Well below-normal minimum temperatures were evident across the state this morning.
Most of Washington was below freezing, with teens and single digits over eastern Washington and twenties and a few teens over western Washington.
Below are the sub-20 locations in western Washington. Hard freeze.
What always impresses me in these situations is the local contrasts. This morning's lows ranged from 35F near the water to 18F at Carnation. Being away from the water makes a huge difference, and cold air (and often fog) drains into the Snoquamie Valley.
As cold as this morning was across western Washington, no records were being made. To illustrate, here are the temperatures in Ollymc this month (blue bars), with the average range in brown and the cold records in blue. We have been below normal, but not even in the vicinity of daily records.
An irony of the cold is that renewable energy, and particularly wind energy, has gone to nearly zero in our area, just as we need it for heating--something that is quite typical.
Consider the latest BPA statistics below. Renewables (mainly wind) are nearly flatlined around zero. Our limited nuclear power (purple) is steady and significant. Thankfully, we have a lot of hydropower.
You can see why I am a strong supporter of nuclear power (fission) and the development of fusion power.
Thank goodness for hydro power! This cold snap really makes the case against wind in our region as a primary power source. It can't even begin to meet demand!
ReplyDeleteThey're not only functionally useless, they're an ugly blight on the land. Nothing more than a "feel good", politically-driven project. Would like to see the windmills dismantled and done away with.
DeleteBut I am for solar- it is quiet, doesn't affect the birds, and is low profile. Covering roofs and roads would go a long way.
DeleteI like the idea of solar power too. The problem is that we don't get enough sunlight, especially in the fall and winter, for it to be of much assistance.
DeleteA strong vote of support for your last sentence. Only with additional nuclear power generation can we incorporate additional renewable electrical resources and maintain the integrity of our grid. Escalating demand for electricity for AI needs will cause blackouts and brownouts in the near future if we continue on our present course. The recent grid failure in Spain, Portugal and parts of France provide stark proof of this.
ReplyDeleteWhy would one want to incorporate ANY additional intermittent wind or solar energy sources into the grid?
DeleteI don't believe the grid failure in Spain/Portugal last year was caused by a lack of power, either wind power or solar power, but due mainly to technical problems in grid power management.
DeleteDisable AI.
DeleteJHK- Yes! you guys, please weigh in on this. As I see it we already have PLENTY of computing power, and we don't need any more. If these companies want to suck up more power let them pay to build their own power plants. Goes for bitcoin too- a total waste.
DeleteAs much as I wouldn't mind turning back the clock on AI and bitcoin, those ships have already sailed far out of port with little hope of returning.
DeleteWhy would one want to incorporate ANY additional intermittent wind or solar energy sources into the grid?
ReplyDeleteToo bad more people are not pushing for serious energy conservation. We would not even need dangerous fission nuclear. Forget the A.I.-hype, no one cares about your cat videos. Unintelligent software creates Donald Trump with a penguin in *Greenland*. How smart can it be. It's just dumb software hyped to gullible people. Nuclear fission is dangerous and "A.I" is hype and dangerous to the environment. Don't be a polluter!
ReplyDeletenuclear fission is the safest form of power. Facts support this.
DeleteFor a nuclear plant, from "Feasibility Study" to "First Concrete" takes about five years. Then, it is another five years to "Startup." If there are more than a couple facilities underway there will be bottlenecks along the supply chain, including personnel. Because WA feasibility studies are unknown, but my age is, I doubt that there will be a new nuclear facility in WA before I reach ambient temperature.
ReplyDeleteBattery technology is advancing rapidly, which will make wind and solar far more useful sources of energy.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately this is not true. Batteries are still not practical for storing large amounts of energy for extended periods...look at the the numbers...they are dismal
DeleteStephen is (sort of) half right. Battery technology is advancing. The issue is scale. Wind facilities, solar panels, and batteries face the scale-wall. There has been very little wind or solar in the BPA region for a month. Doubling or tripling such things would not generate more energy. A battery – even 2X or 3X better than today's best – the size of Mt. Rainier would be needed to have gotten WA through this period. :) I don't have time or space to show my work.
DeleteBattery technology is advancing. That is true. But it's just not ready to take on the challenge of long term energy storage. I reckon it will be one day, but that day might be many years away.
DeleteStephen et al, in Washington we have ample energy storage capacity in the form of hydro reservoirs. Other renewable sources like wind and solar are very cheap when the conditions are right. But when they aren't, dam releases easily pick up the slack in our state. No "battery technology" is needed.
DeleteConsidering that hydro is always effectively free (very low marginal cost), interesting that hydro generation drops with demand, while nuclear stays constant. I assume this is because there's no practical way to "turn down" a nuclear reactor?
ReplyDelete