No. of Recommendations: 3
Because wind energy isn't dispatchable,
Wind and solar are not dispatchable. That is the killer.
The Germans have a word for a period with no wind or sun: Dunkelflaute.
"Recent "Dunkelflaute" (periods of low wind and little sun) include the 35-day event in the UK and Europe from mid-October to mid-November 2024"
"A single Dunkelflaute event typically lasts from a few hours to a couple of days. However, as seen in late 2024, they can also stretch for weeks."
Unless people are fine with freezing in the dark, you need spinning dispatchable electricity.
Even short term, a lull in the wind or a sudden cloud cover plays havoc. I forget the exact figure, but I think that electrical grid become unstable above about 35% wind/solar. Look at the recent events in Spain & Australia.
Probably a good place for wind/solar is the huge electrical demand of AI farms. But when they are building power stations for them, they are installing thermal powerplants and not wind/solar.
One country who sees these issues very clearly is China, who is building renewables at an astonishing rate. By 2030 about half of electricity in China will be from renewable sources.
Um, #1: You cannot believe anything that China says.
#2: China is building 1-2 new coal plants a week.
