The Green Energy Conundrums

There is a big push in the western world to "de-carbonize." Such erudite publications as The Economist and academics as Bent Flvbjerg (Oxford, author of How Big things Get Done.) and Richard Muller (UC, Berkeley, physicist and Author of Physics for Future Presidents) are convinced that such is necessary. Solar, wind, and possibly nuclear electricity appear to be the most feasible green/renewable solutions to the problem. The serious problems with the proposed solutions are the conundrums. Renewable power is inherently sporadic: the wind does not blow consistently, solar power is unavailable at night, and hydropower electricity is seasonal. Also, renewable power is not always connected to the market requiring it at the time of generation. Therefore, there must be some means of storing electricity for when these sources are not available or are fully committed. Pump storage, or variations thereon, are a hot topic among renewable energy advocates-as demonstrated by a report in the April 25, 2022 edition of the New Yorker magazine (Matthew Hutson, 2022).