The U.S. state of Nevada is moving towards a balanced electrical grid, to help counter creeping global warming. This involves gradually shutting down old fossil coal, and natural peaking-gas stations. A Nevada utility, NV Energy is playing its part across 44,000 square miles. It increasingly relies on energy from geothermal plants in Northern Nevada, the Hoover hydro dam, and arrays of solar batteries.
How Solar Batteries Play a Crucial Role in NV Energy
When Moon moves over the sun during a solar eclipse, this shades Earth from Sun’s rays, as surely as that bridge does so in our picture. This reduces the output of solar panels within its range, as surely as they cease producing when the sun sets as night.
This is happening right now, as we write. Nevada’s NV Energy utility is shy of between 80% and 90% of Sun’s rays. “You’re going to feel it,” an NV Energy meteorologist explained earlier. “It’s going to get visibly darker; it’s going to look like early morning or even sunset. You might feel a change in the temperature.”
The utility’s energy mix was as follows in 2022, according to Las Vegas Sun:
- 56% from natural gas fuel turbine generators.
- 37% renewables, mostly panels and solar batteries.
- The remainder from geothermal energy plants.
This flexible arrangement contributes to NV Energy’s reputation as one of the most reliable electricity providers in the region. A vision, if you like, of what life would be like without any huge, inflexible coal power stations.
How NV Energy is Tackling Energy Loss During the Eclipse
The utility’s energy director sketched the game plan to Los Vegas Sun on October 13, 2023. He explained how the natural gas turbines would increase their production as Moon gradually obscured Sun. Then as Earth’s natural satellite continued on its journey, the solar energy would return and they could reduce reliance on the turbines.
That model describes a perfect world, in which consumer demand will be steady throughout. However, in reality there will be demand fluctuations. That’s where energy storage in solar batteries comes to the fore. Their power quietly and instantly adjusts for those fluctuations, in the emission-free way our world needs now.
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