Intermittency Of Renewables?… Not So Much

[PamW]

5. 100% WRONG as ALWAYS

Above, kristopher state:
In sum these changes mean a computerized "smart grid" that can watch power flow down to the single kilowatt level

As per always, kristopher is just "blowing smoke", in his statement above. First, kristopher identifies the need to watch power flow "down to the single kilowatt level", in essence hypothesizing an potential error of a single kilowatt.

BZZZZT!! WRONG!! ERROR!!! ERROR!!!

If the error in your measurement is 1 kilowatt, then that means the system would allow a mismatch of generation to load and loss of a killowatt. In a single second, that would mean the system would either create or destroy 1000 Joules of energy - depending on whether generation lagged or exceeded demand/loss.

Do you honestly "think" that Mother Nature will let you get away with either creating or destroying 1000 Joules?

The Law of Conservation of Energy does NOT allow a mismatch as large as 1000 Joules.

There are two failings that non-dispatchable renewables have relative to their dispatchable counterparts. One failing is the inability to sense load. Dispatchable generators like coal, gas, hydro, and nuclear; have generators that are "synched" to the power line, and hence can "sense" the load via Lenz's Law. ( Go look up Lenz's Law in any physics textbook ). If you want to pick up a bucket of rocks, you don't need an "app" on your iPhone that tells you how much the rocks weigh, and hence how much force you need to supply. You can "feel" the weight of the rocks when you pick them up; and provide the necessary level of force.

Non-dispatchable renewables like solar and wind do NOT have generators that are "syched" to the power line, and hence can't "feel" the load via Lenz's Law. That is not a fatal flaw; that issue can be addressed. That is what a "smart grid" is all about. The "smart grid" receives the electric energy demand from each of the loads on the grid and sums up those loads/demands to report to the generators on the grid. The "smart grid" is analogous to the iPhone app that tells you how much the rocks weigh above.

The other, more serious, failing of non-dispatchable renewables is the lack of a "throttle". If your "smart grid" or whatever reports the load that a given generator has to supply; how does one adjust the energy produced to match the demand.

Again, dispatchable generators have a feedback system that senses the load / demand via Lenz's Law; the added demand results in a great "back-torque" in the generator, and the plant has a feedback system to provide more power to the generator to compensate. The feedback system opens the throttle valve on the turbines, and in case of coal or gas, also regulates the fuel flow valve; and in the case of a reactor, inherent temperature feedbacks, principally the moderator/coolant temperature feedback adjusts reactor power.

Non-dispatchable renewables like wind and solar do NOT have throttles; which is why they are "non-dispatchable" by definition. How does one demand more energy from Mother Nature than what she is offering at the time?

When the renewables "engineers" accomplish their deluded attempt to make demands on Mother Nature; let me know.

PamW