![]() ![]() Put it offshore and it may even reach 40 percent. A photovoltaic installation can get close to 20 percent-in sunny Spain-and a wind turbine, well placed on dry land, from 25 to 30 percent. ![]() The capacity factor of a typical nuclear power plant is more than 90 percent for a coal-fired generating plant it’s about 65 to 70 percent. There are several reasons, starting with relatively low capacity factors-the most electricity a plant can actually produce divided by what it would produce if it could be run full time. Without these subsidies, renewable energy plants other than hydroelectric and geothermal ones can’t yet compete with conventional generators. Welcome to the world of new renewable energies, where the subsidies rule-and consumers pay. It happened for the best reason there is in politics: money. The plant, with a peak output of 10 megawatts, went into operation in June 2005. You don’t want to put a solar plant in Bavaria, but that is exactly where the Germans put it. Bavaria is like Seattle in the United States or Sichuan province in China. I grew up not far from that place, just across the border with the Czech Republic, and I will never forget those seemingly endless days of summer spent inside while it rained incessantly. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |