intermittency
noun
in·ter·mit·ten·cy
| \ ˌin-tər-ˈmi-tən(t)-sē
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Definition of intermittency
Examples of intermittency in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The first is the growth in renewable energy, which creates intermittency in supply as well as occasional supply spikes that lead to curtailment (shutting wind and solar off temporarily). — David Roberts, Vox, "Using electricity at different times of day could save us billions of dollars," 7 Aug. 2019 Fusion energy would eliminate the need for fossil fuels and solve the intermittency and reliability concerns inherent with renewable energy sources. — Nathanial Gronewold, Scientific American, "World’s Largest Nuclear Fusion Experiment Clears Milestone," 24 July 2019 Up until now, wind and solar costs looked competitive on paper, but the intermittency problem was cited as a reason why renewables would grab only a small slice of the market, a problem that was thought to persist for years to come. — Nick Cunningham, USA TODAY, "Energy costs: Renewables close in on fossil fuels, challenging on price," 4 Apr. 2018 That’s because wind and solar have problems with intermittency — that is, solar production slips when the sun doesn’t shine and electricity generated by wind wanes when breezes don’t blow. — Rob Nikolewski, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Natural gas is energy's new king — but how long will it reign? California may offer some clues," 14 Jan. 2018 The Kremlin has plans to draw 4.5% of electricity from renewable sources by 2024, which means 5.5 GW of renewables capacity and the energy storage systems to offset the intermittency of wind and solar energy generation. — Irina Slav, USA TODAY, "Russia to become a leader In energy storage," 9 Oct. 2017 Well before Trump took office, grid operators have been mulling the question of intermittency of solar and wind energy. — Dino Grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Eclipse tests growing power of renewable energy," 22 Aug. 2017 Renewable power sources' intermittency could eventually cause problems as our electric grids become increasingly reliant on them. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "It’s always windy somewhere: Balancing renewable energy in Europe," 18 July 2017 The weakness of energy systems powered by the sun and the wind is their intermittency. — Eduardo Porter, New York Times, "Fisticuffs Over the Route to a Clean-Energy Future," 20 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'intermittency.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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