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by marshray 2030 days ago
> But there is a tipping point where marginal solar is not really valuable for a grid anymore.

And that is a very good problem to have.

There are any number of industrial processes that could easily put that excessively cheap energy to use. Aluminum smelting, for example.

2 comments

electrolysis, bitcoin mining (!), electric car recharging, etc.
It isn't. Your base load stations close and you are left only with the intermittent reweables and natural gas. South Australia is the only energy market in that place right now and the prices paid there would destroy any industrial economy.
"Renewables, natural gas and a couple of nuclear plants" is the UK situation, with normal electricity prices. Almost all the coal is closed permanently.

People will keep saying it won't work long after it's already been done.