Sorry Aiden, I thought the article was referred to on this thread but
it was another thread. So here is the article.
The UK is nowhere near big enough to use wx differentials.
That of course is why they looked at batteries.
They already have an extention cord to France.

http://euanmearns.com/grid-scale-storage-of-renewable-energy-the-impossible-dream/

Bazz,I though you meant a real study, not a blog article!

Juan's calculations have (in his own words) "focussed exclusively on the challenge of converting variable RE to firm uniform supply using energy storage". In other words it had little if anything to do with meeting the UK's actual needs, and it didn't consider the contribution from nuclear power at all.

> The UK is nowhere near big enough to use wx differentials.
WTF are wx differentials?

> They already have an extention cord to France.
That's over thirty years old! Since then they've linked to Ireland and the Netherlands. Plus they're laying the cables to link to Norway and Belgium. And several more links are planned.

In AEMO's new Integrated System Plan the word storage appears 334 times, indicating it's pretty important to the whole thing working, i.e. to have any impact on AGW, assuming other nations do their bit.

http://energylive.aemo.com.au/News/-/media/FA01D34E19E0484BB3697016B7A58159.ashx

You'd think feasible, viable storage was just sitting in the wings, ready to be linked to grand new renewable generation projects, ensuring 24/7/365 electricity.

Nope.

It's not invented, but we're setting up ready to plug straight into it when it is. We are crossing over from science and economics into the realm of religion, with this ISP. This is a "Field of Dreams" approach to planning out our energy future and I can't believe it's happening when the German experiment has failed. There appears a mass hypnosis as if many of us are waiting to be taken up in the Rapture.

Our poor children.

Aiden, you can be very snobby when you want to put down someones
information. The article covers an area that has been ignored elsewhere.
WX, (standard abbreviation for weather).

Differential refers to the difference in wx in different parts of
a country. This difference is proposed as a way to make a 100% renewables system practical.
It is suggested that continental size countries may be able to make it work.
The problem might well be that the duplication needed may be too expensive.

Apologies for what I think was an autocorrect error in my reply to Bazz - it should have said "Euan's calculations..." rather than "Juan's calculations".

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Luciferase, I'm quite tired of your dissing and whinging about storage!

We have lots of different storage technologies to suit lots of different purposes on the grid. Though it is IMO unlikely that mechanical (flywheel) storage will be cost effective for more than just grid stabilisation, some other kinds have great potential.

Gravitational (pumped) storage is already in use and already cost effective. We can easily build much more of it than we have now - although of course nowhere near enough to rely exclusively on it.

Thermal storage is practical for solar thermal power.

Chemical (battery) storage can be very advantageous near the point of use, as it can reduce the need to upgrade powerlines. Though it is quite expensive for large scale applications, this may change in the near future as scientists are attempting to base batteries on cheaper elements like iron or sodium.

Chemical (fuel) storage has not been commercialised yet, but do I really need to explain how it will be a game changer?

And of course we don't have to rely exclusively on storage - we can also use demand management (for instance not starting a batch of smelting if calm cloudy conditions are forecast).

You're obsessing over a problem that will be solved long before we reach it.

You would understand what scalable, feasible, viable mean in relation to science and economics. Listing the theoretically available options (can't diss their existence, they exist) is a far cry from making any of them conform to these adjectives.

Some major breakthrough is needed to make any sense of storage and if it was such a goer already Germany wouldn't be a basket-case on emissions and bang-for-its-buck. Energiewende is a failure, this despite its advantages with connection to French nuclear and Nordic hydro. 100% renewables is an enthusiast's dream, not a plan for an increasingly energy-hungry world.

For AEMO to presume scalabe, feasible viable storage, or expect a storage breakthrough, is wishful thinking not a plan. You can be as tired as you like of my attack on your religion, it doesn't change the truth that gas plus renewables has no impact and is a bridge on a dead-end road towards mitigating AGW through some storage dream.

I can't stomach what I'm seeing happening. We appear to be in the hands of ideological imbeciles afraid to look at the only realistic solution at our disposal, led by our Chief-Imbecile