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meaning it can provide power or heat at a predictable level 24 hours a day – but it doesn't leave behind toxic nuclear waste or carry the risk of meltdown."
Even at less then 100% availability, geothermal represents baseload capacity; you just need to have some over-capacity.
And with sustainables generally, over-capacity is just a cost of doing business. Wind and solar, for example, only produce part of the time, and (can) produce varying output when they do produce. And while storage capacity is an important accompaniment for (such) sustainables, having a predictable baseload makes the problem much more manageable.
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Load management is important for an electrical grid, because unpleasant things tend to happen (by deliberate action, by accident) when load exceeds supply. So we need to move increasingly to a system that is less on-demand -- and more "use"-it-when-it's-available (that is, when it's cheap).
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Storage is generally important for sustainables, so that their "production" cycles can be stretched out -- and so they can respond better to on-demand requirements.
Solar thermal has some potential for storage, and there are some technologies like PV systems that can also act as batteries that have potential too.
But consumers being able to store electricity makes a great deal of sense. These stores could be charged by consumer-generated electricity, or from the grid when electricity is cheap -- then sold back to utilities when demand (and price) is high.
Such a storage system would need to be efficient (in charging and discharging), low-loss, safe, inexpensive and have decent capacity. But I don't see that such systems would necessarily have to be particularly small; which means that high energy densities wouldn't be necessary. For example (although I wouldn't suggest that such a solution would have a great deal of consumer appeal), most homes could find a place to stack a cord of wood, and most certainly a quarter-cord.
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When dealing with intermittent producers like solar and wind, it's desirable to use their output whenever they (can) produce. So in addition to storing electricity and having energy-consumers use it when it's (relatively) cheap, it may be desirable to have applications that can advantage of over-production. And maybe this is a place for hydrogen production, or the production of some other energy source that be quickly, efficiently started up/shut down (preferably with little/no human intervention) in response to the availability of electricity.
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Hydro-production (taken broadly; small/large) has unrealized potential. There exists technology to take advantage of running water without dams, and the ocean has both tidal and wave energy that could be exploited (however, the ocean is also capable of doing great damage, so the risks to equipment need to be factored in.)
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There a few other things people will have to become accustomed to with a sustainable energy future (besides load-management, over-capacity, etc). One of these things is that sustainables must be "harvested" where they are productive -- and then electricity must be transmitted from these sites to where it is used.
But even where (though) sustainable solutions cost more, they should have the effect of decreasing demand for other sources of energy, which should help keep these prices from rising as they otherwise might (would). To wit, sustainable solutions can contribute to savings in other areas, and this savings is part of their overall value.
Moreover, consumer-owned generation and storage systems (and efficient "appliances") add value to properties, and this is the sort of investing-in-yourself that generally makes good sense. Furthermore, a dynamic domestic sustainables-industry (taken broadly, production, storage, high-efficiency "appliances", etc.) could help revitalize manufacturing; create jobs in production, installation and maintenance; spur technological development; improve infrastructure (and in some places make it less vulnerable); and reduce dependence on energy imports.
Efficiency and thrift, however, are the consumers' best tools. Along these lines, higher density living, and less (and more efficient) transportation (of everything) could result in considerable energy savings. (Not that these are particularly popular concepts in all their implications.)
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Geothermal needs more advocates, it seems to me.
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(A timely opportunity to dispose of some "fragments".)
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