The essentials
TOPIC
The duck curve
Midday solar pushes net load down and evening ramps push it up hard. The ramp rate, not the energy, is what breaks the system.
TOPIC
Curtailment is waste
Negative prices mean you are paying someone to take power. That is a signal to move flexible load — like compute — to where and when the power is.
TOPIC
Firming is the real cost
Levelized cost of energy ignores what it costs to make intermittent power reliable. Storage, transmission, and backup are the honest comparison.
RAMP
Real constraint
LCOE
Incomplete metric
FIRMING
Hidden cost
FLEX
The answer
Go deeper.
Part of the Porritt Inc. energy library. Questions or corrections are welcome.
CONTACT TIMOTHY → Back to Learn About Energy →