Re: The Physics Behind the Spanish Blackout

On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 18:09:19 -0400, bitrex <user@example.net> wrote:

On 6/9/2025 2:37 PM, Jeroen Belleman wrote:

On 6/9/25 17:34, bitrex wrote:

On 6/9/2025 10:14 AM, Joe Gwinn wrote:

On Sun, 08 Jun 2025 17:16:09 -0700, john larkin <jl@glen--canyon.com>
wrote:
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On Sun, 08 Jun 2025 19:15:57 -0400, Joe Gwinn <joegwinn@comcast.net>
wrote:
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The Physics Behind the Spanish Blackout, Bjorn Lomborg, Wall Street
Journal, 3 June 2025 issue, page A13.
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Here is a gift link.  No paywall, but they will insist on trying to
persuade you to subscribe.
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.<https://www.wsj.com/opinion/the-physics-behind-the-spanish-
blackout-solar-and-wind-power-unstable-grid-8be54b2a?
st=VUVUMR&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink>
>
Joe

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What's net zero is the line voltage. The issue is partly spinning
mass, but more important is gross gigawatts available on bad
afternoons.
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Another time bomb is that (cheap) solar panels and inverters and
batteries don't last as long as is assumed in payback calculations. In
10 or 15 years there will be an enormous disposal problem. And lots of
leaky roofs.

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Yep.  And given the likely end of the mandates and subsidies,
replacement may prove expensive, making the business case less
attractive.
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Joe

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I remember not too long ago when the climate-change deniers were
claiming renewables could never be a significant part of a country's
energy profile but I guess when they find out Spain was running 73%
one afternoon they have to change their argument, lol.
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Just goalpost-shifting forever.
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Better question is will the fission nuclear industry ever give up
trying to push their obsolete pointless technology that has been
nothing but broken promises for 75 years. It's over give up, already.

 
Fission works fine, although admittedly it's getting bogged down by
regulations and its reputation has suffered from some extensively
publicized accidents. Nuclear hasn't caused even close to as many
fatalities as has coal. France runs on nuclear power and it's doing
fine.
 
It's fusion that has failed to live up to its promises.
 
Renewables can be made to work, but need to learn to play well in
the existing infrastructure and need some kind of backup which
makes it more expensive.
 
Jeroen Belleman
 

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<https://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2023/03/26/how-much-water-do-french-nuclear-plants-use_6020697_114.html>
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Some global-warming denialists seem to have come around to the idea of
"Well it's happening, but it doesn't matter" but how fresh water
resources will go _up_ with less and less snowfall and less and less
snowpack every year is anyone's guess.
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It works "fine" if one buys the BS that other than the lil waste problem
it's earth-friendly low-impact technology. It isn't it's hugely
water-hungry, and uranium mining only gets dirtier the more of it you
extract.

The best power source by far is natural gas. It's cheap and clean and
easy to transport and store, and works reliably all day every day. And
we keep finding more.

The CO2 is a benefit too. It's greening the Earth.