Wind Producers Getting Paid to not Produce

[kristopher]

6. Why isn't that a problem for coal?

Because the way the electric market is designed favors coal's operational profile. As we shift to renewables the way we prioritize the products on the electric market will also shift. Think for a minute how power would be sold if we had no nuclear or coal that must run 24/7. The zero fuel cost generating sources will feed all of their power into the grid first and those sources that shape the load around these zero fuel cost sources will sell their products as needed to match the load to demand.

Currently large generators like coal and nuclear consume fuel 24 hours a day whether their power is needed or not. To some extent that presents opportunities for load shifting, a point that figures prominently in discussions about the roll out of EVs. I'm sure you've heard that charging at night is recommended - that's because of the spilled power from coal that is now available for almost nothing.

In the long run the spilled power from wind or solar will be somewhat different, however, since their variable nature will provide more profit opportunity for time-shifting the spilled power to periods of low wind. This stored power will, however, have to compete with other sources such as various forms of hydro, biofuels, and geothermal.