Just to clarify, the "spinning reserve" argument against renewable energy is propaganda. Already the power companies have to have enough spinning reserve to match any single generating plant in their grid. So if there is a nuke in the area, then they already have to have enough spinning reserve to equal the entire nuke plant. Or something like that.
So the 2% of solar power (to date) is absolutely insignificant to what is already spinning. For wind, say we are at 10%, then still there is already enough spinning reserve on line. Yes we will need peaking plants, and even though they are more expensive, they can ramp up in seconds and that added costs is minor compared to all the other "fuel-cost free" renewables. Batteries are coming along and I have no worries that they will not be here at the same rate as renewables increase. Bob -----Original Message----- From: EV <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Peri Hartman via EV Sent: Thursday, May 7, 2020 10:48 AM To: Electric Vehicle Discussion List <[email protected]> Cc: Peri Hartman <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [EVDL] EV Digest, Vol 91, Issue 6 I think the big problem is how to fill in the energy voids. That is, during night or other times when usage exceeds generation. Tying to the grid is the easy solution but I can see why the energy companies are resisting that: they sell less electricity - and get less revenue - but still need to maintain the same staff and infrastructure to be ready for you at any moment. Here, in the pacific NW, it's not as big a deal since most of the power comes from hydro. But it certainly is a resistance factor if your peak power comes from fossil fuels. The complete solution will require massive amounts of energy storage. As everyone knows, this is expensive to build and not particularly efficient. I hope we can come up with inexpensive, safe storage that can be distributed to every point of use. Peri ------ Original Message ------ From: "Willie via EV" <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Cc: "Willie" <[email protected]> Sent: 07-May-20 7:23:35 AM Subject: Re: [EVDL] EV Digest, Vol 91, Issue 6 > > >On 5/7/20 8:54 AM, Peri Hartman via EV wrote: >>It's really supportive to hear Tim's and Larry's testimony. So often I >>hear or read that solar is too problematic because we need massive >>solar farms, which will be expensive and have significant ecological >>impact. (My speculation: this comes from energy company propaganda, >>indicating they don't want to take losses on their current >>infrastructure or loose a source of revenue.) > >With abundant ground space and no HOA, I've been astonished how cheaply PV can be installed. My current cost estimate is ~$.30/watt including all material but not labor. Selling at local wholesale rates and with no incentives, my payback period is about 5 years. 3-4 years if I am avoiding retail rates. If someone wants to argue that PV is expensive, I am certainly willing to set them straight. > >_______________________________________________ >UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub >ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html >INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org >Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA >(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) _______________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub ARCHIVE: http://www.evdl.org/archive/index.html INFO: http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org Please discuss EV drag racing at NEDRA (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA)
