[QUOTE=jamesqf;135888]The claim is perfectly correct. Neither solar nor wind can handle baseload power - just ask anyone who's ever looked into building an off-the-grid house. You either have to add storage (or use existing storage such as hydro), or have standby generation.[QUOTE]
True, neither solar nor wind can handle baseload power if all you're doing is using solar
OR wind. But if you use a combination of different renewables together their shortcomings are balanced out. This idea has actually been tried out, in Germany.
Peak Energy: The Combined Power Plant And Biogas In Germany
By linking 36 wind, solar, biomass and hydropower installations spread throughout Germany they were able to match supply to demand minute to minute. In fact they didn't even strictly need the hydropower installations; those were only used to buffer the excess solar and wind because they didn't want to waste it.
Baseload is a myth.
Myth of Baseload Power
When it comes to wind you don't need a global grid to get reliable power. Basically the wind IS always blowing - somewhere within a hundred miles of you so if you link wind farms with just your national/continental grid you've got baseload power.
http://www.stanford.edu/group/efmh/winds/aj07_jamc.pdf
Also there are other ways to increase the capacity factor of wind "Capacity Factor is the percentage of energy actually captured relative to what would be captured if the wind turbines were operating at full capacity all the time.
By far the biggest reason for not operating at capacity is that insufficient winds exist at the given site to generate at rated capacity. This is true at any altitude, but the percentage of the time is much less at high altitude." If you can put your windmills up in the air at about 10km they will be generating power 80-90% of the time.
Sky WindPower Corporation
Even putting them up just 1000ft will boost your capacity factor to 50%.
Magenn Power Inc.
Inbetween you could have kite power.
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