However, solar and wind are both intermittent power sources that cut out at times determined by nature. The sun does not always shine, and the wind does not always blow.
We do not presently have economical storage capability at the kind of scale required to just ignore this. Pumped hydrostorage is the most-economical, but that requires special geography. I’d guess that Europe could probably expand it somewhat if it were willing to flood some river valleys with towns, relocate the residents. But there are finite numbers of places prime for it that aren’t already being used.
So normally, instead of energy storage, what one also wants is to pair these forms of generation with some form of dispatchable generation that can be used when nature has decided to shut off intermittent forms of generation. When they aren’t working, one ramps up the dispatchable stuff.
There are various types of energy generation that work reasonably well for this (coal, oil, wood pellets, etc), but the most-economical in 2025, as well as being reasonably non-polluting in particulate matter (albeit emitting carbon dioxide) is burning natural gas.
So if one plans to do solar or wind, then one is probably also committing to natural gas.
Can’t we just ban gaz, whatever where they come from?
Yes.
However, solar and wind are both intermittent power sources that cut out at times determined by nature. The sun does not always shine, and the wind does not always blow.
We do not presently have economical storage capability at the kind of scale required to just ignore this. Pumped hydrostorage is the most-economical, but that requires special geography. I’d guess that Europe could probably expand it somewhat if it were willing to flood some river valleys with towns, relocate the residents. But there are finite numbers of places prime for it that aren’t already being used.
So normally, instead of energy storage, what one also wants is to pair these forms of generation with some form of dispatchable generation that can be used when nature has decided to shut off intermittent forms of generation. When they aren’t working, one ramps up the dispatchable stuff.
There are various types of energy generation that work reasonably well for this (coal, oil, wood pellets, etc), but the most-economical in 2025, as well as being reasonably non-polluting in particulate matter (albeit emitting carbon dioxide) is burning natural gas.
So if one plans to do solar or wind, then one is probably also committing to natural gas.