Too much electricity

[Lanya]

Danish Drivers To Fill Their Tanks With Wind Power
March 27th, 2008 ? 4 Comments



Denmark has a problem ? it?s generating too much power from the wind. Currently, Denmark gets about 20% of its total electrical power from wind. On windy days, that percentage can double. The ups and downs of wind power can strain an electricity grid. In western Denmark, the price of electricity can drop to zero on a windy day, leaving utilities scrambling to offload excess power or take a financial hit. To solve this problem, the Danish utility company Dong Energy plans to build a nationwide system to charge electric cars with the surplus wind power.



They are partnering with a start-up company in California, Project Better Place, and they are planning by 2010 to build the infrastructure to support a countrywide electric-car system, with charging spots and battery-exchange locations across Denmark.

?Cars are the perfect match for wind power,? said Shai Agassi, chief executive of Better, which is rolling out a similar network in Israel and has a deal with Renault and Nissan to build fully electric mass-market cars that run on lithium-ion batteries. ?They charge sitting in the garage at night when there is little other demand for electricity.?



Dong, which has dealt with wind ?intermittency? for years, has its hands full with the Danish government?s pledge to raise its share of electricity from renewable sources to 30% by 2025. ?It?s an increasingly difficult challenge for us,? said Dong CEO Anders Eldrup. ?We have to make our traditional fossil-fuel plants more flexible. That way we can turn power plants down, or even off, when the wind is blowing.?

In addition to revamping old plants, Denmark has built stronger connections to nearby Germany, Sweden and Norway so it can sell excess electricity on windy days. When it is windy in Denmark, countries like Norway buy cheap power to supplement their own hydropower resources. On very windy days about half of wind power is exported to Norway and Sweden, where many homes are heated with electricity.

?We have to keep investing heavily in the grid to make sure we can transport the electricity from wind when and where it is most needed,? said Peter Jorgensen, vice president at Energinet.dk, the nonprofit, state-owned company that runs Denmark?s grid.

Via: Dong Energy Press Release and Wall Street Journal
http://www.metaefficient.com/cars/danish-drivers-to-fill-their-tanks-with-wind-power.html

[Plane]

Nice problem to have.


I suggest that they build a refineing plant for Alluminum , this requires a lot of electricity , and they could double production during windy days.

An aluminum plant is seldom shut down but the production rate could track the cost of the power.

[Lanya]

I thought you'd like this article.

Did you notice what it said about having to invest heavily to keep the grid going strong?
That is why we need taxes.  Tax cuts do not bring about strong infrastructure such as electric grids and power plants.

[_JS]

We have to keep investing heavily in the grid to make sure we can transport the electricity from wind when and where it is most needed, said Peter Jorgensen, vice president at Energinet.dk, the nonprofit, state-owned company that runs Denmark's grid.

You mean a state-owned company is running so efficiently that it is selling the extra power to neighboring nations? Wow. That is simply amazing.

I love Denmark, but I've probably mentioned that once or twice before. 

Lanya, I fixed your images so they'd show up

[Amianthus]

Tax cuts do not bring about strong infrastructure such as electric grids and power plants.

No, utility companies do.

Electrical service is handled by utilities in this country, not the government.

[kimba1]

shame we haven`t found ways effectively store massive amounts of power.

[Plane]

Tax cuts do not bring about strong infrastructure such as electric grids and power plants.

Sure they do , tax credits for conservation have been popular and effective.

Tax breaks to utility companys that make improvements might be a good idea .

[Xavier_Onassis]

It's a shame we haven`t found ways effectively store massive amounts of power.
------------------------------------------------
One way to do this is to use the excess energy to pump water into a holding area above sea level near the coast. When  the energy is needed, the water flows back out to sea through a hydroelectric dam.

Maybe this is too inefficient, but it has been mentioned in articles I have read.

=============
Of course, the perfect solution would be efficient, long-lasting, safe and light batteries.

 

[kimba1]

I think power dams do this during low use hours.
true it`s inefficient,but it`s better than nothing.
feul cells would be cool,but doesn`t it require serious resources ?

[Plane]

It's a shame we haven`t found ways effectively store massive amounts of power.
------------------------------------------------
One way to do this is to use the excess energy to pump water into a holding area above sea level near the coast. When  the energy is needed, the water flows back out to sea through a hydroelectric dam.

Maybe this is too inefficient, but it has been mentioned in articles I have read.

=============
Of course, the perfect solution would be efficient, long-lasting, safe and light batteries.

 

Since Denmark has no mountains and land is expensive there , let me suggest that the opposite idea be considered.


Sink very large , very heavy, tanks  into the ocean offshore.
Pump Air down to these deep tanks during periods of surplus , use the compressed air to turn turbines during periods of derth.

[kimba1]

I think the diminishing return would be very high on this project.
but it somehow give me an idea .
use the funds on that idea and build undersea turbines and use the currents as a additionasl source of power.

I think were too into thinking of getting power from a central source
we should be thinking of multiple mini sources of all types of power

[Lanya]

JS, thank you, I hesitate to use photos sometimes, I don't know who's on dial -up, etc.
Kimba, I agree.  Lots of little local solutions to problems are very good ideas.

Some articles about power grid:
http://www.energybulletin.net/43823.html

http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/08/15_blackout.html

and about wind power:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/windpoweringamerica/small_wind.asp

[Xavier_Onassis]

The major source of energy on this planet is the Sun, which drives the winds and tides and is shining somewhere every day. It is unlikely that we will be able to replace petroleum and natural gas 100% with another single source of power. Tidal power, wind power, geothermal power, solar power, hydroelectric power, and devices to generate power by the temperature differences between the different layers of the ocean will all be needed, I imagine.

I don't know whether digging out huge reservoirs would cost less than power cells, but I am sure someone does.

RIGHT NOW the government needs to end the tariff on imported Brazilian ethanol. That would lower the price of corn and ethanol blended gasoline.

Watch and see how not one candidate will say one word about this. Just like no one will say a thing about immigration.