From: Mark Walker (mark@permanentend.org)
Date: Thu Aug 28 2003 - 06:13:11 MDT
Spike wrote:
>
> In all the discussion of alternate and renewable
> energy sources, the problem of energy storage is
> brought out. A quiet assumption runs thru all
> the discussion that I have seen, the assumption
> that the price of electricity must remain nearly
> constant. Do think about this however. Energy
> supplies may be controlled by allowing the price
> of power at any given time to float to whatever
> levels necessary to reduce demand. On sunny,
> blowy days, the actual price of energy might fall
> to practically nothing, whereas it might be very
> expensive on dark still days, when the power would
> be supplied by expensive peaker plants.
>
> By insisting that power prices be nearly constant
> *we all pay more* since peaker plants are costly
> to operate and produce very pricy power part time,
> which the market mandates to be sold at the same
> price as non-peak power, and the supply must always be
> sufficient to cover the demand. Result: everyone's
> total power bill is higher than they would be if
> we would collectively tolerate wildly fluctuating
> prices and occasional shortages.
>
> If power were to be sold at the real-time price
> it costs to make it, then the proletariat would
> adjust its collective behavior, charging batteries
> when power is cheap, and turning off the air
> conditioners when power is expensive.
>
I stayed on a farm in Aussi that once that worked on a primitive variant on
this idea. Power was cheaper at night so our friend had a big electric
hotwater heater that would heat at night and then "coast" all day. As a city
slicker it was a bit inconvenient to have to get up early to shower, but for
farmers getting up early was no problem (besides which, showers are hardly
de rigueur for farmers).
One way to handle this would be to have your computer manage your
electricity consumption. You could then say to your computer, "It would be
good if the dishes were done by tomorrow morning but they must be done by
tomorrow night, unless power is above .30kwh. The voice recognition software
would then translate your preferences and figure out when to run the
dishwasher. The computer could monitor the price of electricity on the net
as well as the "electricity forecast"--projected cost of electricity for the
next few days. Similarly it could switch on your washing machine, dryer, and
charge your electric vehicle in nonpeak times (when prices are lower). Like
my Aussi friend, there would be incentive to use fairly low tech means to
"coast" as well. Extra large water tanks that might take advantage of cheap
rates. Another low tech possibility would be to use your airconditioner to
cool say a 1000 gallon tank of water in your basement when rates are cheap.
When rates go up you take advantage of the cold water to cool the house for
a few hours. Freezers set a few degrees cooler could also coast through peak
times. Such a system seems a natural for renewables which tend to be more
cyclical than conventional means of generating electricity. Being a bleeding
heart, I would like to see some provision for making sure that the
electricity providers don't act like an oligopoly. In the long run this
should be obviated when there are more electricity suppliers, e.g., where
homes and business are covered with solar cells.
Mark
Mark Walker, PhD
Research Associate, Philosophy, Trinity College
University of Toronto
Room 214 Gerald Larkin Building
15 Devonshire Place
Toronto
M5S 1H8
www.permanentend.org
Mark
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