Renewables are going nowhere

In in process of installing a standby generator that runs on natural gas or propane. I plan to have both options active as needed. I can also use my lawn pump as a water source of power is down for extended time affecting city water pressure. May eventually look into a Tesla power wall that I can charge with the generator to give it a rest every couple days. This is all worst case planning because we live in NW Florida and have the risk of severe weather. Will be a backup if the libs cut or ration power — TBD.

Despite what Xcel Energy thinks and is currently pushing, renewables are going nowhere in my state. It's one big feel-good con game.

They are erratic, and it is difficult or impossible for industry to manage itself that way. Some processes just can't be flipped on and off depending on how the wind is blowing and whether there are clouds.

....and so is the party that is trying to ram them down our throats.........

FTA: "After decades of hype and trillions in wasted ratepayer and taxpayer dollars, wind and solar can’t satisfy three percent of the world’s energy needs. Nor can they prevent the blackouts that are inexorably making they way toward our communities." We had wind power centuries ago. And we understood that it was better than a team of oxen walking in an endless circle grinding grain or lifting water, but if you had a stream with a bit of elevation change, that beat wind power. The old Dutch windmills, picturesque in paintings, were OK for pumping out water in land recovered from the seas, but they represented very low density power. Very few horsepower or watts of energy and they cost a lot to build and maintain for their very small output. We understood wind power well, used it for a couple of centuries for small things, and abandoned it quickly as REAL power sources like coal, oil and gas were discovered and made practical. A similar story for electric cars. Back when steam engines powered most of industry, and transportation (trains and ships) we tried steam cars, and they were complex, slow to get ready to drive, expensive and dangerous - deadly boiler explosions were a constant hazard of all steam powered devices. So, we tried those new electric batteries which powered the telegraph - and they sort of worked, as long as your requirements were short ranged. We were told, in 1895, that "better batteries will solve all these problems, they are nearly perfected ". And the better batteries never appeared. So, gasoline engines took over, with problems, like starting with hand cranks, quickly overcome with improved technology (electric start, something a battery could actually do). And now - back to the failed technologies of the past. We are told that after a century of intense technological development and huge leaps in technology everywhere else, that "better batteries will solve all these problems, they are nearly perfected". Another failed technology of the past - forever touted as "the technology of the future". After waiting 125 years, I don't think electric cars are the future. Chemical batteries are a VERY mature technology, and we are at the extreme pinnacle of over a century of development and billions spent, and the range is still short, the charge times are still long, they are still very expensive, and they randomly catch fire and burn with a fire which is very difficult to extinguish. Can anyone imagine getting into a battery powered aircraft and crossing the oceans? How about a battery powered cargo ship? Insanity, it's never going to happen. We COULD go back to wind powered ships, but they were slow and extremely labor intensive, and had limited abilities to travel when the winds weren't blowing, or blew in the "wrong" direction. Another ancient, failed technology. Renewable energy is a leftist fantasy, a Mother Earth News "live free on 10 acres with only recycled junk" sort of living off of renewables dystopic utopia. It cannot feed, clothe, shelter and transport billions. Of course, we are starting to see that at least some of the members of the Billionaires Club have another version of "the ultimate solution" - which is that 8 billion people need to become 500 million people - and once again "by whatever means necessary" seems to be their slogan. But they don't fly in electric aircraft, and won't.

Every source of "energy" is useful in its way. I use solar, for example, to load/maintain a 500 ah battery on camping trips - which I use to power and charge everything from cellphones to tablets to my small refrigerator. If people want to power their whole house needs they need systems that are fairly costly, whether used for daily or emergency power. And it's their money. It's "possible" to supply sufficient power for domestic home use with solar or wind and a storage system. It's practical if you have the money to pay Tesla or Generac. Thinking it will supply a nation is foolishness. Let the market decide...end the subsidies.

Another point, joined with solar and wind is the unspoken "batteries" to store energy generated for later use. As pointed out, a significant part of the time, solar and wind plants generate NOTHING. Batteries are proposed as the solution. However, the type of batteries required require rare earths that are largely sourced from China and NOT found in abundance in the US. The AMOUNT of such rare earth materials that would be needed probably does not even exist. Even if it did, MASSIVE amount of mining are required to find the "rare" materials. That mining requires heavy, FOSSIL FUELED equipment to shift the 100's of tons of earth to sort out the target material. There would be massive environmental damage to seek the rare earths. We could not possibly find and deliver enough materials needed for the batteries. Without the batteries, solar and wind are extremely limited technologies. The worst thing is, the fools that push solar and wind have KNOWN these limitations from the start.

Hopefully the greenies will be introduced to Captain Obvious soon.

The biggest money making scheme of all time. Ah, the oceans are rising but every rich politician is building a mansion on beach front property. Got it..

Reply #5: Outstanding!!!! Comprehensive, to the point, and 100% correct.

Voodoo energy can never meet the needs of the baseload.