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Why do we need storage for nuclear? It has always on capacity. If surge capability is the need - this can mostly be fixed with demand scheduling or smaller mo
by rplst8 10y ago
Why do we need storage for nuclear? It has always on capacity. If surge capability is the need - this can mostly be fixed with demand scheduling or smaller more nimble power plants.
Electricity storage is far from a "solved" problem. Long term storage losses are high, battery safety is concern, durability/life is still a concern, scarcity of the materials to make batteries is a concern, recycling the materials used is a concern.
We have batteries, but not very good ones, and not ones that are anywhere near close to solving the intermittent nature of solar and wind, nor the demand cycles of each working day.
- mcv 10y agoNuclear plants are not good at rapidly changing to accommodate demand. Powering down a nuclear reactor is a big operation. Powering down a smaller reactor may be a smaller operation, but they still don't adapt as easily as gas turbines. Or batteries. But the storage problem I was alluding to is the storage of nuclear waste. Some of it remains dangerous for an extremely long time, and storing it safely is far from trivial. There are several options, but they all have problems. Similar to batteries for electricity storage, perhaps: there are millions of ways to store electrical energy. None of them are perfect, but on the other hand, they are improving rapidly.