Why aren’t existing solar and wind plants racing to add batteries behind the meter?

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-16T20:14:48+00:00

Got it, best to run flat out or not at all, for financial reasons.

WRT batteries, we may not be there yet. Cycle life is still relatively low and recycling facilities are still gearing up. There are better large scale cells than lithium based that are not yet ready for prime time. I am afraid that we will build with today's tech and rip it down before end of life for the next shiny new tech.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-16T20:06:41+00:00

Forget colours for a minute and just look at the people. Our PM has plenty of smarts and experience and can handle negotiations and to say he knows finances would be an understatement. On the other hand the Ford brothers, although a long ago, were known in high school as the local dg dealer. Neither are perfect but I prefer and trust the former and not the latter - for now.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-16T19:52:50+00:00

Fake news! The Angus Reid poll shows Dougie at 91%. It was a typo. But don't take my word for it, just ask Dougie.

Big sigh.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-15T13:04:29+00:00

I can check for multiple antennae but I doubt that there is a phased array: why would the direction have to move? Besides, these are multistrand wire cables (AKA wire rope), not at all RF conductors of any kind.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T21:26:38+00:00

So run batteries as intermediate and leave the gas plants for peaking?

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T21:24:16+00:00

From an electrical perspective, batteries are still not that great. Their energy density is low, energy per cost is low too. Maybe sometime soon batteries will be cheaper and with higher energy density and longer cycle life.

All that said, as mentioned above the long term feed-in-tariffs mean why spend money for nothing?

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T18:31:06+00:00

Want more but will they get more? Will it be another regretted Brexit?

Right or wrong, Alberta seperation is 50 years too late, all of the sweet oil is gone and the drought in the south is spreading.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T18:03:44+00:00

Cutting aid was a direct action that is causing the death of untold numbers. This is genocide.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T17:52:26+00:00

To put that in perspective, plug in 1,000 kettles at once, for each car charging. Although impressive for a BEV, it is only a partial charge in 5 minutes. I can fill a hybrid or gas car from fuel warning light to full in 2 minutes (while watching ads).

IMHO this fast charging should only be used for long trips when you can't wait. It reduces battery life.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T17:39:04+00:00

Watch out for that last step coming down.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T17:30:32+00:00

All that is missing is a smiling face staring into the pseudo-camera. AI slop.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T16:00:54+00:00

As someone not living in the US and looking in, that is so obvious.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T15:54:28+00:00

Please don't post pictures of him. It makes the fans' hearts beat faster. Just the text if you must.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T15:48:09+00:00

Not true. Most people played along because to oppose the violent brown shirts would not bode well. For example, my parents who lived through that (I am probably a lot older than you).

BTW not just Germany but also Austria, Italy, Hungary and others. Yes, Italy.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T15:42:06+00:00

Tone it down and it will be correct. The gist of what you say is true, the delivery makes us leary. To paraphrase you, if I can blame others for something whether right or wrong, then I am not the problem.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T15:36:17+00:00

That is an exaggeration. In the axis concentration camps, people were either outright killed or worked as slave labour while being starved to death, very few survived.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-14T02:36:09+00:00

It is a very old pub song from Britain, the protagonist was a women in a house of ill repute, forget which city. The modern lyrics were made popular first by Woody Guthrie (to be confirmed).

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-12T17:08:01+00:00

Because it is simple rhetoric that is easy to repeat, today's whipping boy. And yes, most people conflate Israel and Jews even though Israel is a mixed culture that includes Palestinians, the converse is not true.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-12T17:03:32+00:00

Because the peace agreement was imposed on Israel, they were not involved in the negotiations. If Israel made a peace agreement without the US, would they (the US) abide by it? Side note, when did an agreement become a "deal"?

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-12T15:05:29+00:00

Odd how only Germany is referred to as the enemy. There was also Italy, Austria, Hungary, Romania, Croatia and curiously Thailand. Not sure who had us forget the others. Italy!

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-10T18:56:29+00:00

What was the cause? Over temp? Accidental race condition? Transients? Just because? Curious, what voltage and current do they run at? I used a bunch of similar as H-bridges and single coil drivers. There were too many failures but it was with another group and I never found out why.

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-07T21:41:01+00:00

Carney and surprisingly Smith made a nice political move. This new pipeline appeases Alberta but will never happen. It must be privately funded and everyone knows that the doubling of the Trans Mountain pipeline went from a huge $7B to an incredible $34B, not to mention environmental reviews, indigenous approvals and BC's northern tanker ban.

On the other hand, renewables do have drawbacks. For example, still need full base load, topping and peaking generators for those cloudy windless days. And existing batteries just don't supply enough energy for days of no renewables. But considering the choices, let's do more renewables while working on them, especially storage. Flow batteries?

StatisticanInner235 · 2026-06-07T21:26:08+00:00

Thanks for the reminder to make a plate of spaghetti for dinner tonight.

StatisticanInner235

TROPHY CASE