@clive@saturation.social
Australia generates such a massive amount of power from solar ...
... i.e. frequently in oversupply -- cranking out more juice than the cities can use ...
... that it is moving on to the next challenge: How to configure the grid, and its use of other forms of baseload generation, to keep things stable
Really fascinating piece here: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-11-17/solar-flooded-australia-told-its-okay-to-waste-some/104606640
ABC News
Australia struggling with oversupply of solar powerAs Australia surges past a solar-powered milestone, questions turn to how much is too much, and can we hope to store it all?
Sadly the article only finds batteries "too expensive" and concludes
It needs to accept that much of this solar will have to be wasted — or spilled — sometimes.
Which is nonsense. There are more way than one of storing power - pumping water uphill being the most obvious and long been in use on the UK next to nuclear power stations since nukes can't be just turned off overnight.
@StephenRees @clive Already on it, although the 27km tunnels have proven challenging
Supposed to be generating power by 2027
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_2.0_Pumped_Storage_Power_Station
@StephenRees @clive true. using reservoirs as giant batteries is a solution. then releasing the water into turbines
