True. The last AWEA -the wind lobby- conference was held in Houston. Windenergy and most photovoltaic had to be constantly backed up, and the only power stations that can vary their production so rapidly are gas powered ones.
Behind wind and electric solar you have the same oil and gas companies that you find behind the pump at your gas station.
” Windenergy and most photovoltaic had to be constantly backed up, and the only power stations that can vary their production so rapidly are gas powered ones.”
...which may be why Boone Pickens is jumping into windfarms....I hear he’s a big investor in gas.
Gas is quite able to go from off line to full load in a few minutes, but don't discount coal-fired plants. For decades, utilities have regulated their output to match demand by varying the output of coal-fired power plants. While they cannot change as rapidly as gas turbine, they can move quite freely over a band from about 1/2 load to full load. Most of the older, smaller units can move very quickly, while the very large base-load units take a bit more time to cover a large range. They all can vary 5-10% quickly and with ease.