It is widely believed that wind and solar power are too variable in time to supply a large percentage of energy needs. This perception is based on...
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It is widely believed that wind and solar power are too variable in time to supply a large percentage of energy needs. This perception is based on wind and solar energy production over small domains, but is it true for a large domain? A study was conducted to determine the resource availability of wind and solar energy over the 48 US states. A meteorological assimilation model was used to estimate hourly wind and solar resources for three years – 2006 through 2008. Geographic data were used to determinewhere, on a 13-km resolution grid, wind turbines and solar energy plants could be located. US total electric demand and light vehicle usage in 2007 was projected forward to estimate total hourly electric demand in the year 2030. The weather data were used in a “cost minimization” to design an optimal national network. The minimization assumed that when wind and solar energy were inadequate, power was available from gas power plants, and that the US power transmission system was modernized. The results of the study will be presented. The study indicated that an optimally designed national network could supply a large fraction of US energy needs at less cost than the sum of the current US electric power and light vehicle fuel costs. Co-authors: Anneliese Alexander, Yuanfu Xie, Adam Dunbar.
