Monthly Archives: February 2022

Solar and wind produce more than enough electricity for household demand (on average, that is)

If there is one tweet that shows the problems with intermittent energy sources then it is this one (translated from Dutch):

In 2021, the Netherlands produced more than enough electricity from solar and wind for all households. On an annual basis. There are deviations per hour, per day and per month. In June we had a considerable surplus; this month there is a shortage.

Tweet BM_Visser 2021-12-29

It is accompanied by this graph comparing household electricity demand and solar+wind generation in June and the first 28 days of December (the graph was apparently made on December 29, 2021):

Household demand vs production solar wind June December 2021 - The Netherlands

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Windmills helping to lower the energy bill

Our Minister of Energy has sent this promising tweet out into the world this tweet (translated from Dutch):

Windmills help to lower our energy bill.

Due to high energy prices, wind farms need 177 million less support. Let’s use that straightaway to reduce energy bills.

Here it is in its full glory:

Tweet TinneVdS 2022-01-21

This seem very wonderful news at first glance. Energy prices skyrocket, so if windmills could lower the energy bill, then that is a much welcomed proposition. However, looking deeper into this matter reveals that the news is way less cheering than it is presented.

The first thing that caught my eye is that those windmills need less support. That makes a couple things clear:

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