EcoRenovator - View Single Post - Alternative vs fossil vs nuclear power options (split from Wind Power in Spain)

NeilBlanchard · 03-14-12, 05:29 PM

Actually, when you have enough wind turbines distributed over a wide enough area, they put out a very consistent 40-45% of the total combined capacity.

We have several energy storage systems already available and in use: elevated reservoirs with a hydro plant -- pump water uphill when there is an excess, and then let water down the hill powering the hydro plant when you need more baseload. This is what they are already doing in Germany.

Another method would be compressed air in underground spent gas fields. The method is similar to the above method. And we could use all the EV batteries when we get a significant number on the road. Also, there was a recent report on very inexpensive large capacity batteries: a refrigerator sized one could work for a house, and one as large as a 40' shipping container could work for several hundred homes.

Also, we cannot expect a "silver bullet" solution -- a diverse range of renewable energy sources need to be used together in combination: solar PV, solar heat, wind, small hydro (there are many existing dams in the US and elsewhere that can be converted), biogas from sewage and farm waste, wave power, tidal power, and geothermal can be mixed and matched to an area. Also, the windy corridor from the Texas panhandle up through the Dakotas, and both east and west coasts are very constantly windy, that these alone could provide a huge excess of electricity for the entire lower 48 states.

03-14-12, 05:29 PM	#7
NeilBlanchard Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Maynard, MA Eaarth Posts: 383 Thanks: 78 Thanked 39 Times in 32 Posts	Actually, when you have enough wind turbines distributed over a wide enough area, they put out a very consistent 40-45% of the total combined capacity. We have several energy storage systems already available and in use: elevated reservoirs with a hydro plant -- pump water uphill when there is an excess, and then let water down the hill powering the hydro plant when you need more baseload. This is what they are already doing in Germany. Another method would be compressed air in underground spent gas fields. The method is similar to the above method. And we could use all the EV batteries when we get a significant number on the road. Also, there was a recent report on very inexpensive large capacity batteries: a refrigerator sized one could work for a house, and one as large as a 40' shipping container could work for several hundred homes. Also, we cannot expect a "silver bullet" solution -- a diverse range of renewable energy sources need to be used together in combination: solar PV, solar heat, wind, small hydro (there are many existing dams in the US and elsewhere that can be converted), biogas from sewage and farm waste, wave power, tidal power, and geothermal can be mixed and matched to an area. Also, the windy corridor from the Texas panhandle up through the Dakotas, and both east and west coasts are very constantly windy, that these alone could provide a huge excess of electricity for the entire lower 48 states.