Ok, several issues with this. First restarting these devices takes a lot of electricity, which drastically reduces your net efficiency. So, you still really want to solve this problem.
Second, fusion devices scale very well so one device at 10x the scale is vastly better than 10 different devices at x size. Third, storing and pumping heat involves losses, where there is a huge range of great options for storing electricity. Fourth, it takes massive turbines to turn heat into energy, so you need to scale several things on both sides of your merged heat system in your modular design.
Finally, X independent fusion devices don't have single points of failures shared between them. Your combined design would.
> there is a huge range of great options for storing electricity
Producers of wind and solar power would love to hear about them!
Re SPOF: since the fusion devices are much less reliable, as of now, than reservoirs of hot liquids, I suppose the reservoir is much less of a concern.
I understand that fusion efficiency grows with size; this is why we are surrounded with colossal self-initiated fusion reactions, and have one nearby! But before we can scale, maybe we could still turn net-positive with smaller, less reliable devices. Remember how unreliable first cars were.
Early computers where huge and broke down all the time. They where built that way because it was the easiest option at the time. Nobody wants to build multi billion dollar devices if you could get away with spending 1/10th as much or even test several designs at the same time they would.
PS: The grid absorbs solar and wind interment nature just fine without much in the way of storage. That might suggest something about large scale energy storage. Building something that can store GW’s worth of heat for minutes at a time is going to be huge and expensive.
This is regional, the general factors are over supply is required to deal with failures. So, their should always be excess capacity which can be routed around at 1/3 the speed of light. Demand can be adjusted in response to increased prices. Relatively tiny amounts of storage allow for time to react.
Large scale hydro for example can act as storage ramping up and down in minutes to cover demand spikes.
PS: Sure in the US it’s a lot of cheap natural gas right now. But many places don’t and still need to deal with the same issues.
> The grid absorbs solar and wind interment nature just fine without much in the way of storage
Not so fine, judging by [0] (page 57): "Ontario has committed to install about 2,500 MW of solar capacity in both its 2010 and 2013 Long Term Energy Plan.70 However, Ontario also has committed to install 7,500 MW of wind generation. These two commitments combined create a serious energy management problem for Ontario’s power system engineers and operators."
And they have hydroelectric, nuclear, natural-gas power plants, and sell electricity to neighboring states to compensate intermittent power supply.
Second, fusion devices scale very well so one device at 10x the scale is vastly better than 10 different devices at x size. Third, storing and pumping heat involves losses, where there is a huge range of great options for storing electricity. Fourth, it takes massive turbines to turn heat into energy, so you need to scale several things on both sides of your merged heat system in your modular design.
Finally, X independent fusion devices don't have single points of failures shared between them. Your combined design would.