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Old 03-13-12, 03:15 PM   #19
Piwoslaw
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Wow, thanks for that report

As mentioned, large-scale wind works well only when there is a means to store its energy until later. In this case the "hydro-battery" happens to be on the other side of national borders, which means that there are extra costs and problems with buying/selling electricity. If the hydro and wind plants belong to the same owner, then costs should be much lower, and storing/using that power simpler. Europe's national power grids are becoming more interconnected, and more is being controlled by European-level red tape, (hopefully) making international power transfers easier.

I can understand that at the moment power exchange politics may not be fair for all involved, but let's look at it globally: Surplus wind power isn't wasted, it's only stored somewhere else, increasing its price, and gets used later. So it does reduce fossil fuel use, though not necessarily where intended. It's still a win, though the politics behind it could be improved... And, of course, wind by itself isn't the answer to all power problems, it's only a part of the solution.
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