There is an optimal amount of renewable energy supply that makes renewable energy AND hydrocarbon energy viable – it may only be 10-20%
From this 17:30 minute video here:
Predictable, Inevitable and BARELY the Beginning
“Spain’ blackout wasn’t just predictable. It was inevitable. But most analysis is completely missing the point. It doesn’t matter what caused the outage. Energy systems are hit by all sorts of shocks all the time. What matters is how robust the system is. And renewables make a grid vulnerable in all sorts of ways. In this video, Nickolai Hubble explains why Europe’s largest blackout was predictable, inevitable and barely the beginning.”
Amongst the points made, one stands out.
All the costings for renewables made assumptions that have proven to be invalid in the “real world”.
For example, these costings assume that a new grid was required with or without renewable energy.
FALSE.
The costings assumed that hydrocarbon supply could be available when used for a fraction of the time. Imagine operating a gas-fired or nuclear plant that could be used for just one fifth the time. The cost would be five times greater when it was called on – making them uneconomic! This was not reflected in any planned costings by government commissioned feasibility studies.
The amount of energy produced by renewables and their unreliable intermittency – compared to grid upgrades and forcing hydrocarbon/nuclear costs up in direct proportion to the amount of renewables used - were not reflected in plans and costings provided.
FAIL!!!
All we get are higher costs!
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Onwards!!!