On Sunday, November 30, 2014 12:19:12 AM UTC+13, Adam Whyte-Settlar wrote:   
   > as storage is its not possible, with the   
   > > exception of limited hydro, to store their energy.    
   >    
   > Of course storage is possible.   
   > It's been possible for decades.   
   > If anything the problem is there are so many competing systems for storage   
   that a market leader has yet to emerge from the dogfight - but it's just a   
   matter of time. The current best option is the established pumped hydro   
   storage but there are lots of    
   others being developed.   
   > The technology is leaping forwards on an almost monthly basis these days.   
   > The wearisome 'windmills don't work when it's not windy" really is pathetic   
   'denial for dummies' stuff you know.   
   > It's not like we have a choice - we either develop renewables rapid or the   
   lights go out. Nuclear is a total non-starter for all the obvious reasons.   
      
   Storage I am afraid is very limited and usually consists of pumping water up a   
   hill, which in itself is a lossy process. You can make it work of course like   
   anything at an expense.   
      
      
   Wind-energy storage is a new technology, but it is showing great promise in   
   real-world renewable energy applications. The most prominent example is Xcel   
   Energy's Wind-to-Battery project initiated in 2009 and based in Luverne,   
   Minn., at the 11.5-MW    
   MinWind Energy LLC wind plant. This project was intended to help address   
   questions about what storage can do to integrate renewable energy generation   
   in a real-world context. The project used a 1.0 MW (7.2-MWh) sodium-sulfur, or   
   NaS, battery-based system    
   connected to the grid via an S&C PureWave storage management system, which   
   managed battery charging and discharging.   
   The project has demonstrated that energy storage can be effective in   
   delivering a wide variety of functions, including time-shifting energy, wind   
   smoothing, and dispatched wind-leveling. Batteries were also evaluated for   
   frequency regulation capabilities.   
   Despite wind variability, the project demonstrated that it needs a relatively   
   small amount of power and energy to better integrate a wind plant with the   
   power grid. For instance, roughly 15 to 20% of a wind plant's nameplate power   
   rating and just 2 to 3    
   hours of battery storage makes the wind plant look like a traditional   
   dispatchable resource.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)