“Renewable energy” that relies on solar panels and wind flow is a chimera, a phantom that shall never come up to the potential claimed for it.
Now, it there were a project that would place a light-collection photoelectric panel array in geosynchronous orbit, and always orientated to sunlight, with a system to beam down the generated power to the earth’s surface, that would sharply increase the reliability, but at a horrendous cost in development and construction costs, not to say there may be some other environmental impacts that would make the design as undesirable as the disruption of migratory birds passing through those huge Cuisinarts called wind turbines.
Back here on earth, the short answer to more and quicker reliable surge load power would be natural-gas fired turbines driven generators. It may not be sufficiently “green” to please the enviro-weenies, but if wind or solar power is going to be built, the equal or greater power generation in the form of these same natural-gas fired generator stations is going to have to be built anyway. Just dispense with the so-called “alternative” renewable sources, and tap into the HUGE supply of natural gas reserves already known to exist on US territory.
And when that source gets stretched a little, then tap the huge reserves of Methane Hydrate that lies on the ocean floor in so many places all over the world, using that as the source of natural gas. The necessary technology will be available when we need it in the future.
By then, we should be able to synthesize natural gas directly from the underground veins of coal. We shall NEVER run out of carbon-based fuel for our energy needs. Even centuries from now.
Thank you! Let’s not forget that nuclear power plants are safe and clean and here and now, but the nihilists are shutting them down in my state.