[ExI] Wind, solar could provide 99.9% of ALL POWER by 2030

[BillK]

On Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 5:22 PM, Adrian Tymes wrote:
> On Sat, Dec 15, 2012 at 8:59 AM, spike wrote:
>> The key to making ground based solar and wind power more practical is that
>> we need to be way more tolerant of possibly severe but temporary shortages.
>
> Shortages in *local production*.  As the report noted, storage
> helps get around this.  So does having a transmission grid, so
> if (say) San Jose's got clouds w/low wind but Los Angeles has
> sun, they can ship energy up north, and vice versa when
> necessary.
>

That's right. I think Spike is conflating two different problems.
The article deals with feeding power into the grid from solar and wind
sources all across the US and only using the old oil or coal stations
in emergencies.

Spike is also worrying about when the grid goes down. Self-sufficiency
in power is a good idea. As prices drop, solar panels and small wind
farms will appear on many properties. Especially those in remote
areas.


BillK