No country has ever powered itself entirely with wind and solar; no country ever will. The idea we’ll all be powered exclusively by wind and solar is pure fantasy and talk about giant batteries soon making that pipe dream possible is just as unhinged.
The occasional claim that wind and solar satisfied 100% of power demand for a few minutes in a day is as meaningful as the gambler talking up a win without telling you about his 99 straight losses.
With the sun at its zenith on a cloudless, summer’s day and the wind at a perfect and constant 11m/s, wind and solar may well be producing something close to their total notional capacity. But it never lasts. The wind drops and so does the sun, every single day. At which point it’s over to coal, gas and hydro – and in those lucky countries that have it, nuclear – to maintain a meaningful power supply. Which, left to their own devices, they would have done anyway, and without any need for subsidies of the kind doled out to wind and solar.
Reality never stands in the way of the wind and sun cult. One of them, The Guardian’s Katharine Murphy decided to lead with her chin, which allowed Eric Worrall an opportunity to retort.
Claim: Renewables Could Meet 100% of Aussie Demand at Certain Times by 2025
