Re: The Physics Behind the Spanish Blackout

On 10/06/2025 10:04 am, john larkin wrote:

On Mon, 9 Jun 2025 16:37:28 -0700, Don Y <blockedofcourse@foo.invalid>
wrote:
 

On 6/9/2025 1:44 PM, Liz Tuddenham wrote:

Carlos E.R. <robin_listas@es.invalid> wrote:
>

On 2025-06-09 21:54, Don Y wrote:

OTOH, we're sticking with other technologies (fossil fuels -- coal -- and
nukes) despite obvious and yet to be solved problems INHERENT in their
technology.  Adding "inertia" synthetically to a network is a considerably
more realistic goal than sorting out how to deal with nuclear waste or
the consequences of burning carbon.

>
Solar and wind can be made to impose a gigantic inertia with appropriate
electronics. You can fixate the output at 50Hz, locked no matter what.

>
Only if the surplus energy is available to supply the necessary current.

>
But that assumes the old usage model where the utility was the "tail" wagged
by the consumer "dog".
>
Going forward, expect to see a closer integration of load and supply
management.  It's just silly to over-provision just to accommodate
any *possible* demand when technology exists to predict and manage
that demand.

 Right. People shouldn't just be allowed to cook or do their laundry or
heat their houses whenever they feel like.

But they can be offered cheaper rates to do it when the grid is less heavily loaded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot,_Flat,_and_Crowded
spelled it all out back in 2008. Back then Thomas Friedman laid a lot of emphasis on electric cars which are parked 95% of the time and potentially available as a gigantic grid storage battery.
In Australia today about 40% of new roof-top solar comes with a Tesla power wall or some superior Chinese equivalent. About 30% of Australia's homes have  solar cells on their roofs, so there may be quite a lot of retrofit business. The utility companies don't seem to have yet woken up to the opportunities this offers, but the smarter ones will get there eventually. They won't have to be much smarter than John Larkin to manage it.
--
Bill Sloman, Sydney