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[eds]

For the average U.S. consumer,
. . . electricity is an unremarkable fact of their existence,
. . . when they flip the switch,
. . . the light comes on.

But behind that simple act,
. . . is a feat of:
. . . . . . forecasting,
. . . . . . engineering,
. . . . . . logistics, and
. . . . . . timing that is mind-bogglingly complex.
At the heart of this process.
. . . is the mix of:
. . . . . . generation sources,
. . . . . . different electric power plants, that are:
. . . . . . put online, or
. . . . . . taken offline, on a
. . . . . . day-by-day,
. . . . . . hour-by-hour basis,
. . . so that when someone flips a light switch,
. . . enough electricity is available to meet that demand.

In a marketplace
. . . where large companies can choose who provides their electricity,
. . . renewables now often have an advantage.

In the complicated calculation,
. . . of which generation to build to meet the demand for electric power,
. . . a generation source that can deliver power with:
. . . . . . no fuel costs,
. . . . . . less price volatility, and
. . . . . . which customers prefer,
. . . is a valuable asset indeed.

5-20-2017 Source:  #Energy Generation VS Demand

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[still learning]

eds, on 20 May 2017 - 04:18 AM, said:

......For the average U.S. consumer,
. . . electricity is an unremarkable fact of their existence,
. . . when they flip the switch,
. . . the light comes on.

But behind that simple act,
. . . is a feat of:
. . . . . . forecasting,
. . . . . . engineering,
. . . . . . logistics, and
. . . . . . timing that is mind-bogglingly complex......

Made more complex by the intermittent nature of wind and solar electricity.

The linked article/opinion piece at National Geographic does not mention the problem of intermittency at all.  Renewables are great, but they need backup, either fossil fuel generation or excess renewables generation capacity with electricity storage.

[eds]

"Electricity Storage,"
. . . is the Key to everything:
. . . . . . Intermittency of renewables,
. . . . . . Intermittency in Demand VS Supply, of Fossil fuel generation, (mind-bogglingly complex)
. . . . . . 2/3% "Rejected Energy," of Fossil fuel generation.

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