shoots Down Liz Warren Attack With Passionate Defense of the American Dream
An American Nightmare
“Why were there more FBI agents sent to arrest Stone than Navy SEALs sent to kill Osama bin Laden? Why jackboots in the morning in America? Here is the back story.”Don't Expect The EU To Cave On May's Brexit Deal Until The Very Last Minute
Chaos has reportedly erupted inside Facebook as employees find themselves unable to open the company's apps on their iPhones
After 4 Cops Shot in Houston, Police Promise to Go After and ‘Track’ Those Who Criticize Police
‘I’m Not Going to Enforce That’: Sheriffs Disobey New Anti-Gun Laws—Refuse to Disarm Citizens
When 'Former' Spies Run Wild, Bad Things Happen
84% of 18-24 year olds don’t know how to change a light bulb… but they think they can run the economy?
Entrepreneurship Lifts Cambodia from the Clutches of Extreme Poverty in a Single Generation
“So long as there is peace and political stability in Cambodia, the future is looking bright for this growing economy.”NANCY? Pelosi botches words, suffers face spasms, confuses Dems, GOP while vowing no border wall funding
Roger Stone faces a gag order. He has a plan to resist it.
The Unseen Costs of Humanitarian Intervention
Rep. Ilhan Omar calls for sharp tax increases on the wealthy: 'We've had it as high as 90 percent'
Wind & Sun
The down side to wind power
““As the world begins its large-scale transition toward low-carbon energy sources, it is vital that the pros and cons of each type are well understood and the environmental impacts of renewable energy, small as they may be in comparison to coal and gas, are considered.
In two papers — published today in the journals Environmental Research Letters and Joule — Harvard University researchers find that the transition to wind or solar power in the U.S. would require five to 20 times more land than previously thought, and, if such large-scale wind farms were built, would warm average surface temperatures over the continental U.S. by 0.24 degrees Celsius.””
— Leah Burrows
Remember, the wind doesn't always blow and the sun doesn't always shine. This means that wind power and solar power are at best supplemental power sources. There has to be something else to provide baseline power.
Given that, we also need to acknowledge the costs of power sources.