"For almost a century, electricity generation and distribution were treated as a tightly integrated system ...
... the chaotic delivery of wind and solar have all but trashed the electricity generation and delivery system, as we know it.
Germany, South Australia, Texas and California are only the most obvious examples.
In response, ... the narrative has shifted to “storage”.
... For wind and solar acolytes, physics and economics are boring impediments.
... the colossal cost of giant lithium batteries means ... their contribution to our electrical supply will remain laughably trivial.
The point is taken up by Sky News’ Chris Kenny below.
‘You can’t run an electricity grid on make-believe’
Sky News
Chris Kenny
May 11, 2021
While “barracking” for renewables has obvious attractions, it’s no use “pretending” batteries are the solution to energy storage, according to Sky news host Chris Kenny.
“Energy storage is the problem with renewable energy, it’s the only issue really, the big one,” Mr Kenny said.
“But these politicians and commentators think there’s already some king of big battery nirvana.
“Now there are plenty of people barracking for renewable energy, good on them, it’s a free world and renewables of course have lots of obvious attractions.
“But it is no good pretending that batteries are the solution. You can’t run an electricity grid on make-believe.”
Transcript
Chris Kenny:
Now you might’ve seen an interview yesterday with my colleague, Tom Connell.
He spoke with the Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, about his decision to veto a proposed Northern Australia infrastructure fund loan for a wind farm in Queensland.
Now Pitt suggested the proposal was rejected for failing to meet criteria for being affordable, reliable and dispatchable, and their exchange was, well, it went around a bit like a wind turbine.
Tom Connell:
Can you tell me though, what size, for 157 megawatt wind farm, what size battery do you need to make it dispatchable?
Keith Pitt:
Well, Tom, all I can tell you is that intermittent wind and solar-
Tom Connell:
That’s a basic question. ...
Chris Kenny:
... The real issue here, the one Tom wasn’t given an answer on, was whether batteries are a viable backup for a wind farm, and didn’t the climate evangelist chortle over this exchange?
... ABC Sydney radio presenter Wendy Harmer said, “Lots of great stuff coming in this space, including Keith Pitt one day being able to utter the word “battery.”
... Why does minister Pitt prevaricate?
Why is it such a sensitive thing to acknowledge the obvious, that a battery can back up a wind farm?
... Keith Pitt is the Minister for Resources.
Australia has lots of the world’s rare earth minerals to make batteries.
This is the industry of the future.
We could be world leaders in lithium batteries, but instead we get this.”
... It’s all, “Hail the coming of the mega battery.”
They’re just pretending that the battery thing is easy.
You have a wind farm, store the energy in a battery.
Steggall becomes all sort of a mining advocate now for rare earths.
These politicians and journalists mock Pitt but seriously contend that batteries are a way to firm power supplies from wind farms.
If they stopped to think for just one minute, they might realise that if that were the case, the whole world would probably be net zero already.
Energy storage is the problem with renewable energy.
It’s the only issue really, the big one, but these politicians and commentators think there’s already some kind of big battery nirvana.
Let’s take for example South Australia’s so-called big batteries.
The biggest in the world, it was, when it was first built a few years ago.
A hundred million dollars worth of battery with taxpayers stumping up an undisclosed share.
Now sure, it’s helped to smooth out the grid in the new renewables world.
Good.
And it makes money by buying cheap and then selling high.
But as a firming tool, give me a break.
It doesn’t pretend to do that job.
This massive installation would power South Australia, by far the smallest mainland state, it would power it for less than three minutes,
or it would power that proposed wind farm, replace the energy from that proposed wind farm in Queensland that Keith Pitt was talking about, it would make up for that energy for one hour.
How many hundred million dollar batteries would one state need to cover a full day of a wind farm being in the doldrums, or a windless week?
Here’s a reality check from physicist and engineer, Mark Mills, who’s a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Mark Mills:
… and wind and solar only work when the wind blows and the sun shines, but we need energy all the time.
The solution, we’re told, is to use batteries.
Again, physics and chemistry make this very hard to do.
Consider the world’s biggest battery factory, the one Tesla built in Nevada.
It would take 500 years for that factory to make enough batteries to store just one day’s worth of America’s electricity needs.
Chris Kenny:
... There’s plenty of people barracking for renewable energy.
Now good on them, it’s a free world and renewables of course have lots of obvious attractions,
but it’s no good pretending that batteries are the easy solution.
You can’t run an electricity grid on make-believe."
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Tuesday, May 18, 2021
"Batteries Will Never Solve Wind & Solar’s Hopeless Intermittency"
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