Quote:
Originally Posted by casper
Projections are Ontario needs to double its energy production by 2050. I think solar is going to be a major part of that. They are still going to need some additional base load capability.
Peek demand tends to be afternoon and early evening with demand lowest early morning at 3 AM. Solar fits in nicely during that peek period especially if you can augment with stored hydro when solar production is lower.
Where nuclear fits in nicely is that constant base load that there 24 a day. I think Ontario needs more nuclear built over the next 25 years, but its not going to be double what Ontario has now. Solar is going to be a major contributor.
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It's not as rosy as this. Look at today's demand. Peaking at 7-8AM when we got no solar and little wind. We can add more solar that will allow out daytime gas consumption to drop to zero but we will still need it's capital, maintenance and capital expenses. The marginal cost of burning gas in the afternoon is very low cost. Which is why it's misleading to say solar and wind are cheap is misleading. Solar is headed lower and lower but turning off nuclear saves almost nothing. Hydro can be a buffer and perhaps we can export a lot of excess power during the day if our neighbours to the south stick with coal but we have to be careful as lots of promises have been made and so far they only add to our hydro costs.
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