One of the things that wind power advocates don't seem to grasp is that the wind blowing "most of the time" is simply not sufficient.

in energy •  2 years ago 

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Some things - fortunately few - need to be available all the time.

Imagine your town has a single ambulance, and it starts only most of the time. That's just not good enough.

The same with electricity. If it's not reliable, then there are losses when the power goes out. Some of these losses are just dollars and cents - lost productivity - but even that's a serious concern. Other losses are lives, just as if the ambulance doesn't start.

That's why reliable backup to wind (and solar) remains critical. Battery power backup for more than a few hours at a time is at least a generation away, and current cost estimates would put it at trillions of dollars to deploy everywhere.

Currently that leaves us with fossil fuel backup, particularly natural gas. Not for the next few years, but for the next generation or two at minimum.

I think some people would almost like occasional blackouts. For true believers (in just about anything) some suffering is evidence of devotion and spiritual/moral standing.

But obviously most people don't share that stance, and they are particularly likely to be outraged when the outages become predictable and loved ones die.

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