Grist Explains That Solar Energy Can’t Be Used At Night

10 Responses to Grist Explains That Solar Energy Can’t Be Used At Night

1. suyts says:

   March 23, 2011 at 3:24 pm

   I’m floored that people still need this explanation. And, I’m floored we still are using demand terminology. For things such as solar and wind, a proper context would be watt hours provided.

   And, Mims is basically wrong when he states, “Regardless, Japan’s facing rolling blackouts until next Winter, and it’s undeniable that if the country had more distributed power generation like Germany’s roof-based solar PV system, the entire country would be much more resilient in the face of catastrophe.”

   Look at the curve at the top and the time of day. In the winter time, is it preferable to have power during the day or during the evening? On any given day, peak demand is typically from about 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, rendering solar energy near useless, and using a peak production term being entirely misleading.

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   • stevengoddard says:

     March 23, 2011 at 3:36 pm

     Want to buy a solar powered flashlight?

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     • suyts says:

       March 23, 2011 at 3:45 pm

       Would be about as useful as an electric generating solar panel.

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2. suyts says:

   March 23, 2011 at 3:46 pm

   I wonder if the alarmists are smart enough to understand that solar doesn’t replace nor augment coal generated power?

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3. DirkH says:

   March 23, 2011 at 4:20 pm

   And every little kWh of Solar power must be subsidized by the rate payer with a five- to 8-fold prize of the bulk going rate for electricity. Currently, Germany redistributes 16 billion Euro a year under this scheme.

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4. Old Goat says:

   March 23, 2011 at 7:23 pm

   Good time to invade Germany, perhaps…

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5. Juergen says:

   March 23, 2011 at 11:11 pm

   I watched a German program about solar power in Germany and the commentator said “the sun shines longer because of climate change”. I had to listen to that again because I couldn’t believe my ears.

   Would this mean that we could get to 24 hour sun shine if the climate change continues?
   /sarc/

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6. Luke of the D says:

   March 24, 2011 at 12:50 am

   Couple of questions… what exactly does that map show? I don’t understand… is it a map of engery consuption? Or solar output? If so, how does that work… is all of Germany covered in solar cells? Is it a particular point in time? If so what does it mean. Please explain thanks.

   Also, don’t forget the Germans are now going to close down all their nuclear reactors in a response to the earthquake that happened in Japan… all the way on the other side of the planet! Amazing how far the Germans have fallen…

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7. Bruce says:

   March 24, 2011 at 4:04 am

   No, no, no, solar power CAN be produced at night. The Spanish showed us how.

   http://motls.blogspot.com/2010/04/spain-produces-solar-energy-at-night.html

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   • Juergen says:

     March 24, 2011 at 7:28 am

     The Spanish model stores some of the daily sun energy using the molten salt technology. This means that not the whole sun energy in the day time is put into the grid.
     At night, the heat stored in the molten salt is used to produce electricity.
     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_power_in_Spain

     The Spanish solar plants are in trouble at the moment.
     “In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the Spanish government drastically cut its subsidies for solar power”

     Spain’s solar producers to take government to court
     http://stevengoddard.wordpress.com/2011/03/23/grist-explains-that-solar-energy-cant-be-used-at-night/#comment-45672

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