Tarindel
25-05-2006, 23:14
Several times, I have gotten the following issue:
"The oldest power station in Tarindel suffered a catastrophic failure last night, plunging a third of Tarindel's national power supply grid into darkness. There is no debate that it needs to be replaced, but the question is with what?"
Amongst the solutions is the following:
' 2. "Wind power? Solar collectors? Bah! Have you ever wondered when the least amount of strain is placed on the national grid? WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING!" exclaims Southern Tarindel Electra official Pip Licorish. "We need power under our control, and cheaply. Coal has been the cheapest and most abundant power source for ages. We don't need this airy fairy wind malarky when we have cheap and reliable power available for all. True, pollution will be a bit on the heavy side but I'm sure that's only a minor problem, with how well funded our health system is!"'
The problem is that the assertion made at the top is simply not true. The most strain is placed on the national grid during the day, precisely when the sun is shining. This is due to two reasons:
1) Businesses use a lot of electricity, and they tend to operate during daylight hours.
2) People run their air conditioners, and those use a lot of electricity,
If you take a look at the California ISO (http://www.caiso.com/outlook/SystemStatus.html), which is a web site that monitors California's energy usage, you can clearly see that the times of the day where energy usage is the highest is between 9am and 9pm, precisely when the sun IS shining (well, for most of that time period).
Consequently, I think the question should be rewritten -- because the question makes it sound as if renewable energy sources won't help all that much when in fact that are pretty feasible ways to make electricity. They just typically require high up-front costs.
"The oldest power station in Tarindel suffered a catastrophic failure last night, plunging a third of Tarindel's national power supply grid into darkness. There is no debate that it needs to be replaced, but the question is with what?"
Amongst the solutions is the following:
' 2. "Wind power? Solar collectors? Bah! Have you ever wondered when the least amount of strain is placed on the national grid? WHEN THE SUN IS SHINING!" exclaims Southern Tarindel Electra official Pip Licorish. "We need power under our control, and cheaply. Coal has been the cheapest and most abundant power source for ages. We don't need this airy fairy wind malarky when we have cheap and reliable power available for all. True, pollution will be a bit on the heavy side but I'm sure that's only a minor problem, with how well funded our health system is!"'
The problem is that the assertion made at the top is simply not true. The most strain is placed on the national grid during the day, precisely when the sun is shining. This is due to two reasons:
1) Businesses use a lot of electricity, and they tend to operate during daylight hours.
2) People run their air conditioners, and those use a lot of electricity,
If you take a look at the California ISO (http://www.caiso.com/outlook/SystemStatus.html), which is a web site that monitors California's energy usage, you can clearly see that the times of the day where energy usage is the highest is between 9am and 9pm, precisely when the sun IS shining (well, for most of that time period).
Consequently, I think the question should be rewritten -- because the question makes it sound as if renewable energy sources won't help all that much when in fact that are pretty feasible ways to make electricity. They just typically require high up-front costs.