Quote:
Originally Posted by acottawa
Ontario is mostly nuclear (currently about 10k MW). Wind is 3%.
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Wind varies dramatically. At times it surges to as much as 15% of demand, other times it drops to nearly nothing. Dam output from reservoirs and gas plants adjust for this--when wind output is very high gas plants turn off and dams dial down to fill their reservoirs. When wind drops the reservoirs are drawn down and the gas plants spun up again. The province has a complex system of hourly demand and weather forecasting it uses to make these decisions allowing it to optimize output.
Wind allows OPG to get more out of its hydroelectric plants by providing more times for the reservoirs to recharge. It also reduces the provinces carbon footprint by allowing gas plants to be turned off at times.
In 2018, wind provided 7% of the province's total power. (10.7 TWh out of 147.6 TWh). By contrast natural gas was less, at 6% (9.6 TWh).