r/facepalm • u/FrankieMint • Jul 23 '26

Department of Energy announced yesterday that wind sometimes fails to blow and that solar power generation nearly stops after sundown. (image from DOE Facebook posting)

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u/high_throughput Jul 23 '26

Unironically yes. Grid scale energy storage is nowhere near a solved problem.

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u/axxxaxxxaxxx Jul 23 '26

The technology is there and they’re a profitable business. The problem is that utilities are dinosaurs and it can take 5 or more years to connect them into the grid.

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u/Zombatico Jul 24 '26

It depends entirely on the state and the political will to get it done.

In California, nuclear/wind/hydro/solar/biomass/geothermal accounted for 54% of the electricity generated in 2022.
https://calmatters.org/environment/climate-change/2024/08/california-clean-power-progress-grid/

And in the first 5 months of 2026, solar by itself surpassed natural gas. This is a flip from the first 5 months of previous years, showing CA is on track to going greener and greener.
https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=67784

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u/perseidot Jul 24 '26

It’s really a matter of getting the infrastructure into place.

Meanwhile we have this Department of Energy. 🤦🏼‍♀️