Electric Concern

I think in political circles there is a failure to grasp the significance of averaging over time, and the fact the electricity does not store easily.

Scotland generates more power in a year than it uses from wind, but it cas to sell that on when the windd blows, and use fossil fuel when it does not.

Now, clearly oil and gas will run out, but not for quite a while yet. But for many good reasons, and perhaps some silly ones, we'd like to use less of it each year, so we eventually burn the same amount as before but over a longer time.


So a high generation when the wind blows is very sensible, but putting fossil fuels beyond reach before we have to do so, is foolish.

We will in effect need something to fill in the gaps for the foreseeable future.

There are more reliable non fossil sources than wind, tides and geothermal come to mind, and we can have more of them, but not quickly, and it will be a part solution. Solar makes most sense in sunny counties.

Some clever stuff is being looked at  for storage but it may all come to very little.


Texas's problems are not just badly wind farms, but a failure to have a proper grid, and lines coming down under the weight of ice. Generation is only part of it, but it suits the oil states politics to imply the green stuff is the only problem.


Mike

I think in political circles there is a failure to grasp the significance of averaging over time, and the fact the electricity does not store easily.

Scotland generates more power in a year than it uses from wind, but it cas to sell that on when the windd blows, and use fossil fuel when it does not.

Now, clearly oil and gas will run out, but not for quite a while yet. But for many good reasons, and perhaps some silly ones, we'd like to use less of it each year, so we eventually burn the same amount as before but over a longer time.


So a high generation when the wind blows is very sensible, but putting fossil fuels beyond reach before we have to do so, is foolish.

We will in effect need something to fill in the gaps for the foreseeable future.

There are more reliable non fossil sources than wind, tides and geothermal come to mind, and we can have more of them, but not quickly, and it will be a part solution. Solar makes most sense in sunny counties.

Some clever stuff is being looked at  for storage but it may all come to very little.


Texas's problems are not just badly wind farms, but a failure to have a proper grid, and lines coming down under the weight of ice. Generation is only part of it, but it suits the oil states politics to imply the green stuff is the only problem.


Mike