Wind is on a par with coal now, without subsidies. But the playing field will only level once carbon capture has been added on as a cost (it will double the kWh price).
Balancing the inconstancy of wind generation only becomes an issue once the technology has penetrated beyond about 30% of grid capacity. Once you have wind farms spread all over the grid, you will begin to see a baseline output, the wind is always blowin somewhere.
It is possible to transmit high voltage AC over hundreds of miles for a loss of only about 5-8% and with high voltage DC you can do it for several thousand with a similar loss.
Nukes and Gas provide the base load as they are the cleanest, carbon wise, and coal rides the difference.
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These are outdated assumptions..
Wind is on a par with coal now, without subsidies. But the playing field will only level once carbon capture has been added on as a cost (it will double the kWh price).
Balancing the inconstancy of wind generation only becomes an issue once the technology has penetrated beyond about 30% of grid capacity.
Once you have wind farms spread all over the grid, you will begin to see a baseline output, the wind is always blowin somewhere.
It is possible to transmit high voltage AC over hundreds of miles for a loss of only about 5-8% and with high voltage DC you can do it for several thousand with a similar loss.
Nukes and Gas provide the base load as they are the cleanest, carbon wise, and coal rides the difference.