Via the The Sietch blog, some very, very cool stuff out of the University of Kassel in Germany -- the Combined Power Plant:
The secure and constant provision of power anywhere and at anytime by renewable energies is now made possible thanks to the Combined Power Plant. The Combined Power Plant links and controls 36 wind, solar, biomass and hydropower installations spread throughout Germany. It is just as reliable and powerful as a conventional large-scale power station.
The Combined Renewable Energy Power Plant shows how, through joint control of small and decentralised plants, it is possible to provide reliable electricity in accordance with needs. The Combined Power Plant optimally combines the advantages of various renewable energy sources. Wind turbines and solar modules help generate electricity in accordance with how much wind and sun is available. Biogas and hydropower are used to make up the difference: they are converted into electricity as needed in order to balance out short-term fluctuations, or are temporarily stored. Technically, there is nothing preventing us from 100 per cent provision with renewables.
Catch that last sentence? The scientists who developed this thing think it will be possibly to power Germany entirely with renewables -- no oil, coal, or nuclear -- by mid-century.
Check out this kick-ass video:
Here's a sketch of how it works:
G8: Canada worst, Germany best on climate change
Comments
View as Flat
wesrolley Posted 4:04 am
08 Jan 2008
Republican Debate on ABC
Free market blah blah blah...
Nuclear blah blah blah ...
Clean Coal blah blah blah...
Free Market....
Someone needs to write a new script, if only the writer's guild were not on strike.
Wes Rolley CoChair - EcoAction Committee Green Party US
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GreenEngineer Posted 4:41 am
08 Jan 2008
Off topic much?
'nuff said
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amazingdrx Posted 5:14 am
08 Jan 2008
Distributed!
A real distributed renewable grid! Using biogas backup. Now try a solid oxide fuel cell/turbine with cogenerated waste heat used for heating. That runs on biogas or natural gas as an ultimate safety backup.
I bet it's controlled with distributed computing. All the computers controlling each source and load one big distributed computer.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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sindark Posted 1:14 am
09 Jan 2008
Great idea
Particularly when you include pumped hydro storage in the mix, maintaining a supply of renewable power that matches the minute-by-minute demand becomes feasible. With any luck, this undertaking will successfully highlight the possibility of moving to a climate-neutral and sustainable system of electricity generation at national scales and above.
a sibilant intake of breath
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amazingdrx Posted 1:32 am
09 Jan 2008
Pumped hydro
I really like the idea of restoring wetlands to be used as pumped hydro storage. Wetland areas along existing hydro dammed rivers could be restored by pumping flood waters back up the water shed using wind powered pumps.
That way dammed river systems would have extra hydro power capacity, flood waters would be conserved and purified, and aquifers refilled.
Furthermore, wetlands are huge carbon sinks.
Low profile energy systems (to avoid impeding wildlife or river navigation) could be added along side gates in the river (to let water in and out of wetlands)that access wetland water storage and along areas where rivers have been lined with docks and/or concrete channels already. Keeping natural river areas wild.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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Nucbuddy Posted 1:45 am
09 Jan 2008
Nothing has ever prevented 100% solar power
The Original Post wrote: Wind turbines and solar modules help generate electricity in accordance with how much wind and sun is available.
This would work fine if their variability were random enough. However, the reality is that their variability is very unrandom.
The Original Post wrote: Technically, there is nothing preventing us from 100 per cent provision with [epithet deleted].
Straw man. Nothing has ever prevented 100% solar power of society -- other than cost and the solar-flux limit.
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Ashley Braun Posted 3:34 pm
14 Jan 2008
Drool...
I'm wooed.
My only question is this: are there no mega-money, industrial entrenched interests in Germany to stop this?
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