Wind and solar sitting in a tree, then comes freezing
Tom KirkmanIndependent Project Manager
Wind and solar
Sitting in a tree
K – I – S – S – I – N – G
First comes love
Then comes marriage
Then comes freezing
In an energy shortage
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“We usually don’t think about the wonderful service fossil fuels provide in terms of being a store of heat energy for winter, the time when there is a greater need for heat energy.
… Solar energy is most abundantly available in the May-June-July period, making it a poor candidate for fixing the problem of the need for **winter** heat.
… In some ways, the lack of availability of fuels for winter is a canary in the coal mine regarding future energy shortages. People have been concerned about oil shortages, but winter fuel shortages are, in many ways, just as bad.
They can result in people
● “freezing in the dark.”
● … the share of total energy provided by the Wind and Solar category is very low, only 2.2% for the world as a whole.《
Germany comes out highest of the groups analyzed, but even it is replacing only 6.0% of its total energy consumed.
It is difficult to imagine how the land and water around Germany could tolerate wind turbines and solar panels being ramped up sufficiently to cover such a shortfall.
Other parts of the world are even farther from replacing current energy supplies with wind and solar.
● ● Clearly, we cannot expect wind and solar to ever be ramped up to meet our energy needs, even in combination with hydro.”