Who’s Gonna Keep Me Warm When the Sun Don’t Shine and the Wind Don’t Blow?
Renewable energy is a three-legged stool: solar, wind, and storage
A dog pile will work, but it’s only a temporary solution. Several cold days of heavy overcast require a comprehensive solution consisting of wind, solar, and utility-scale battery storage.
Just so you won’t accuse me of clickbait, I will do an analysis comparing dog piles to nuclear reactors.
Wind is intermittent, and solar doesn’t work in the dark or inclement weather. Wind and solar complement each other. The wind blows when the sun doesn’t shine, and the sun shines on still days. Solar is strong in the summer and wind in the winter. I can attest that there is plenty of wind in Montana in January, but wind is unevenly distributed. Most of the good onshore sites are west of the Mississippi and in the Appalachian mountains. Offshore is plentiful on all our coasts except Florida.
Battery storage bridges the gap. It can store electricity when the power source is plentiful and release it when there is a lull.
Falling prices for solar cells, wind turbines, and batteries have put us on the verge of a wind and solar revolution.
