What happened to all the solar, wind, and unicorn farts that the state loves to lecture everyone else about? You mean it isn't viable? Fuck, you guys would have been better off having a power plant that burned trees, at least that way you could have gotten some use out of them instead of letting them all burn for nothing.
Solar is incredibly viable if you have a battery bank to store the power you generate. Most solar power installed uses net metering, which essentially means you are sending power you generate back into the grid, then buying the same power back from your energy provider. When the provider goes down, so does you power. Solar is a great option if you know what you are getting and set it up to be sustainable. A lot of self-reliant folks advocate for it (ie preppers).
What needs to take place is storing the electricity in the form of hydrocarbons (much like how solar energy was "stored" in fossil fuels) for later consumption would be a good start. Even utilizing excess solar to be used for electrolysis to use hydrogen for combustion or even fuel cells. These technologies are ways out though, and conventional battery storage is untenable in its current state, unless we have some thermodynamic breakthrough. Then there is the longevity issue on PV panels, which deteriorate steadily with time.
There are a lot more ways to store energy than "hydrocarbons". Chemically in batteries, physically in potential energy from resevoirs, etc. For fucks sake, the sun in an incredibly dense store of energy - nuclear fusion may be possible within our kids lifetime. I remain optimistic. I think energy independence is on the horizon. All that aside, I truly feel for the folks in Cali, and don't think we should be making fun of their plight due to factors outside of their control. Its sad to see fellow Americans suffering.
Sure, there are many ways to store potential energy. I suggested hydrocarbon replenishment, because our systems (cars, generators, etc.) are already setup to readily extract the energy for use. Hydrocarbons are a form of chemical storage, but I understand what you were trying to get at, and that's where the thermodynamic problems come in, creating potentialities chemically for adequate and continually reversible processing for storage. Speaking of thermodynamics. Fusion? Lol, no. Fusion is the energy of the future, and it always will be. Science isn't "magic", we are never going to be able to wield fusion for power generation. Not going to go all out on the details on that, but for the layman, Sun In A Bottle, by Charles Seife is a good read on the topic.
As for making fun of Californians, their plight is self-inflicted. That's the only reaon why it's "funny." They are suffering all for some perceived "virtue." It's not funny that they are suffering, but I am not going to explain humor to you either. They could have easily expanded their nuclear power capabilities, but they are "too good" for that, and will have a few of their reactors decommissioned mid-decade adding to the generating problems. Lighten up, pal.
If there are mountains nearby they use reservoirs to store energy. Pump water to the reservoir during off peak hours then use it to generate power when you need it.
What happened to all the solar, wind, and unicorn farts that the state loves to lecture everyone else about? You mean it isn't viable? Fuck, you guys would have been better off having a power plant that burned trees, at least that way you could have gotten some use out of them instead of letting them all burn for nothing.
Solar is incredibly viable if you have a battery bank to store the power you generate. Most solar power installed uses net metering, which essentially means you are sending power you generate back into the grid, then buying the same power back from your energy provider. When the provider goes down, so does you power. Solar is a great option if you know what you are getting and set it up to be sustainable. A lot of self-reliant folks advocate for it (ie preppers).
What needs to take place is storing the electricity in the form of hydrocarbons (much like how solar energy was "stored" in fossil fuels) for later consumption would be a good start. Even utilizing excess solar to be used for electrolysis to use hydrogen for combustion or even fuel cells. These technologies are ways out though, and conventional battery storage is untenable in its current state, unless we have some thermodynamic breakthrough. Then there is the longevity issue on PV panels, which deteriorate steadily with time.
There are a lot more ways to store energy than "hydrocarbons". Chemically in batteries, physically in potential energy from resevoirs, etc. For fucks sake, the sun in an incredibly dense store of energy - nuclear fusion may be possible within our kids lifetime. I remain optimistic. I think energy independence is on the horizon. All that aside, I truly feel for the folks in Cali, and don't think we should be making fun of their plight due to factors outside of their control. Its sad to see fellow Americans suffering.
Sure, there are many ways to store potential energy. I suggested hydrocarbon replenishment, because our systems (cars, generators, etc.) are already setup to readily extract the energy for use. Hydrocarbons are a form of chemical storage, but I understand what you were trying to get at, and that's where the thermodynamic problems come in, creating potentialities chemically for adequate and continually reversible processing for storage. Speaking of thermodynamics. Fusion? Lol, no. Fusion is the energy of the future, and it always will be. Science isn't "magic", we are never going to be able to wield fusion for power generation. Not going to go all out on the details on that, but for the layman, Sun In A Bottle, by Charles Seife is a good read on the topic.
As for making fun of Californians, their plight is self-inflicted. That's the only reaon why it's "funny." They are suffering all for some perceived "virtue." It's not funny that they are suffering, but I am not going to explain humor to you either. They could have easily expanded their nuclear power capabilities, but they are "too good" for that, and will have a few of their reactors decommissioned mid-decade adding to the generating problems. Lighten up, pal.
If there are mountains nearby they use reservoirs to store energy. Pump water to the reservoir during off peak hours then use it to generate power when you need it.
It's the liberal NIMBYs. The left loves to say NIMBYs are on the right. Yes, there are. But the biggest ones are leftists. The virtue signalling kind.