The actual operation of an electric grid is a delicate balancing act between supply and demand.
-- the grid needs to respond in real-time to changes in supply/demand (weather induced outages, Germany using your grid as an energy sink)
-- the grid needs to respond to daily fluctuations (day/night cycles, cold day, warm day, etc)
-- the grid needs to respond to medium-term fluctions (scheduled maintenance on plants and infrastructure, seasonal variations, price of coal, natural-gas, oil, etc)
-- the grid needs to respond to long-term fluctuations (new infrastructure, recessions, regional economic growth or decline, technological changes, etc.)
On top of all this, governments can change the regulatory environment on a whim thus invalidating many decisions made with previous assumptions.
Back to the original article, wind energy is particularlly problematic for the grid because its output is highly variable, not predictable in the short-term, can not be economically stored except in specialized cases, and is rife with government-induced market distortions that are also not all that predictable in the medium and long term.
The actual operation of an electric grid is a delicate balancing act between supply and demand.
On top of all this, governments can change the regulatory environment on a whim thus invalidating many decisions made with previous assumptions.Back to the original article, wind energy is particularlly problematic for the grid because its output is highly variable, not predictable in the short-term, can not be economically stored except in specialized cases, and is rife with government-induced market distortions that are also not all that predictable in the medium and long term.