If it's a poor location for photovoltaics, it's exactly as a poor for photosynthesis

It's very seasonal for both. But we're currently better at storing wheat for 6 months than we are at storing electricity for a similar period.

▲

marssaxman 3 days ago | parent [-]

Whether you store it or not, getting free energy from the sun for half the year is better than getting no energy from the sun. Every marginal reduction in fossil fuel usage helps.

▲

amarant 3 days ago | parent [-]

Scandinavia is actually seeing a pattern where in the summer, there is so much electricity produced that it's approximately free, and in the winters, when solar panels produce nothing, there's not enough to go around so prices are sky high.

It's a very weird situation where it's financially difficult to build new power because you'll be doing it entirely for free half the year, but then you get 4-5 months that are an absolute goldmine.

Which is pretty much the ideal conditions for coal plants, so they make a killing during the winter and then shut off during the summer.

We need something that works throughout the winter so we can finally get rid of the coal plants the whole year!

We do not need more power in the summer though, that's covered by solar already.

Denmark is very well suited for wind power.

▲

perilunar a day ago | parent | next [-]

Free electricity in summer and high prices in winter is not a bad place to be really — it provides a good incentive to develop long-term storage. Batteries are probably not it. Pumped hydro is good — not in Denmark (too flat), but maybe in nearby Norway. Maybe synthetic fuels could be produced and stored economically?

▲

marssaxman 3 days ago | parent | prev [-]

A mix of renewables definitely seems like the way to go, but I also wonder whether we might start to see some seasonal industry based on power prices - bitcoin mines, or even aluminum smelters, which only run during summertime? Though I suppose less capital-intensive processes would make more sense.

	▲	amarant 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		There is lots of talk of green steel in Sweden. The basic concept is to use the cheap energy during summers to produce hydrogen, and then burn that hydrogen to melt iron and make various alloys. So far a few attempts have been made, lots of investments, but unfortunately it hasn't worked out yet.

▲

PaulHoule 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

In most places photosynthesis is limited by (1) the availability of water and (2) the availability of bio-available Nitrogen. Sunlight is less limiting by far.

	▲	leonidasrup 3 days ago \| parent [-]
		For plant growth also very important is the ambient temperature, which in Denmark higher than for example in Canada at similar latitude. This caused by Gulf Stream. Its carrying warm water northeast across the Atlantic makes Western Europe and especially Northern Europe warmer and milder than it otherwise would be. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_Stream The Gulf Stream has more energy than all the world’s rivers combined. https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/power-and-energy/oce...