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Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

canarymedia.com

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Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#31

Post by vegetablepotpie »

This article promotes a narrative that privatization leads to more renewables. This point lacks nuance as different energy markets that employ privatization can have wildly different ways to involve private firms and vastly different outcomes.

1. The retail competition of Texas, which has the highest renewable energy production in the U.S. [1], but is also a market where consumers overpay for electricity [2].

2. The regulated competition of California where municipalities have the ability to buy electricity in bulk and pass the savings onto the consumer. This ironically leads to more local government involvement in electricity procurement, and also gives private electricity generators more customers to sell to and rate payers at least two options to choose from. This leads to lower electric rates and higher renewable adoption, with some municipalities reaching over 90% renewable adoption [3].

3. Then you have what I call the energy tyranny of Arizona where ratepayer dollars are directed into the pockets of shareholders through legal fictions of “fair and reasonable return” for private investor owned utilities. Private companies are granted monopolies and guaranteed profits. Any form of competition is suppressed, community Solar is essentially rejected by the utility board [4], and the state legislature repealed competition laws to prevent it from being used to compete with utilities [5]. Renewable generation is just 10% of the states energy supply [6] despite having the most favorable conditions for solar in the nation.

[1] https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/slideshows/these-sta...

[2] https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/report-texans-overpay-for-...

[3] https://www.mcecleanenergy.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/20...

[4] https://ilsr.org/arizona-useless-community-solar-policy-2023...

[5] https://www.nrg.com/assets/documents/energy-policy/_2022/ari...

[6] https://www.seia.org/states-map

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#32

Post by pmoleri »

barney54 wrote: post #24
pmoleri wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> People like these small wins. And for good reason, it proves wrong the mainstream thinking that this is impossible. Quite a few countries already run the full year over 90% renewable[1] and we still neglect it with all kind of excuses. [1]: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_renewab...

We still neglect what? There is incredible pressure to build renewables.

Ask the countries that keep building coal and gas power plants, polluting the only planet we have.

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#33

Post by kuchenbecker »

simonhorlick wrote: post #26

Note that since about 2021 renewables have overtaken fossil-based sources of energy on price. New installations of utility scale wind and solar PV are now cheaper than their alternatives. Not to mention protection from price fluctuations in the cost of fuels needed to power fossil fuel plants.

The backlog of hooking variable load sources to the US electric grid is very long, often requires retrofitting the grid, and cost is borne by the generator.

It's not as simple as having the capacity because power is used the instant it's produced.

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#34

Post by monero-xmr »

simonhorlick wrote: post #26

Note that since about 2021 renewables have overtaken fossil-based sources of energy on price. New installations of utility scale wind and solar PV are now cheaper than their alternatives. Not to mention protection from price fluctuations in the cost of fuels needed to power fossil fuel plants.

Why did they cancel all the wind power plants in New Jersey even though they are cheaper?

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#36

Post by kuchenbecker »

helloooooooo wrote: post #15
gustavus wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course if they had a nuclear base they wouldn't even need the natural gas plants.

How would they regulate fluctuations in demand? Nuclear can’t do that. You need storage, or a reasonably scalable generation medium. Nuclear as a base load is moot

Control rods modulate the output.

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#37

Post by vondur »

vegetablepotpie wrote: post #31

This article promotes a narrative that privatization leads to more renewables. This point lacks nuance as different energy markets that employ privatization can have wildly different ways to involve private firms and vastly different outcomes. 1. The retail competition of Texas, which has the highest renewable energy production in the U.S. [1], but is also a market where consumers overpay for electricity [2]. 2. The…

Lower electric rates and California aren’t two words I see together.

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#38

Post by vegetablepotpie »

vondur wrote: post #37
vegetablepotpie wrote: post #31

This article promotes a narrative that privatization leads to more renewables. This point lacks nuance as different energy markets that employ privatization can have wildly different ways to involve private firms and vastly different outcomes. 1. The retail competition of Texas, which has the highest renewable energy production in the U.S. [1], but is also a market where consumers overpay for electricity [2]. 2. The…

Lower electric rates and California aren’t two words I see together.

In absolute terms, no. In relative terms California CCAs offer their ratepayers lower rates than California utilities.

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#39

Post by alexnewman »

simonhorlick wrote: post #26

Note that since about 2021 renewables have overtaken fossil-based sources of energy on price. New installations of utility scale wind and solar PV are now cheaper than their alternatives. Not to mention protection from price fluctuations in the cost of fuels needed to power fossil fuel plants.

Alas only at 0% interest rates. When you factor in 5% rates they are below again

Re: Portugal just ran on 100% renewables for six days in a row

#40

Post by fyrn_ »

monero-xmr wrote: post #34
simonhorlick wrote: post #26

Note that since about 2021 renewables have overtaken fossil-based sources of energy on price. New installations of utility scale wind and solar PV are now cheaper than their alternatives. Not to mention protection from price fluctuations in the cost of fuels needed to power fossil fuel plants.

Why did they cancel all the wind power plants in New Jersey even though they are cheaper?

Back before the interest rate increases even barely tenable projects were doable. Cost of financing is higher now, so the risk equation changes. That company is still going ahead with a project in New York, and Jersey has another wind projected lined up from another company. Wouldn't take this single data point as indicating anything meaningful
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