“Spanish consultancy AleaSoft Energy Forecasting recorded negative hourly electricity prices for all but one European energy market it analyzed during the first week of April, including in the Spanish and Portuguese markets for the first time. It also registered an all-time production record for photovoltaic energy in Portugal and the second highest value ever recorded in Italy”
Water, meanwhile …
if electricity is cheap enough, we can use it to collect water back from the air.
and/or desalinate
Apparently dealing with the brine is a big issue though. Source: heresay
Evaporate to dryness and sprinkle on icy roads and/or fried potatoes?
I’m afraid that’s not how it works. You’ll have enormous amounts of really salty water that you need to get rid of. Usually you’ll just put back from where you took it thereby increasing salinity which is not good™ for ecosystems.https://www.wired.com/story/desalination-is-booming-but-what-about-all-that-toxic-brine/
The article you mentioned specifically mentions inland evaporative pool to turn those brine for road salts or other uses. But the problem is just that no one is doing it.
Probably because it’s expensive and needs a lot of land. My point is still valid. The brine is a problem. Just like trash being a problem if not recycled properly (because it’s more effort than just dumping or burning it).
That being said, I love the idea of having quasi infinite sweet water supplies but unfortunately it’s not that simple.