Wind power is best generated where wind exists. sun solar power is generated during midday sun. when wind is least windy little power is generated. where the sun is blocked by clouds little power is being generated.
Coal power is reliable, constant, and apparently cheaper to produce.

energy produced by sun light can only be used during sunlight hours. the only way I can believe sun light energy can be stored, is that electricity pumps water into a higher level dam, allowing stored water to flow through generator when needed.

many houses have solar cells yet is the power being generated being used?
A better discussion is Why Are These Ideas Not Public Knowledge?

Steve;
There are very significant problems with the intermittancy and variability
of wind and solar. Trying to cope with it has turned out to be very
expensive for Germany and Denmark.
Germany has an arrangement with Sweden that they can send their excess
to Sweden but is becoming a problem there. Sweden is now suggesting
that Germany pay Sweden to be able to send power to Sweden.
ie the electricity from Germany has a negative value!

The unpredictability of the supply variations is a problem.
Storage would be the answer if dams are available.

Oh, really? I have no idea.

Facts are far more boring than opinions, but I hope these will give people a better idea of the true situation.
There is nothing special about Germany (apart from the fact they are winding down nuclear) they produce very close to the average amount of renewable electrical energy for Europe.

Spain which would comfortably fit inside NSW uses a similar amount of electrical power to Australia, but comfortably managed to produce 42.8% of its power from renewables in 2014. Australia has much greater potential than Spain to produce renewable power, but yet could only manage a miserable 13.47% in 2014.

Figures for Europe 2013
% of gross electricity consumption
Norway____________105.5
Austria_____________68.1
Sweden____________61.8
Portugal___________49.2
Latvia_____________48.8
Denmark __________43.1
Croatia____________38.7
Romania___________37.5
Spain_____________36.4
Slovenia___________32.8
Italy_______________31.3
Finland____________31.1
Germany___________25.6
EU-28_____________25.4
Greece____________21.2
Ireland____________20.9
Slovakia___________20.8
Bulgaria___________18.9
France____________16.9
United Kingdom_____13.9
Lithuania__________13.1
Estonia___________13.0
Czech Republic_____12.8
Belgium___________12.3
Poland____________10.7
Netherlands_______10.1
Cyprus____________6.6
Hungary___________6.6
Luxembourg________5.3
Malta______________1.6

World 2013
% of gross electricity consumption
EU__________25.4
China________21.5
US__________12
Australia_____10.13

12 countries generated 99%+ of their electricity from renewables world wide.
17 countries generated 90%+
56 countries generated 50%+
Tasmanian generated 95% (2014)
South Australia 40%(2014)

Sources:-
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/images/5/5d/Renewable_energy_YB2015.xlsx
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_electricity_production_from_renewable_sources
http://www.cleanenergycouncil.org.au//cleanenergyaustralia

Warmair,

What you forgot to mention was that many of these countries have hydro electric power, which is reliable and ready to ramp up at a moments notice, and can compensate for wind and solar's unreliability. Notably the next largest hydro project in Aus was blocked by the Greens notably the Franklin Hydro scheme in Tas.

Also due to wind and Solar, Spain Denmark and Germany have virtually the highest electricity costs in the EU which is hurting consumers and industry.

Warmair,

Do not know where you get your figures from but obviously false. One example is Sweden 60% renewable yet it has 50% nuclear! The only way Denmark survives is pumping unused wind energy into Sweden and taking nuclear energy when the wind does not blow. Crap in crap out!

Regards,