Environment & Energy
In reply to the discussion: Intermittency Of Renewables?… Not So Much [View all]kristopher
(29,798 posts)"Talking in the abstract" isn't a problem. It is an essential part of solving problems. It is studies like the one referred to that give us the boundaries to guide our future efforts. For example, no matter what percentage of overbuilding occurs when we limit our selection of resources to wind and solar, we know that the end result can be accomplished economically - delivering electricity at a price comparable to what we have today.
The next step involves improving on that with whatever local resources are most suitable - an act that may be done by an expanded large scale modeling effort following on the method in the solar/wind study, or it may be a large number of market driven studies of specific profit opportunities as they present themselves. But make no mistake, a lot of the people who will be involved in making the transition to carbon free energy happen are aware of that study and its implications.