And this is why we still need thermal generating capacity

[guzzirider]

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link to June 29 2026 10:30am

Solar is under 3 percent in Ontario

 

[nobbie48]

Do we pay a stand by fee if the windmills don't spin and produce power?

 

[guzzirider]

It was called the Carbon Tax

 

[GreyGhost]

Do we pay a stand by fee if the windmills don't spin and produce power?

For most of the current wind, we pay a disgusting rate for the power they make. We don't pay when they don't make power. On the flipside, as the power is not reliable, we pay a standby rate and a disgusting rate for power from NG powered small generating stations that can jump on when required. We are also throttling our hydro power to try to inversely track green energy which cuts turbine life from decades to years. We don't see that bill as a line item so government loves it. Make no mistake, the bill comes and it is huge.

 

[MacDoc]

Why ever would you care about solar in Canada with massive nuclear and hydro already doing clean heavy lifting and Quebec expanding hydro next door.
You don't need thermal in Ontario.

Great lakes wind is seriously under developed and with grid scale batteries plunging in price it makes lots of economic sense.

There are no wind turbines on the Great Lakes — and it isn’t for lack of wind.

This titanic network of interconnected freshwater lakes with a surface area larger than New England, New York, and New Jersey combined is theoretically ideal for wind farms. Winds sweeping across the lakes are stronger, more consistent, and less turbulent than those over land. The National Laboratory of the Rockies has estimated that the Great Lakes states have enough offshore wind potential to generate more than three times their combined annual electricity consumption.

The Great Lakes are ideal for wind energy. So where is it?

Bureaucratic hurdles and high costs have prevented the offshore wind industry from developing the Great Lakes’ abundant wind resources.

grist.org

 

[GreyGhost]

Why ever would you care about solar in Canada with massive nuclear and hydro already doing clean heavy lifting and Quebec expanding hydro next door.
You don't need thermal in Ontario.

Great lakes wind is seriously under developed and with grid scale batteries plunging in price it makes lots of economic sense.

The Great Lakes are ideal for wind energy. So where is it?

Bureaucratic hurdles and high costs have prevented the offshore wind industry from developing the Great Lakes’ abundant wind resources.

grist.org

Nuclear and hydro are good for base load and terrible for load tracking. Thermal is the nest we have for load tracking. Batteries may get there but equivalent capacity is still cost-prohibitive.

The best part about solar is it is the easiest to provide distributed power. Lessens demand on generation and transmission. Again, batteries may get there but are currently one of the more expensive options (more expensive than buying grid power, more expensive than a backup generator, etc). Peak solar output is also closely tied with peak demand.

Obviously you have never lived near wind turbines. The whooshing noise easily enters your house and can be like Chinese water torture for many people. Each event causes no damage but the cumulative total and anticipation of the next event causes your brain to crack. Turbines also kill thousands of birds.

Everything is a trade off. There is no single best solution.

 

[Mad Mike]

I’d like to see new builds getting 20kw power walls subsidized. If they were $5k upgrade, they payoff in 5 years, lighten the load on thermal, and fully utilize wind and solar.

Might be cheaper than subsidizing more wind.

 

[GreyGhost]

I’d like to see new builds getting 20kw power walls subsidized. If they were $5k upgrade, they payoff in 5 years, lighten the load on thermal, and fully utilize wind and solar.

Might be cheaper than subsidizing more wind.

Battery cycling costs ~$0.15/kwh if you hope to pay off the battery before it is garbage. It works technically but financially, it's a rough go. I was running the numbers to see if ULO electricity plan plus a battery to supply power during on-peak periods but it was no Bueno. If I could build battery packs out of old ev's the numbers make sense but ESA killed that idea.

A subsidy of more than $15K with owner paying $5K is a bollocks program.

 

[nobbie48]

Nuclear and hydro are good for base load and terrible for load tracking. Thermal is the nest we have for load tracking. Batteries may get there but equivalent capacity is still cost-prohibitive.

The best part about solar is it is the easiest to provide distributed power. Lessens demand on generation and transmission. Again, batteries may get there but are currently one of the more expensive options (more expensive than buying grid power, more expensive than a backup generator, etc). Peak solar output is also closely tied with peak demand.

Obviously you have never lived near wind turbines. The whooshing noise easily enters your house and can be like Chinese water torture for many people. Each event causes no damage but the cumulative total and anticipation of the next event causes your brain to crack. Turbines also kill thousands of birds.

Everything is a trade off. There is no single best solution.

People living nearby complain the vibrations make them sick.

I once ran a hydraulic jackhammer in a stairwell for a day. It worked well, powerful and very controllable. At the end of the day I was ready to puke.

 

[MacDoc]

There are thousands of wind turbines here and I've stood under them running and no I would not want to have them within 150m but the offset here is

Queensland, wind turbines are generally required to be set back at least 1.5 kilometers from existing or approved sensitive land uses like houses.

Most complaints are either agitprop or flat out faked.
Drive up to Erin and tell me you can hear a wind turbine from 1.5 km away.
Lake based makes the most sense and Lake Erie is very shallow.
Some of the turbines are insanely powerful and getting more so all the time.

The world's most powerful wind turbine is the DEW-26 MW-310 offshore turbine by China's Dongfang Electric Corporation. Installed for testing in Dongying, Shandong, it features a record-breaking capacity of 26 megawatts (MW), a massive rotor diameter of 310 meters, and 153-meter-long blades. [1, 2, 3]
The race to build the biggest turbines continues to accelerate rapidly, with manufacturers primarily stationed in China and Europe. A breakdown of the top global giants and prototypes currently leading the industry includes: [1]

• Dongfang DEW-26 MW-310 (26 MW): The current undisputed global titleholder. This behemoth features 153-meter blades and sweeps an area of 77,000 square meters. Under standard medium-to-high winds, a single unit can generate 100 million kWh annually, easily powering around 55,000 households. [1, 2]
• Siemens Gamesa SG DD-276 (21.5 MW): Europe's most powerful prototype turbine. Installed at the Østerild test field in Denmark, it boasts a rotor diameter of 276 meters and can supply green electricity to about 70,000 Danish homes. [1, 2]
• Mingyang MySE 22MW: An upcoming offshore model targeting high-wind zones and floating foundations, sporting a rotor diameter exceeding 310 meters. [1]
• Mingyang OceanX (50 MW / Twin-Headed): Moving beyond single turbines, Ming Yang Smart Energy announced an OceanX model that features two counter-rotating 25 MW turbines mounted on a single Y-shaped floating platform to achieve a combined 50 MW capacity. [1]
• Sany SI-270150 (Onshore Record): Designed for land-based projects, this is the world's most powerful onshore turbine with a capacity of 15 MW and a 270-meter rotor diameter. [1]

 

[GreyGhost]

There are thousands of wind turbines here and I've stood under them running and no I would not want to have them within 150m but the offset here is

Most complaints are either agitprop or flat out faked.
Drive up to Erin and tell me you can hear a wind turbine from 1.5 km away.
Lake based makes the most sense and Lake Erie is very shallow.
Some of the turbines are insanely powerful and getting more so all the time.

Try being inside a house at 3am (especially with a temperature inversion). Completely different experience than standing beside your car.

Try drawing 1.5km setback circles in Ontario. You'll be well north of north bay before you place a single turbine. A lot of ontario turbines were placed at 550m.

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