<
https://arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/solar-and-wind-keep-getting-cheaper-as-the-field-becomes-smarter/>
'As solar and wind energy ramps up in the United States, the industries have
gotten better at installing and operating their facilities. This experience can
be seen in how the facilities are financed. According to new research, people
working in the fields—and adjacent ones—have learned to be more efficient,
reducing the overall cost of power. Further, according to Mark Bolinger, a
research scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and one of the
paper's authors, this so-called learning rate can be extrapolated into the
future, and it spells good news for the two renewable sources of energy.
"The people who operate these turbines naturally get better over time as they
do more of it. They get more efficient, and it allows them to lower their costs
a bit," Bolinger told Ars, adding that the same holds true for the workers
manufacturing the facilities. "Some of them have been doing it for a really
long time… All things being equal, that should lead to a reduction in
manufacturing costs."
There's a large amount of literature on learning rate and learning curve
theory, he said. Moore's Law, which pertains to the power of silicon computer
chips, says that the number of transistors per silicon chip doubles each year.
Bolinger said that the learning rate in these renewable energy operations is
similar to that. Learning rate is a measure of how much cost declines for each
doubling of cumulative output, he said.'
Via
Future Crunch Jun 20, 2022:
<
https://futurecrunch.com/human-rights-in-spain-solar-in-vietnam-and-monarch-butterflies-in-north-america/>
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
