[Eternal]

Originally Posted by renormalised

What storage technology are you referring to??

Originally Posted by renormalised

I can think of quite a few, but I'll await your answer and then see just how much you really have a clue about this subject.
I took you to task a few posts ago about making comments like you have just done, yet again, without providing any proof of what you have said. No evidence of research into the technology or the cost of implementation. All I have read or seen of your posts is nothing more than babble and nonsense.
The only "FAIL" I see here is one of clarity of thought and logical argument on your part.

Ok, let’s first start with the base load myth:
1) Power generating companies produce electricity based on demand – it is not generated in advance and stored as it is simply too expensive.
2) Because demand changes over time, power utilities meet this demand by forecasting the aggregate power requirements in advance based on previous and predicted trends. This predicted load becomes the minimum load required.
3) This minimum load requirement is the “base load” and is met by their cheapest generation units, which in Australia is more often than not coal.
4) Any additional requirement to this base load is met by additional power generation units when required. These units (often gas or diesel) are usually more expensive generation units but have the distinct advantage that they can be brought online quickly (coal powered generation units take between 6 to 24 hours to bring online and as such are too slow).
What all of the above means is that the concept of “base load” originates from the method that power companies currently use in the planning stages to meet demand; it is not a requirement in itself. The only real requirement for power generation in Australia is that the power being generated must meet demand.
The other part of the base load myth often involves reliability, in particular the notion that renewables cannot provide continuous power because of variability in the weather (sun & wind). But such a position assumes the fact that coal powered generation always work, which it doesn’t.
Coal powered generation units can and do fail. To make up for this coal powered generation companies invest significant money in additional generating capacity called a reserve margin, which consists of additional generation units they can quickly bring online as well as interconnects to other power stations.
What is often overlooked is that this same principle can also be applied to renewable power generation. Whilst the sun or wind may not be shining\blowing in one area, it definitely will be in another. And as for what happens to solar when the sun goes down, solar with thermal storage such as molten salts, is a proven economically competitive technology as the following links explain:
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-to-use-solar-energy-at-night
http://www.solarthermalmagazine.com/2010/06/28/the-future-of-molten-salt-solar-energy-thermal-storage-and-concentrated-solar-power-worldwide-2010-2016/
Now as for the idea of using Thorium reactors to replace coal powered generators it needs to be understood that Thorium reactors still produce nuclear waste and still require Uranium. The fact of the matter is that Thorium reactors are nothing more than nuclear power lite. They make sense for countries that already have significant investment in nuclear power, such as China & India, as a means of making them safer but not for countries which do not, such as Australia.
However in the grand scheme of things we need to realise that no matter what solution is chosen, it will be 15 to 20 years minimum and billions and billions of dollars of investment before we see a result and whatever is chosen will be in place for at least the next 100 years.
If we choose non-renewable resources as our path then haven’t we just repeated the mistakes of the past? More importantly though is that if non-renewables are chosen there is no way we can predict the price or availability of these commodities in 50 to 100 years from now.
Indeed of all of the energy resources we can utilise, the only thing that can be guaranteed in the future is that the sun will still be shining and the wind will still be blowing, and both of these will still be free.