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California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

electrek.co

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Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#121

Post by cm2187 »

raphaelj wrote: post #113
ta1243 wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So you need nuclear to be scaled to the maximum demand?

People always forget that a mostly nuclear grid also require a some kind of storage or demand scalability.

Why? All modern nuclear reactors do load following. I believe it’s even an EU requirement. And certainly the practice in France.

Nuclear costs the same thing whether you use it or not. If you meet the peak energy demand with nuclear you might as well save the construction of intermittent renewables.

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#122

Post by flanked-evergl »

callalex wrote: post #5

For a few minutes at low demand time. These kinds of over-grand claims are seriously harmful to the cause of promoting renewables because it makes it seem like we’re almost there and can stop caring. Just look at the excellent, accurate, and up-to-the-hour charts put out by the electricity market itself and you will see where and when the challenges we face still are. https://www.caiso.com/TodaysOutlook/Pages/supply.…

This headline is incredibly misleading. Thank you for sharing this.

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#123

Post by the_third_wave »

wffurr wrote: post #100
helboi4 wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nuclear is different to fossil fuel power. It comes from a renewable source. It is bad only because it produced waste, but we're working towards solving this issue.

Uranium is not a renewable resource. All of the uranium on earth was formed in another star’s supernova and seeded in the proto planetary nebula before the earth coalesced.

That's why you use a fast neutron (breeder) reactor to extract up to 90% of the potential fissionable "fuel" from that uranium instead of just a few percent. Another option is the use of thorium of which is there is ca. 3 times as much. By the time both uranium and thorium run out there'll either be practical fusion energy or one of those new battery technologies which are always popping up.

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#124

Post by bililoumboum »

moystard wrote: post #111
sveme wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same old, same old. In an interconnected grid, everyone is importing and exporting from and to everyone. Germany (which you are referring to), is still an exporter of electricity.

Not since 2023. https://www.energate-messenger.com/news/239393/germany-becom... Additional article highlighting the role of electricity exporter of France: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-08-07/france-is...

[dead]

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#125

Post by the_third_wave »

oneshtein wrote: post #101
moystard wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They will import from the French grid like all French neighbours that abandoned their nuclear programs.

Which is good for both France and those countries.

Only until something brings down the French grid. Power generation should not be too centralised since that creates too many opportunities for failure, accidental (storm, fire) or intentional (sabotage, war).

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#126

Post by jazzsouff »

darkwater wrote: post #68
ktzar wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

it's easier to move power than water :-) So as long as it's rained a lot somewhere, that can be used as a battery. Most hydro power plants are not in Catalonia or Andalusia ( https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1jVN1LmOoTTqg3e... )

I'm not saying that water should not be used as a battery. I'm just saying that there is a very serious water crisis in big places in Spain, and to make the people not very familiar with Spain about the difference in weather and climate that exists within the country. Basically, the parts near the Atlantic ocean are always very rainy, and this year some other zone with no sea got a lot of rain, but the Mediterranean…

Water is more and more becoming a scarce resource unevenly distributed. Industrials and agricultural processes, energy storage and domestic consumption are all crucial for the people and the economy.

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#128

Post by PunchTornado »

ktzar wrote: post #9

Spain as a whole 45 million country with diverse geography and scattered population is producing 75 percent of its electricity from renewables and gas and carbon have been down to almost technical zero. It's rained a lot over the last month's and water reservoirs are used as battery. I made a website to track this: https://energy.antizone.online During the day, a huge chunk of the produced energy is sold to other cou…

nice website, would be cool to see at EU level.

Re: California exceeds 100% of energy demand with renewables over a record 30 days

#130

Post by allendoerfer »

varjag wrote: post #54
piva00 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd like to thanks the German government's policies for the past decades for making me pay absurd electricity prices since the Russian invasion started, even though I live in Sweden with 90+% of renewable electricity generation I'm forced to pay the highest spot price in the EU (aka, gas in Germany) because of Germany's decision to burn coal and gas all the way into 2022... The inertia on modernising Germany is start…

Same in Norway. We in effect subsidize German poor decision making. And unlike when Greece collapse happened, the voices in Berlin are suspiciously quiet about austerity. Oh well, as long as they learn the lesson…

> And unlike when Greece collapse happened, the voices in Berlin are suspiciously quiet about austerity.

You seem to have no idea whatsoever, what is currently going on in Germany, because literally the opposite is true. Germany is trying to practice austerity and keeping its so called "debt brake" (German states have to have a balanced budget, federal state can take up to 0,35% of GDP in new loans) by cutting subsidies, which is why farmers have been protesting in Berlin etc.

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