Part II of our very own “Snork’s” series at Pajamas Media was published yesterday. READ IT ALL.

(latecomers should start with Part I)

~:)

Electric Grid Myths, Part II: The Effect of Alternatives

In my previous article, I laid out many of the most common misconceptions of how the electrical grid is built, operated, and maintained, and just precisely what is meant by the term “smart grid.” This leads to a number of questions and choices regarding the future — specifically, how telemetric load control (what “smart grid” really is) works with wind power and electric cars.

Wind power has been heralded by its proponents as the future of electrical power generation. I specifically am not going to discuss the merits of wind power vs. coal, nuclear, solar, or any of the other possibilities. I am decidedly not advocating any particular source. What I am doing is noting the time scheduling characteristics of wind, why that’s a problem, and how telemetric load control — particularly if a significant penetration of electric cars catches on — might work together to mitigate one of wind’s major drawbacks, and why that’s probably going to have a limited effect.

Aside from concerns over bird kill, economics, and aesthetics, wind power suffers from a problem with reliability. Not reliability of the machines themselves (though maintenance is a significant operating cost), but the reliability of the wind itself.

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