Follow along with the Sun101 presentation
Poll: Michigan is ready to move away from Coal and Dirty energy
First, polling in Michigan tells us that renewable energy, solar and wind, is
overwhelmingly popular in Michigan.
More than 90 percent of Michiganders surveyed by MSU favored solar energy - only 3 percent were strongly opposed.
Michigan Supports Move from Coal to Solar and Wind
Big Investors and Smart Money are choosing Renewable energy around the world
There's a lot to like about renewables.
We'll start with the economics of Renewable and Solar energy.
Wall Street Journal: Global Investment in Wind and Solar Outshining Fossil Fuels
"Renewable costs have fallen so far in the past few years that
“wind and solar now represent the lowest-cost option for generating electricity,”
said Francis O’Sullivan, research director of the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Energy Initiative."
Renewable Energy is the world’s most inexpensive new electricity
Lazard is an international accounting and consulting firm that publishes the most respected annual report on the cost of new electrical generation.
As the most recent survey shows, wind is the least-cost source for new electrical generation, with solar very close second.
Gas generators are still being chosen by some utilities, but looking to the future, renewable prices will only continue to drop.
Experts agree, and the Market affirms, solar is already cheaper than fossil fuel in many locations, and getting cheaper
I spoke to experts from leading Michigan Universities and elsewhere on the cost of solar electricity.
All Power Sources are Intermittent
Some people say that renewable energy is "intermittent", and therefore can't work to power the economy.
A better description is that renewables are variable - and predictable. The sun comes up every morning, wind is predictable to a fine degree.
Anti-renewable activists often say that sun and wind must be backed up by other power plants. But, that’s always been the case.
The little secret about traditional resources is that they are all "Intermittent" - just for different reasons, and on a different schedule.
For instance, as I mention in my presentation, Nuclear plants have to be shut down every 18 months for refueling, for 4 to 6 weeks. Here's a good example with the Perry Nuclear plant, on the shores of Lake Erie in nearby Ohio, as describe in the local newspaper.
Backing up Power Plants
Before anyone can build a nuclear plant, or a coal or gas plant, they have to
show how they will respond to cover demand if the plant goes off line for any reason.
Typically, other power plants will be kept in a state of "spinning reserve" or "operating reserve"
- powered up, but not producing electricity - as a hedge against sudden losses from an operating plant.
This is obviously an inefficiency.
Coal plants will go offline, in either planned or unplanned manner,
on an average of 44 days per year.
Nuclear plant owners plan for around 36 days of unplanned outages,
plus the refueling process - again, 4 to 6 weeks.
In fact, traditional plants can go offline instantaneously for unknown reasons, for
any amount of time - indeed, the Perry Nuclear Plant showed us that just
a few months after the recent refueling, tripping off line in an instant just
a few months after restart. Fortunately, there was no safety risk, this time.
No Nuclear Safety Threat Following Perry Nuclear Plant Outage
The challenge of backing up a 1200 Megawatt nuclear plant that can go offline in a microsecond, unexpectedly, is arguably more daunting then backing up wind and solar plants which are smaller, more dispersed, and quite predictable in their performance.
Energy Storage
So across the world, grid operators know how to keep the interconnected grid running, even with fluctuations in power output.
New technology is only making that easier.
For example, Battery storage technology is exploding around the world much faster than anyone expected just a few years ago.
Elon Musk has Finished Building the Biggest Battery in the World
Tesla's Australian Battery Shows it can Also Make Huge Profits
Tesla's Big Battery Defies Skeptics - Sending Industry Bananas over Performance
Here in Michigan, most folks may not know that we already have the energy storage
problem solved, with the giant Ludington Pumped Storage power plant on Lake Michigan.
I asked Physicist Dr. Wolfgang Bauer to help explain, and include here footage of
Consumer Energy CEO Patti Poppe talking about the facility, and how we will
use it to run Michigan on Clean Energy.
Experts: Michigan has solved the energy storage problem
Harmony with Agriculture
One question that often comes up is how to harmonize Solar energy with agricultural land.
In fact, solar energy is helping farmers across the country by not only providing a new source of income, - but by enhancing agricultural production as well.
Finally, people often ask if Solar panels can have any effect on ground water or leach toxics into the environment.
Experts say this has never happened, and it's hard to see how it could.