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That's what worries me. This "dead" technology still contributes a lot more to the United States' energy budget than solar and wind combined, despite strong res

by chc 11y ago

That's what worries me. This "dead" technology still contributes a lot more to the United States' energy budget than solar and wind combined, despite strong resistance to nuclear and everybody pushing renewables like crazy. It looks like the winner of this fight — between a technology people are eager to declare "dead" and other technologies that are apparently stillborn — is fossil fuel.

toomuchtodo 11y ago
http://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/319535020/coal-gas-nuclear-hydro-how-your-state-generates-power http://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/319535020/coal-gas-nuclear-hyd... Coal has been replaced by a combination of natural gas and renewables in every state. As more renewables come online, natural gas plants will run even less. I'm tired of humanity throwing money down the well that is the nuclear power industry. Pay for the damn turbines and panels already and be done with it (the US alone has enough wind energy potential for 10x its current energy use). Note: Wind is already so cheap, Exelon's CEO (who manages the largest commercial fleet of nuclear generators in the US) is threatening plant closings if they don't get a bailout. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-08/business/ct-biz-0208-exelon-div--20130208_1_exelon-nuclear-plants-power-plants http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-08/business/ct-bi... The former Exelon CEO? Says that shutting down struggling nuclear power plants is the right thing to do. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060022403 http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060022403 Do I care that natural gas is going to pick up the slack? Of course not. The natural gas boom won't last forever, prices will rise, and with coal no longer meeting EPA emissions requirements and nuclear plants decommissioned, there will only be one power source to pick up the slack: renewables.
- chc 11y ago
  > Wind is already so cheap, Exelon's CEO (who manages the largest commercial fleet of nuclear generators in the US) is threatening plant closings if they don't get a bailout. Am I missing something? I don't see anything about a bailout in that article. Unless I overlooked something, it sounds like he's just saying that government subsidies on wind power are excessive, which is the opposite of asking for a bailout.
  - toomuchtodo 11y ago
    http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/548759/editorial-exelons-rate-hike-proposal-bad-bill http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/548759/editorial-e... "Exelon, which operates six nuclear power plants in Illinois, says it needs help because — although it made more than $2 billion last year — it has lost about $1 billion in the past five years on three of its plants: Clinton, Quad Cities and Byron. The nuclear plants are having a hard time competing in the marketplace partly because plentiful supplies have driven down the price of natural gas. The utility says it is unwilling to run any nuclear plant at a loss, though its nuclear fleet is profitable overall. It says Illinois needs all of its nuclear plants for reliability and low-carbon power generation. It also warns that 8,000 jobs in Illinois would be lost if the plants were shuttered." http://wqad.com/2015/08/04/quad-city-wind-energy-farms-on-the-rise-future-of-exelon-questionable/ http://wqad.com/2015/08/04/quad-city-wind-energy-farms-on-th... "This really is a critical time in the 41-years at the Quad Cities station where we have never been in a position where me may have premature shutdown," said Bill Stoermer, Senior Communications Manager at Exelon in Cordova. "We really need the state legislature to act. They of course are focused on the budget and to try to get some budget resolved. We certainly understand that, however we're going to be forced to make some decisions by the end of the year regarding our plans here in Illinois." http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/05/01/exelon-we-have-to-have-an-answer-on-nuclear-plants/ http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/05/01/exelon-we-have-to-ha... "Exelon was happy to embrace risk when wholesale power prices were on the rise and profits from its generation business were flowing, Hendrickson said. Only now, in a market where nuclear power is under pressure from relatively inexpensive natural gas and wind, is the company asking for help in the form of a $300-million-a-year subsidy."

by chc 11y ago

toomuchtodo 11y ago

http://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/319535020/coal-gas-nuclear-hydro-how-your-state-generates-power http://www.npr.org/2015/09/10/319535020/coal-gas-nuclear-hyd... Coal has been replaced by a combination of natural gas and renewables in every state. As more renewables come online, natural gas plants will run even less. I'm tired of humanity throwing money down the well that is the nuclear power industry. Pay for the damn turbines and panels already and be done with it (the US alone has enough wind energy potential for 10x its current energy use). Note: Wind is already so cheap, Exelon's CEO (who manages the largest commercial fleet of nuclear generators in the US) is threatening plant closings if they don't get a bailout. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-08/business/ct-biz-0208-exelon-div--20130208_1_exelon-nuclear-plants-power-plants http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-02-08/business/ct-bi... The former Exelon CEO? Says that shutting down struggling nuclear power plants is the right thing to do. http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060022403 http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060022403 Do I care that natural gas is going to pick up the slack? Of course not. The natural gas boom won't last forever, prices will rise, and with coal no longer meeting EPA emissions requirements and nuclear plants decommissioned, there will only be one power source to pick up the slack: renewables.

chc 11y ago
> Wind is already so cheap, Exelon's CEO (who manages the largest commercial fleet of nuclear generators in the US) is threatening plant closings if they don't get a bailout. Am I missing something? I don't see anything about a bailout in that article. Unless I overlooked something, it sounds like he's just saying that government subsidies on wind power are excessive, which is the opposite of asking for a bailout.
- toomuchtodo 11y ago
  http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/548759/editorial-exelons-rate-hike-proposal-bad-bill http://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/7/71/548759/editorial-e... "Exelon, which operates six nuclear power plants in Illinois, says it needs help because — although it made more than $2 billion last year — it has lost about $1 billion in the past five years on three of its plants: Clinton, Quad Cities and Byron. The nuclear plants are having a hard time competing in the marketplace partly because plentiful supplies have driven down the price of natural gas. The utility says it is unwilling to run any nuclear plant at a loss, though its nuclear fleet is profitable overall. It says Illinois needs all of its nuclear plants for reliability and low-carbon power generation. It also warns that 8,000 jobs in Illinois would be lost if the plants were shuttered." http://wqad.com/2015/08/04/quad-city-wind-energy-farms-on-the-rise-future-of-exelon-questionable/ http://wqad.com/2015/08/04/quad-city-wind-energy-farms-on-th... "This really is a critical time in the 41-years at the Quad Cities station where we have never been in a position where me may have premature shutdown," said Bill Stoermer, Senior Communications Manager at Exelon in Cordova. "We really need the state legislature to act. They of course are focused on the budget and to try to get some budget resolved. We certainly understand that, however we're going to be forced to make some decisions by the end of the year regarding our plans here in Illinois." http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/05/01/exelon-we-have-to-have-an-answer-on-nuclear-plants/ http://midwestenergynews.com/2015/05/01/exelon-we-have-to-ha... "Exelon was happy to embrace risk when wholesale power prices were on the rise and profits from its generation business were flowing, Hendrickson said. Only now, in a market where nuclear power is under pressure from relatively inexpensive natural gas and wind, is the company asking for help in the form of a $300-million-a-year subsidy."