this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Renewables are reliable though over a long enough time frame. Offshore wind is very predictable and you can count on the sun shining in plenty of places. Solar still generates when cloudy though at a reduced output.
The problem with base load is what to do when it's very windy and sunny. You can't just turn off a nuclear plant for practical and financial reasons so nuclear isn't compatible with renewables + storage.
Ideally governments the world over will start to mandate storage construction on a massive scale, with the methods being dictated by the resources available. Pumped hydro is great where the terrain has big changes in elevation, molten salt storage is great for desert climates, etc.
We're moving rapidly to EVs too. I wish we'd get ahead of the game just once and build in a small amount of grid storage per EV, with compensation to the owner for making the capacity available.
There are an immense number of ways to dissipate excess power by shifting the cost/benefit curve.
One recent work looked at repurposing aging electronics when the energy cost curve allows it: https://arxiv.org/abs/2110.06870