Why does a peaker plant charge more for electricity than a baseload plant? In many cases the two plants are identical. Because the peaker plant has exactly the same cost as the baseload, but fewer hours in which to recoup that cost.
"Adding batteries to fix solar’s intermittency is like trying to fix a leaky pipe with duct tape."
My thought was it was like drilling another hole in the pipe, so less water would come out the original hole.
And Yep - you are exactly right. AND this problem was predicted and modeled extensively 15 years ago. AND proven experimentally multiple times.
"We find the value of wind power to fall from 110% of the average power price to 50–80% as wind penetration increases from zero to 30% of total electricity consumption. For solar power, similarly low value levels are reached already at 15% penetration. Hence, competitive large-scale renewable deployment will be more difficult to accomplish than as many anticipate."
In California we were sold wind+solar because they were "free" and secondarily because they were "zero emissions." At the time I paid $0.13 / kWh. Today the lowest I pay is $0.41 / kWh Tier 1. When I run my CNC mill, lathe and 3D printer for my business, along with AC to keep the shop cool, my rate hops up to $0.51 / kWh Tier 2.
Yep. What you are paying for is not the wind and solar, which is very cheap - heck that might be $0.10/kwh. So where does the other $0.40/kwh come from?
1) Batteries.
2) Interties with other utilities outside the state and importing expensive electricity.
3) A power plant idling to step in when they fail. Yes, IDLING, i.e. burning hydrocarbons to keep the boilers warm and ready to go.
Each of those cost just as much as the cheap wind and solar. Even worse, if wind and solar get cheaper, these get more expensive, because their costs are amortized over fewer units of power sold. For each $0.01/kwh wind and solar costs decline, these other costs go up by $0.03/kwh.
Grid costs are largely fixed costs. Therefore, the bigger and more elaborate your grid, the higher the costs.
Why does a peaker plant charge more for electricity than a baseload plant? In many cases the two plants are identical. Because the peaker plant has exactly the same cost as the baseload, but fewer hours in which to recoup that cost.
"Adding batteries to fix solar’s intermittency is like trying to fix a leaky pipe with duct tape."
My thought was it was like drilling another hole in the pipe, so less water would come out the original hole.
And Yep - you are exactly right. AND this problem was predicted and modeled extensively 15 years ago. AND proven experimentally multiple times.
https://neon.energy/Hirth-2013-Market-Value-Renewables-Solar-Wind-Power-Variability-Price.pdf
Yes, 12 years ago this paper came out.
"We find the value of wind power to fall from 110% of the average power price to 50–80% as wind penetration increases from zero to 30% of total electricity consumption. For solar power, similarly low value levels are reached already at 15% penetration. Hence, competitive large-scale renewable deployment will be more difficult to accomplish than as many anticipate."
It literally is just math.
In California we were sold wind+solar because they were "free" and secondarily because they were "zero emissions." At the time I paid $0.13 / kWh. Today the lowest I pay is $0.41 / kWh Tier 1. When I run my CNC mill, lathe and 3D printer for my business, along with AC to keep the shop cool, my rate hops up to $0.51 / kWh Tier 2.
Yep. What you are paying for is not the wind and solar, which is very cheap - heck that might be $0.10/kwh. So where does the other $0.40/kwh come from?
1) Batteries.
2) Interties with other utilities outside the state and importing expensive electricity.
3) A power plant idling to step in when they fail. Yes, IDLING, i.e. burning hydrocarbons to keep the boilers warm and ready to go.
Each of those cost just as much as the cheap wind and solar. Even worse, if wind and solar get cheaper, these get more expensive, because their costs are amortized over fewer units of power sold. For each $0.01/kwh wind and solar costs decline, these other costs go up by $0.03/kwh.
Grid costs are largely fixed costs. Therefore, the bigger and more elaborate your grid, the higher the costs.