“High-speed rail (HSR) in the US is currently dominated by Amtrak's Acela (150–160 mph) in the Northeast Corridor, with major projects underway to bring 200+ mph service to the West, including Brightline West (Las Vegas–LA, 2028) and California High-Speed Rail. These initiatives aim to connect city pairs in under 3 hours, offering alternatives to regional flights”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High-speed_rail_in_the_United_States

Definitely, solar seems to be the best of all options. However, having multiple sources of power as redundancy increases stability, and helps with overlapping coverage. By this I mean, tidal can work regardless of sunshine levels/during night time, so it can cover the off hours of solar production.

Additionally, the coastal regions tend to be more wet and cloudy than other areas, so solar may not be as effective compared to say the prairies.

It really is, hard part is sorting through the errors and figuring out just what in the world caused the error. The amount of hardware between the inverter and grid is impressive when you have a 100kw+ system. Over 250kw it gets even better because hydro needs to be able to remotely kill your power.

Wind or hail storms can destroy acres of solar farms in minutes.

Getting turbines reliable while in salt water proved to be difficult.

There's also wave generation, which has its own pros and cons

Huh, TIL, thanks!

I am aware of that project but had no idea it died.

A little research says it didnt die "because Alberta". It died because it became too expensive to fix and became unreliable, and the houses were converted to natural gas heating. Go figure. From cool to reliable - I rest my case. Albertans at -40c care about reliability.

Wiki: "In 2020, the system started showing signs of deterioration resulting in significant maintenance issues. System components, knowledge, and technical expertise for repairs were becoming increasingly challenging to find. In response to system failures, the Drake Landing Solar Company added redundancies to the system to be sure that homes in the community were receiving heat.

After a thorough investigation on available next steps, it was determined that the significant reinvestment required to have the system operate reliably, was simply something that neither the Drake Landing Solar Company board nor the collective community could afford.

In 2024, a decommissioning process for the Drake Landing Solar Community began, where the majority of the 52 homes were converted to natural gas-fired furnaces."

I think the fire hazard is the main reason.

Even without pumping, hydroelectricity is great to complement intermittent storage. A dam is storing a lot of potential energy that can be released or not at the right time.

There is a big dam close to where I live. In winter the level goes down progressively and as soon as spring comes back, the solar panels are producing again and the electrical demands goes down so the lake level goes back up progressively.

In summer the lake is full so all the tourists can enjoy the activities on the water.

Micro hydro this is feasible. Many tall buildings already have water tanks near the top.

Canada had the Drake Landing project.

This was a 52 home community in which solar heat was stored underground for recovery in winter. It was originally a 4 year project that extended to 17 years in Alberta. Very low tech. the energy was stored in salt and sand pits underground.

But it ended, because Alberta.

Geothermal is cool. And impressive. But I have yet to see anyone who could afford on a single home.

For larger installations, we had a geothermal plant just a few miles from our place in the US. Was great til it started leaking sour gas. Eventually the company had to buy out the homes of the people who were closer to the plant because of the health concerns.

Every power source has issues.

It is if you want to go off carbon based power. Where do you get power when the sun is down? Especially in winter with short days?

We actually had a really great program about how renewable energy like solar and wind was not just going to be installed here but also how it was going to be built here, before some stupid fucking voters decided it was too "expensive" or "woke" and voted for this asshole to ruin it all.