This page provides links to posts that I recommend that anyone who is interested in researching the story behind the complexities of the energy system and relying on renewable wind and solar energy read.
I recommend three posts by Russell Schussler for a good overview of energy planning issues for an electric power generation and transmission system with the amounts of wind and solar resources envisioned for any net zero program. The post entitled “Transmission planning: wind and solar” discusses how the transmission system is impacted by renewable resources. A second post, “All megawatts are not equal, explains that different types of generating resources bring different benefits to the electric system. The final post discusses the problem of balancing system loads and resources in a system impacted by wind and solar.
I found that Schussler’s blog posts (several in collaboration with Rod Istvan) on renewable energy at Climate Etc gave a comprehensive overview of current energy related issues. I have consolidated many of the articles here. Unfortunately there isn’t a summary page at Climate Etc. that lists all the posts in this series so the following list will have to do:
- Myths and realities of renewable energy
- More renewables? Watch out for the Duck Curve
- All megawatts are not equal
- Taxonomy of climate/energy policy perspectives
- What should renewables pay for grid service?
- Transmission planning: wind and solar
- True costs of wind electricity
- Solar grid parity?
- Intermittent grid storage
- Microgrids and “Clean” Energy
- Renewables and Grid Reliability
- Energy Strategies – Horses for Courses
- Energy and Environment on the Garden Island
- Balance and the Grid
- Trying to Make Sense of Musk Love and Solar Hype
- Science Marchers Secretary Perry Memo and Bill Nye Hype
- Renewable Resources and the Importance of Generation Diversity
- Good summary of the posts: Will California “learn” to avoid peak rolling blackouts
- The Penetration Problem Part I: Wind and Solar – The More You Do the Harder it Gets
- The Penetration Problem Part II: Will the Inflation Reduction Act Cause a Blackout?.
- Exploiters vs. Experts
- Academics & the grid. Part I: I don’t think that study means what you think it means
- Academics and the grid. Part II: Are they studying the right things?
Other related posts by Rud Istvan at Watts Up With That
The Science of Doom blog was written for “People interested in the science behind the climate stories we read about every day.” While there are a whole slew of articles that address the nitty gritty of climate science there also have been a series of posts on renewable energy. The author does a good job of not only distilling down the information but also providing links to original documents with the admonition that readers review the entire documents. The following list of links shows the topics available:
- Renewable Energy I– Introduction
- Renewables II – Solar and Free Lunches– Solar power
- Renewables III – US Grid Operators’ Opinions– The grid operators’ concerns
- Renewables IV – Wind, Forecast Horizon & Backups– Some more detail about wind power – what do we do when the wind goes on vacation
- Renewables V – Grid Stability As Wind Power Penetration Increases
- Renewables VI – Report says.. 100% Renewables by 2030 or 2050
- Renewables VII – Feasibility and Reality – Geothermal example
- Renewables VIII – Transmission Costs And Outsourcing Renewable Generation
- Renewables IX – Onshore Wind Costs
- Renewables X – Nationalism vs Inter-Nationalism
- Renewables XI – Cost of Gas Plants vs Wind Farms
- Renewables XII – Windpower as Baseload and SuperGrids
- Renewables XIII – One of Wind’s Hidden Costs
- Renewables XIV – Minimized Cost of 99.9% Renewable Study
- Renewables XV – Offshore Wind Costs
- Renewables XVI – JP Morgan advises
- Renewables XVII – Demand Management 1
- Renewables XVIII – Demand Management & Levelized Cost
- Renewables XIX – Behind the Executive Summary and Reality vs Dreams
Other related posts:
New York Energy Policies 