Beam me to Planet Gore !
Posted on 12/21/2008 7:31:24 AM PST by Paine in the Neck
Many of the solar parks that stretch across vast tracts of the Spanish countryside are guilty of fraud, Spain's National Energy Commission (CNE) has found.
In the past two years, Spain's solar industry has grown by a spectacular 900%. The country now has the third largest solar capacity in the world, behind the United States and Germany.
But an ongoing investigation by Spanish authorities has so far unearthed nearly 4,200 photovoltaic installations that were falsely registered as being online by a 30 September deadline in order to receive higher levels of subsidy from power companies. According to the CNE report, however, none of the questionable installations, which are located in 1,447 or 13.3% of the country's solar parks, is actually producing any power.
(Excerpt) Read more at nature.com ...
To answer your question. A lot.
Thermal power stations
Conventional power stations fission a material or burn a fuel to obtain heat that is used to boil water and superheat the resulting steam which is fed to the steam turbines (some power stations also use gas turbines in combination with steam turbines). The turbines drive turbogenerators that make electricity.
A power station takes days to start producing electricity from a cold start. Time is needed to boil the water, to superheat the steam, to warm all the components of the power station, and to spin the turbogenerators up to operating speed.
Each power station is designed to provide an output of electricity. It can only provide very little more or very little less than this output (i.e., a power station has a "low turndown ratio").
Electricity demand matching
Electricity is wanted all the time but the demand for electricity varies from hour to hour, day to day, and month to month. The electricity grid has to match the supply of electricity to the demand for it at all times. This is difficult because power stations cannot be switched on and off as demand varies.
The problem of matching electricity supply to varying demand is overcome by operating power stations in three modes called "base load," "generation," and "spinning standby."
Some power stations operate all the time providing electricity to the grid, and they are said to provide "base load."
Other power stations also operate all the time but do not provide electricity all the time. They burn (or fission) their fuel to boil water and superheat the resulting steam which is fed to the steam turbines that are thus kept hot and spinning all the time. Of course, they emit all the emissions from use of their fuel all the time. But some of this time they dump heat from their cooling towers instead of generating electricity, and they are then said to be operating "spinning standby."
One or more power stations can be instantly switched from spinning standby to provide electricity to match an increase to demand for electricity. It is said to be operating "generation" when it is providing electricity. Power stations are switched between spinning standby and generation as demand for electricity changes.
Thus the grid operator manages the system to match supply with demand for electricity by switching power stations between "generation" and "spinning standby."
Windfarm input to electricity
Windfarms only provide electricity when the wind is strong enough and not too strong. So, they suddenly provide electricity when the wind changes. The grid operator must match this changed supply of electricity to the existing demand for electricity. Of course, the grid operator achieves the match by switching a power station to spinning standby mode. That power station continues to operate in this mode so it can provide electricity when the windfarm stops supplying electricity because the wind has changed again.
Windfarms only force power stations to operate more spinning standby. They provide no useful electricity and make no reduction to emissions from power generation. Indeed, the windfarm is the true source of emissions from a power station operating spinning standby in support of the windfarm.
Windfarms have capital, maintenance and operating costs that add to the cost of electricity. These costs are their only contribution to electricity supply.
No question about wind farms. 100 MW of wind energy requires 85 MG of backup power. In Texas, for some reason, this number is 91 percent.
Windfarms are horrible, inefficient and the blight of Spain. Every formerly beautiful range of hills or mountains here (I’m in Spain right now) has rows of these monstrosities marching over it, producing a constant roar, looking ugly as sin, and chopping up migrating birds. Eco freaks are so anti-coal, anti-nuclear power (although Spain has a fair amount of nuke power, too) that they will do anything, no matter how ugly and inefficient and self-destructive, to get their way.
Follow the money. The power. The controls.
Not long ago (last two or three weeks) there was a topic containing the claim that Spain was producing a large fraction of its electricity using photovoltaics. Can’t seem to find it. Anyway...
Solar a Bust in Spain
Greentechmedia | december 3, 2008 | Ucilia Wang
Posted on 12/04/2008 11:39:32 AM PST by NRG1973
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2142924/posts
Solar panels on graves give power to Spanish town
Boston.com | Nov. 23, 2008 | Daniel Woolls
Posted on 11/24/2008 6:28:26 AM PST by PROCON
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2137400/posts
Tombs’ solar panels fulfill higher power (Green alert)
Columbus Dispatch & AP | November 24, 2008 | Daniel Woolls
Posted on 11/24/2008 7:49:43 AM PST by mlocher
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2137451/posts
Spain’s opposition slams Repsol sale to Russia’s Lukoil
AFP | November 22, 2008
Posted on 11/22/2008 3:31:13 PM PST by Tailgunner Joe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2136694/posts
Iran, Spain to expand energy cooperation
Tehran Times (Iran) | 22SEP07 | Tehran Times (Iran)
Posted on 09/21/2007 7:06:30 PM PDT by familyop
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1900458/posts
-look, what’s that pie in the sky-
A Solar Power Plant in the Sahara Could Power All of Europe
discover | 7/28/08 | discover
Posted on 07/29/2008 8:20:20 PM PDT by Flavius
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2053477/posts
Solar power from Sahara will keep Europe’s lights on
The Times | 7/23/2008 | Foreign Staff
Posted on 07/22/2008 9:32:05 PM PDT by bruinbirdman
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2049784/posts
-the wind from Al Gore’s butt-
Solar home owners oppose wind farm (NM - Enviro NIMBYs)
The Santa Fe New Mexican | December 7, 2008 | Staci Matlock
Posted on 12/07/2008 8:56:20 PM PST by CedarDave
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2144751/posts
The Greens’ Wind and Solar Power Myth
The New Australian | September 2002 | Dr. Aaron Oakley
Posted on 09/23/2002 12:12:13 PM PDT by Tailgunner Joe
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/755804/posts
Wind Power: Folly or the Future?
CNSNews | 4/1/02 | Marc Morano
Posted on 04/01/2002 8:47:46 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/657381/posts
-and-
Green energy investment bubble bursts
www.wealth-bulletin.com | 15 December 2008 | Mike Foster
Posted on 12/15/2008 11:51:05 AM PST by Red Badger
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2149163/posts
I sent for some of those fuel economy improving gizmos we’ve all seen the ads for. The first one increased efficiency by 30%, the second improved it by 35%, the third one improved it by 40% — and then my gas tank overflowed.
12 yr old revolutionizes solar cells
katu.com | Sep 15, 2008 | Susan Harding
Posted on 09/18/2008 10:25:13 AM PDT by pollwatcher
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2085186/posts
[snip] “Solar it seems underused, and there are only a few problems with it,” Yuan said. Encouraged by his Meadow Park Middle School science teacher, the 12-year-old developed a 3D solar cell. “Regular solar cells are only 2D and only allow light interaction once,” he said. And his cell can absorb both visible and UV light... If he is right, solar panels with his 3D cells would provide 500 times more light absorption than commercially-available solar cells and nine times more than cutting-edge 3D solar cells. [end]
NREL Solar Cell Sets World Efficiency Record at 40.8 Percent
NREL Newsroom | 8/13/8 | NREL Newsroom
Posted on 08/28/2008 9:01:18 AM PDT by Clint Williams
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2069876/posts
Solar Cells - Made In a Pizza Oven
Slashdot | 8/21/8 | CmdrTaco
Posted on 08/21/2008 7:25:31 AM PDT by Clint Williams
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2065508/posts
T-Bone for Him, Slim Pickin’s for Us
Fort Worth Star-Telegram | July 19. 2008 | Ed Wallace
Posted on 07/19/2008 9:42:59 PM PDT by Entrepreneur
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2048257/posts
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