While wind energy is variable, it is not completely random and unpredictable

[kristopher]

While wind energy is variable, it is not completely random and unpredictable
august 31, 2011

The quake and tsunami which devastated Japan's Fukushima nuclear power complex (Japanese wind farm plants were largely unaffected, and quickly back in operation).

As the previous cross-posted article by Simon Mahan suggests, the fact that no power plant runs 100 percent of the time and that other energy sources besides wind turbines have their issues is beginning to catch the attention of commenters in the blogosphere.

Of course, that's not too surprising, since those issues have been revealed by a series of recent in-your-face events. The latest? Last week's earthquake in the eastern U.S., which briefly knocked a nuclear power plant offline (and caused yours truly's heart to skip a few beats--a 10th-floor office is no place to be in a quake). It follows:

- The quake and tsunami which devastated Japan's Fukushima nuclear power complex (Japanese wind farm plants were largely unaffected, and quickly back in operation).

- February's unexpected freeze and ice storm in Texas...

http://www.evwind.es/noticias.php?id_not=13201

[FBaggins]

1. Oh! It's not COMPLETELY random and unpredictable?

Just mostly so. I feel so much better. :)

I'm guessing you didn't actually read the rest of the article or you wouldn't have posted it.

"Now, let's be clear: I am not, repeat not, saying that wind power can serve as a source of electricity to meet peak demand in the same way as fueled power plants."

At the same time, wind turbines should not be criticized for not operating all the time. No power plant operates all the time. What matters most is predictability.

The reality behind this strawman seems to blow right past you and the author. It isn't that they "don't operate all the time". It's that even when they're completely functional they might not produce much (or any) power. Sure gas plants and nuclear plants and coal plants can break down (or even blow up) but they work unless broken or intentionally shut off. A solar plant can produce very little when there's nothing wrong with it at all.

[kristopher]

2. Ability to plan is the point you don't wish to acknowledge.

I don't need to repeat the discussion since the article makes it abundantly clear and your childish screed contains nothing that contradicts it.

[FBaggins]

4. I acknowledge the ability to plan.

The problem is that you're "able" to plan to do without electricity at any given time.

[NYC_SKP]

3. FFS. Storage is going to make this argument moot.

Whatever side of this particular issue one is on, storage is the missing link to managing energy is the most efficient and responsible way.

This is true for utility scale and for distributed and even vehicular energy applications.

NYC_SKP

[FBaggins]

5. I agree... but don't tell that to kris.

He gets all antsy when anyone implies that significant storage is a necessary part of moving renewables past a given level.

Yes, absent some miracle advance in fusion technology, it's the holy grail of solving our energy problems.

[kristopher]

6. I just don't like agents of misinformation

Your post is a perfect example.

You wrote, ""...significant storage is a necessary part of moving renewables past a given level."

Since the word "significant" has no attached quantitative meaning, it can't be properly evaluated. But your second sentence shows that your intent is to convey a false sense of the path to a renewable grid.
You say "... absent some miracle advance in fusion technology, it's the holy grail of solving our energy problems".

No, it is neither a "holy grail" nor is a "miracle advance" in storage technologies required.

Storage has a niche, and the post by NYC_SKP almost captures it properly - "storage is the missing link to managing energy is the most efficient and responsible way".

It is, indeed, the key to "managing energy is the most efficient and responsible way", however it isn't a missing link. It is a capability inherent in a wide variety of end use applications where it was previously more cost effective to design systems that operated on energy delivered on demand. Examples include but are not limited to building heating and cooling systems and battery electric drive vehicles. Additionally there are several existing and effective methods of large scale storage that will roll out as the percentage of renewable energy on the grid increases and the niche becomes more profitable because of spilled generation.