Category Archives: Renewable Integration

Utility scale energy storage has a long way to go to make renewables possible

Posted on May 15, 2019 by

What follows comes from my book “When Trucks Stop Running: Energy and the Future of Transportation” , which is also where you’ll find the references backing up what I’ve written below. I often get letters from people about energy breakthroughs … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Batteries, Battery - Utility Scale, Critical Thinking, Electric Grid, Electricity, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , | 7 Comments

Underground pumped hydro storage is the only technology capable of massive storage for renewable electricity

Posted on September 27, 2017 by

[ Picard concludes that “None of the candidate technologies for massive-scale renewable and sustainable generation of ‘‘green’’ electricity deliver it in a form suitable for high-efficiency storage. None of the prospectively-massive storage modes for transformed electricity is at present well … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Energy Storage, Grid instability, Hydropower, Renewable Integration | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Why Nuclear Power is not an alternative to fossil fuels

Posted on January 15, 2017 by

[ Economic reasons are the main hurdle to new nuclear plants now, with capital costs so high it’s almost impossible to get a loan, especially when natural gas is so much cheaper and less risky. But there are other reasons … Continue reading →

Posted in Alternative Energy, Energy, Nuclear Power, Renewable Integration | Tagged , | 14 Comments

Germany’s “Energiewende” may need to be rescued with nonrenewable coal power

Posted on November 10, 2016 by

[ Below is my summary of The Energiewende is Running Up Against Its Limits (October 24, 2016) by Jeffrey Michel at the Energy Collective. Wealthy, well-educated Germany has tried harder and longer than most nations to make a transition to renewables. … Continue reading →

Posted in National Super Grid, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

California could hit the solar wall

Posted on September 18, 2016 by

[ According to a Stanford University article below this introduction (followed by excerpts from two California Energy Commission reports), if California uses mainly solar power to meet a 50% Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS), on sunny days, for most of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Photovoltaic Solar, Renewable Integration | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Wanted: Math geniuses and power engineers to make a renewable grid possible

Posted on May 13, 2016 by

Figure 1. OPF solution of original seven-bus system with generator at bus 4 offering high [The U.S. electric grid produces over two-thirds of its power with finite fossil fuels, and another 20% from nuclear power.   Since fossil fuels and uranium … Continue reading →

Posted in Electric Grid, Grid instability, Renewable Integration, Smart Grid | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Wanted: Math geniuses and power engineers to make a renewable grid possible

Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.

Posted on February 25, 2016 by

House 113-40. May 9, 2013. Grid reliability challenges in a shifting energy resource landscape. U.S. House of Representatives. 176 pages. Mr. Jonathan A. Lesser, President Continental Economics, Inc. [This is a really good introduction to how the grid works and … Continue reading →

Posted in Grid instability, Infrastructure, Renewable Integration | Comments Off on Why the Grid is getting less reliable. House Hearing 2013.

Capacity value of solar is low as penetration increases which could suppress investment

Posted on June 5, 2015 by

Notes from 33 page: NREL. 2014. Representation of Solar Capacity Value in the ReEDS Capacity Expansion. National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Technical Report NREL/TP-6A20-61182 March 2014 Comparison of Capacity Value at High Penetration. Several researchers have conducted modeling efforts to quantify … Continue reading →

Posted in Renewable Integration, Solar | Comments Off on Capacity value of solar is low as penetration increases which could suppress investment

The potential role of concentrating solar power in enabling high renewables

Posted on June 5, 2015 by

[The word “water” appears nowhere in this document, even though that’s a major limiting factor for CSP with thermal storage. Dry cooling is possible, but it lowers the EROI and raises the already way-too-high capital cost. An electric grid that’s … Continue reading →

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Wind, solar, and storage impact on the California grid

Posted on June 4, 2015 by

California Energy commission. June 2010. Research evaluation of wind generation, solar generation, and storage impact on the California Grid. 131 pages. Excerpts: This report analyzes the effect of increasing renewable energy generation on California’s electricity system and assesses and quantifies … Continue reading →

Posted in Energy Storage, Renewable Integration | Comments Off on Wind, solar, and storage impact on the California grid