There’s one more problem with solar power: peak electricity use in California occurs in the late afternoon and early evening, when solar power is small or zero.
When I taught an energy economics course at the Naval Postgraduate School in 2015, I made that point. One student responded, “Ah, yes, the duck curve.” In response to my quizzical look, he pointed the rest of the class and me to an image like this one. The line showing the supply of electrical power from “dispatchable sources,” which, as a rough approximation, means fossil fuels, traces what looks like the tail, back, neck, and head of a duck viewed from the side. In the early morning, there’s not much power from solar so electricity production from fossil fuels is high: that’s the tail of the duck. During the day, electricity from solar is high and so electricity production from fossil fuels is low: that’s the duck’s back. Then in the late afternoon and early evening, electricity from solar falls to zero but electricity use rises a lot and so we get the high neck and head of the duck. If you ever wonder about the problems with solar, think of the duck and you’ll quickly see the problem.
This is from David R. Henderson, “The California Brownout Disaster is Manmade,” Defining Ideas, September 11, 2020.
Notice that I also use the dreaded 7-letter n-word: nuclear.
Read the whole thing.
READER COMMENTS
Fazal Majid
Sep 12 2020 at 3:11pm
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertbryce/2020/08/23/after-48-years-democrats-endorse-nuclear-energy-in-platform/#3c7687df5829
Thomas Knapp
Sep 12 2020 at 3:29pm
While that could a problem with delivery of electricity from solar generation via grid, it’s not at all a problem with individual home solar installations. You simply battery-store excess electricity generated during the day, then draw on the batteries overnight.
Paul Dempsey
Sep 14 2020 at 2:47pm
Isn’t that a issue in California, where they take all the electricity from home owners and put it in the grid , then they send it back to you ,only if you are not part of the rolling blackouts?
Mm
Sep 16 2020 at 9:01am
Batteries are expensive plus require a great deal of mineral extraction (which the environmentalists oppose). Furthermore, when those batteries go bad where in the 3rd world are you planning on dumping them?
Richard A.
Sep 12 2020 at 6:09pm
Pump-storage hydroelectricity might be the solution to the duck problem.
Here are some cost estimates.
Mm
Sep 16 2020 at 8:59am
Except those same people who are for solar & wind are against building dams…..
Thomas Hutcheson
Sep 13 2020 at 9:25am
A revenue neutral carbon tax would make nuclear power more economical although what that is a better technology than pumped storage, geothermal, wind, or battery storage ought to be left to the market to decide.
David Henderson
Sep 14 2020 at 9:22am
Exactly. And with the California requirement for renewables, plus extreme state and federal regulation of nuclear, that’s what the market is NOT being allowed to decide.
Dylan
Sep 14 2020 at 10:08am
Yes, a carbon tax would be much better than a renewable portfolio standard. On the plus side, renewable portfolio standards are much better than one that took an even more command and control approach.
Mm
Sep 16 2020 at 9:05am
Nuclear power is best used for generating base load demands- you use something else for managing peaks- at present the common solution is gas turbines. The problem with nuclear is you still need something for the peak times & solar and wind don’t cut it.
Dylan
Sep 14 2020 at 10:04am
Energy storage has long been known to be a crucial piece of the puzzle in order for renewable energy to become the major source of electricity generation. Luckily, there are multiple approaches to that beyond just standard batteries. Pumped hydro, compressed gas, flywheels, demand management, better grid integration, etc…
There’s also the fact that offshore wind increases as the sun goes down and is better aligned with California’s demand curve.
Steve
Sep 14 2020 at 11:44am
https://www.vox.com/2016/4/28/11524958/energy-storage-rail
Another potential solution for solving the problem of “the duck”. 86% effeciency is better than I would have thought.
T Boyle
Sep 15 2020 at 3:30pm
David, as others have noted here, your knowledge of the issues here appears rather dated.
Kailer
Sep 15 2020 at 7:23pm
I use solar power to heat and light my home during the day. Have been for years.
Comments are closed.