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on September 12, 2019
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Clear Energy Alliance: Battery Fantasy

Written by Isaac Orr
in Energy, Environment

Batteries are often touted as a magical technology that will suddenly make unreliable wind and solar, reliable. The idea is just the latest round of wishful thinking on behalf of renewable energy boosters, and someday in the future we'll look back at the "but batteries" argument and chuckle. I've already documented how just 24 hours of battery storage in Minnesota would cost $133 billion dollars, roughly one-third of Minnesota's annual gross state product, and it we would potentially need weeks of storage to tide the state over during the summer, when electricity demand is high but wind generation is low. Clear Energy Alliance discusses...

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on September 04, 2019
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There is No Holy Grail: Some Perspective on Battery Storage

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment

Today I wanted to share this graphic I found on a pro-nuclear Facebook page that really hammers home the point: we simply require far too much energy for wind, solar, and battery storage to ever be a viable, reliable source of electricity. If the folks who claim that climate change is an "existential crisis" were actually serious about reducing carbon dioxide emissions they would legalize new nuclear power and allow the electricity generated by hydropower that we already buy from Canada to count toward our "carbon free" goals. Instead, the DFL-lead house said these two proposals were non-starters. There is simply no...

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on April 23, 2019
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Star Tribune: Technology, Cost Could Hamper Efforts for 100 Percent Carbon-Free Grid in Minnesota by 2050

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

On April 20th, the Star Tribune ran a story entitled "Technology, Cost Could Hamper Efforts for 100 Percent Carbon-Free Grid in Minnesota by 2050." It was good to see the paper acknowledging that the policies proposed by Governor Walz and House DLF'ers will be expensive and the technology needed to attain this goal (without the use of nuclear and large hydro) does not exist. ...

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on March 10, 2019
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How Much Would One Day’s Worth of Battery Storage Cost Minnesota Households? $820 per Year, for 20 Years

Written by Isaac Orr
in Climate, Energy, Environment, Minnesota Economy

Last week I was on WCCO's program with Paul and Jordana, and we had a very spirited discussion. I'd highly encourage you to listen to the 12 minute interview if you have time. During the interview, I asked Paul what he planned to do when the wind wasn't blowing or sun wasn't shining, and he emphatically stated that batteries with large posteriors (he used other words, of course), would be up to the challenge of providing electricity when the weather did not cooperate with wind and solar generation, citing examples in Australia and California as evidence for his claim. For the sake...

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on August 06, 2018
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Connexus Squanders $31 Million on Solar Plus 2 Hours of Battery Storage

Written by Isaac Orr
in Energy, Environment

Connexus Energy is building two electricity “storage” systems — solar-panel arrays connected to big batteries. Cheerleaders of solar plus storage have hailed this a victory for our state, but in reality, it's another expensive boondoggle for Minnesota families and businesses who will still rely on the grid for the vast majority of their electricity. Adding solar plus storage is just an expensive ornament on the grid that serves as a vanity project for people who fancy themselves to be "green."...

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