India’s Coal Minister, Pralhad Joshi, said (5 August, 2019):
“If we have to meet demand and address the intermittencies we have with solar and wind, we have no choice but to keep depending on coal-based generation in the near future.” – (emphasis added)
The warmsters really must get the message that intermittent generation does not eliminate the need for dependable base-load power. For now, that’s all we have. To be clear: that means using hydrocarbons or nuclear reactors in thermal power stations.
The politicians must also get the message that we need unsentimental civic decisions for the welfare of our populations and, oh yes, the good of the environment — naturally.
– h/t GWPF
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New Zealand is in a very good space as far as wind and solar power energy compared with most other countries because of our hydro stations.
The stations on the Waikato River are all controlled remotely and can be stopped or started as the load moves up and down.
I know that the South Island hydro stations are all interconnected and come on and off to feed through the Cook Strait cable to Auckland .
This is not the case in most countries as when the wind stops and there is not much energy being generated by solar panels fossil fuel stations have to start up .
This means that at some times most of the load is fossil fuel generated, and that these standby power stations have to stand Idle when renewables are producing power , and that leads to higher power prices to cover the down time .
It means that the infrastructure is duplicated so that alone leads to higher power prices .
With controlled hydro water is carefully managed so that there is constant flow but water can be stored in the lakes behind the dams
Graham Anderson.