More offshore wind construction pictures | 36 comments (36 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Wind critic modus operandi:

- Wind is intermittent, putting a strain on the balancing capacity of peaker plants!
- But wind is predictable, most of the variability can be balanced on a scheduled basis. =>
- Wind needs a matching reserve capacity of mid-merit fossil fuel plants which spew CO2!
- But so does nuclear, and wind+solar require less and the balancing plants will have low capacity factors and thus won't spew much CO2. =>
- Idle (reserve) plants are a waste and make the system more expensive!
- But it is the nature of mid-merit and peaker plants to have low utilisation, because their costs are dominated by fuel. =>
- Low utilisation and low wholesale prices due to renewables eat at the profits of balancing plant operators and make them close shop!
- But maybe that means those plants aren't needed, after all? And if the situation becomes critical, you can always look beyond market solutions, from forcing operators to close the dirtiest baseload plants (resulting in higher utilisation of mid-merit plants and higher wholesale prices) through bonuses for reserve plant operation to tax-financed public operation of reserve capacity. =>
- The grid can't take large back-and-forth flows due to intermittency!
- But renewables with improved technology are spreading in regions where they have been rare previously, new grid capacity is being added even if slowly, and the operation of the existing grid is being made more efficient. =>
?

_{*Lunatic*, n.

One whose delusions are out of fashion.}

by DoDo on Thu Jun 27th, 2013 at 04:00:39 AM EST
[ Parent ]

4 - Low utilisation and low wholesale prices due to renewables eat at the profits of balancing plant operators and make them close shop!

Only in times of high wind. Allow the plants to charge more when renewables are low... smart grid. The market does work if you let it

Wind turbine syndrome
Fuck you greenies

by mustakissa on Thu Jun 27th, 2013 at 05:55:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: hmmmm (none / 0)

6. Luckily, there is an army of electrical engineers scrambling around in the background to keep the grid on the air as all the various sources and loads change. Not like the good old days, where all you had to do was keep the synchronous clock more or less on time.

If gold hand lines up with black hand, yer power plant is good.