5 ms·

Well, then wake up. We didn't solve it with nuclear tech, and we won't. It is too expensive because it is so complicated and not very popular to boot. It won't

by olau 7y ago

Well, then wake up. We didn't solve it with nuclear tech, and we won't. It is too expensive because it is so complicated and not very popular to boot. It won't happen. And it prevents you (here I'm not talking about you personally) from recognizing the incredible strides PV and wind turbines have made in the past decades. The IV generation plants people keep talking about didn't happen in time. With the current pace, we're at least ten years from commercial roll out, and at that point there's no market left for something that needs to run 24/7 to be competitive. Wind turbines and solar are falling in price YoY. I'm afraid even your "We could dramatically cut ... now" is hyperbole. Nuclear power plants take many years to plan and build.

philwelch 7y ago
If nuclear isn't happening in time, neither are renewables. Countries like Germany that are transitioning away from nuclear and towards renewables have actually increased their fossil fuel consumption in recent years because renewables just aren't keeping up. Not to mention that many of the delays and drawbacks of nuclear power are precisely due to the antinuclear movement itself, which imposes barriers and regulations instead of the subsidies that renewables have received.
- raxxorrax 7y ago
  I still wasn't a bad idea to kill nuclear in Germany. It is pretty expensive, admittably partly due to regulation, but also because of unsolved problems. Additionally we would have to ask Plutonium-Putin (No, we do not use plutonium-reactors)for all his good stuff and people would have cried again. There are still active NPP in Germany, but overall you cannot really say the decision was bad. Yes, there are new coal powered plants being build, but mostly to replace inefficient older ones. There might be an argument that a new NPP would have been a better solution, but it wouldn't have worked out economically. Maybe with taxes on carbon dioxides if that would have been implemented. I think subsidies for renewables are a far better investment compared to NPP.
  - philwelch 7y ago
    There’s literally a natural gas pipeline being built between Germany and Russia.
- zaarn 7y ago
  Part of the reason why Germany is burning more fossil fuels is that the coal lobby paid for that. The coal industry got a shitload of permits to build coal plants a while ago, in some cases coal plants that are being shut down are being turn down and replaced with a new coal plant that the operator got a permit for. Meanwhile the renewables are being choked by increasing regulatory burdens (which the coal lobby lobbied for) and fake news (pushed by the coal lobby) to prevent even those who pass the burden from building anything. In Bavaria the area where wind turbines can still be built is less than a percent of the total area of the state, the coal lobby meanwhile is building a new coal plant (they got a permit to build one and politics is unwilling to revoke it). Renewables could have easily replaced a large part of nuclear if not for the coal lobby.
- cygx 7y ago
  Countries like Germany that are transitioning away from nuclear and towards renewables have actually increased their fossil fuel consumption in recent years Please stop spreading misinformation: While we've failed our planned reduction goals, we did in fact reduce fossil fuel usage. https://www.energy-charts.de/energy.htm?source=all-sources&period=annual&year=all https://www.energy-charts.de/energy.htm?source=all-sources&p... https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/384/bilder/5_abb_trend-emi_2019.png https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/38...
kortilla 7y ago
> it is so complicated and not very popular to boot. “People are stupid” is not a valid reason for not choosing a technology. It’s just something that needs to be overcome. Do you realize how complex and out of grasp a basic SCADA controller is to normal people? A modern turbofan? Yet people entrust their lives to these things every day wi the no issue. > incredible strides PV and wind turbines have made in the past decades. PV and wind absolutely do not matter. They cannot provide stable base load. Solar enthusiasts bury their heads in the sand when it comes to base load and hand wave about batteries, pumped storage, etc when in reality they are just signing civilization up for more gas turbine plants and coal while virtue signaling that they care about the environment.

by olau 7y ago

philwelch 7y ago

If nuclear isn't happening in time, neither are renewables. Countries like Germany that are transitioning away from nuclear and towards renewables have actually increased their fossil fuel consumption in recent years because renewables just aren't keeping up. Not to mention that many of the delays and drawbacks of nuclear power are precisely due to the antinuclear movement itself, which imposes barriers and regulations instead of the subsidies that renewables have received.

raxxorrax 7y ago
I still wasn't a bad idea to kill nuclear in Germany. It is pretty expensive, admittably partly due to regulation, but also because of unsolved problems. Additionally we would have to ask Plutonium-Putin (No, we do not use plutonium-reactors)for all his good stuff and people would have cried again. There are still active NPP in Germany, but overall you cannot really say the decision was bad. Yes, there are new coal powered plants being build, but mostly to replace inefficient older ones. There might be an argument that a new NPP would have been a better solution, but it wouldn't have worked out economically. Maybe with taxes on carbon dioxides if that would have been implemented. I think subsidies for renewables are a far better investment compared to NPP.
- philwelch 7y ago
  There’s literally a natural gas pipeline being built between Germany and Russia.
zaarn 7y ago
Part of the reason why Germany is burning more fossil fuels is that the coal lobby paid for that. The coal industry got a shitload of permits to build coal plants a while ago, in some cases coal plants that are being shut down are being turn down and replaced with a new coal plant that the operator got a permit for. Meanwhile the renewables are being choked by increasing regulatory burdens (which the coal lobby lobbied for) and fake news (pushed by the coal lobby) to prevent even those who pass the burden from building anything. In Bavaria the area where wind turbines can still be built is less than a percent of the total area of the state, the coal lobby meanwhile is building a new coal plant (they got a permit to build one and politics is unwilling to revoke it). Renewables could have easily replaced a large part of nuclear if not for the coal lobby.
cygx 7y ago
Countries like Germany that are transitioning away from nuclear and towards renewables have actually increased their fossil fuel consumption in recent years Please stop spreading misinformation: While we've failed our planned reduction goals, we did in fact reduce fossil fuel usage. https://www.energy-charts.de/energy.htm?source=all-sources&period=annual&year=all https://www.energy-charts.de/energy.htm?source=all-sources&p... https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/384/bilder/5_abb_trend-emi_2019.png https://www.umweltbundesamt.de/sites/default/files/medien/38...

kortilla 7y ago

> it is so complicated and not very popular to boot. “People are stupid” is not a valid reason for not choosing a technology. It’s just something that needs to be overcome. Do you realize how complex and out of grasp a basic SCADA controller is to normal people? A modern turbofan? Yet people entrust their lives to these things every day wi the no issue. > incredible strides PV and wind turbines have made in the past decades. PV and wind absolutely do not matter. They cannot provide stable base load. Solar enthusiasts bury their heads in the sand when it comes to base load and hand wave about batteries, pumped storage, etc when in reality they are just signing civilization up for more gas turbine plants and coal while virtue signaling that they care about the environment.