A major problem with solar and wind-powered energy is intermittency. The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow. This is a problem that could be largely resolved by storage technology efficient and scalable enough to cope with intermittency (although I suspect that some backup will always be required, which is why nuclear power will have to be a part of our energy mix for a very, very long time). Unfortunately, that storage technology does not yet appear to exist, not that that has bothered the central planners who continue to plough billions into solar and wind without, seemingly, being too worried that these energy sources are not yet ready for the role that has been assigned to them. That some of these billions might be better spent elsewhere does not seem to worry our planners overmuch either.
And so to Japan.
Via Japan Today (my emphasis added):
For a large part of the year, the weather in Japan is far from comfortable. Winters are cold, and summers are hot and humid.
Those seasons could become even less comfortable, though, if a new plan from the Japanese government goes through. As reported by Japan’s Nihon Keizai Shimbun, in a meeting on Nov 2, the Energy Conservation Subcommittee of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry resolved to begin working group discussions with the aim of gaining the ability to remotely turn down privately owned air conditioner/heater units. The goal would be to decrease energy usage during expected power shortages, which the committee feels are a growing concern as Japan attempts to shift towards renewable energy sources such as solar power, where the amount generated can be affected by day-to-day climate, making it difficult to stabilize the amount of total power available. The ministry says that AC unit usage accounts for roughly 30 percent of household electricity consumption in Japan.
From a technical standpoint, the plan wouldn’t be particularly difficult to implement. Japanese air conditioner units have long had remote controls, so external inputs aren’t a problem, and many models now allow the owner to turn the system on and off or adjust temperature settings through the internet. By asking manufacturers to extend such access to government regulatory organizations, and granting those organizations override functions over other inputs, the plan could easily be put into practice for internet-connected AC units…
One of the great advances made by humanity since the industrial revolution has been the way that, in so many ways, we have loosened our dependency on “Mother” Earth. Sadly, climate policy (as currently configured) is not only an excuse for ever increasing amounts of coercion, but, also, it appears, by renewing, in many ways, our connection with this most unreliable of “parents,” a reversion to the pre-modern.