In his latest letter, Fred Hubler identified, “There’s a rising consciousness that industrial wind and photo voltaic require massive areas, which implies that vitality should be despatched over nice distances.” What he meant by “higher distances” is comprehensible after we think about what it will take to switch the beforehand working and dependable 600 megawatt (MW) Duane Arnold Power Middle with photo voltaic and batteries.
To reliably provide 600 megawatts 24 hours a day 12 months a 12 months would require a 7,200 MW photo voltaic farm protecting 36,000 hectares and a 13,200 MW-hr battery protecting 132 hectares. That is for the perfect climate circumstances. Nonetheless, right here in Iowa, we will go days with out seeing the solar. Which means that the above figures vastly underestimate the precise value of land and transmission necessities for counting on this renewable vitality.
Chet Sullivan
Marion
