tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post2402616735284703340..comments2024-03-19T01:48:39.709+00:00Comments on Power and Control: Picken Apart PickensM. Simonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09508934110558197375noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-59431642703749739522008-08-09T20:50:00.000+00:002008-08-09T20:50:00.000+00:00Hoots,You aren't missing anything.My guess is that...Hoots,<BR/><BR/>You aren't missing anything.<BR/><BR/>My guess is that the transmission will be 2 MV DC rather than superconductors but that is a minor quibble.M. Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09508934110558197375noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8282587.post-19401091895829357712008-08-09T20:37:00.000+00:002008-08-09T20:37:00.000+00:00The cited article says "wind power is intrinsicall...The cited article says <EM>"wind power is intrinsically unreliable. When the wind speed drops in half, power output drops by a factor of eight, so wind simply cannot provide the baseload power. Rather, it can only be used as an as-available auxiliary"</EM> etc.<BR/><BR/>I'm not an expert but my take on the Pickens vision was a vast grid down the middle of North America sending electricity East and West via an infrastructure yet to be completed. An engineer friend says superconductor delivery systems are already in use in parts of the Northeast, so the technology is not all that exotic even if the scale is of Chinese proportions. <BR/><BR/>If all the above is true, then the only time wind power would be "unreliable" would be when no wind blows anywhere on the grid. Seems to me the wind will always blow somewhere<BR/>(aside from armchair engineers).<BR/><BR/>What am I missing?Hootshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01108363655472450828noreply@blogger.com