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Centralization is not a bad thing, because energy usage is mutualized. Taking France as an example, the total installed capacity is 400GW, but the actual power
by steeve 7y ago
Centralization is not a bad thing, because energy usage is mutualized.
Taking France as an example, the total installed capacity is 400GW, but the actual power consumption is between 60GW and 110GW.
So you need some form of mutualization, unfortunately, in order not to provision 400GW but only use 100GW.
- _jal 7y agoThe point is risk mitigation. It seems to me we should expect an increasingly turbulent natural environment that will be driving an increasingly turbulent political environment. If you don't remember the 2003 blackout, perhaps failure modes aren't forefront in your mind, but they merit consideration. Designing for 2050 while assuming the world looks like 1950 is a bad idea.
- steeve 7y agoNuclear energy in an violent political climate or war is indeed something to consider. Centralized doesn't mean monolithic. Centralized under one entity, but distributed in nature. France has 58 nuclear reactors (one of the greatest and fastest decarbonisation in history [1]). They are "centralized" in the sense that they are operated by a single entity, but effectively distributed. And indeed they are not all running at the same time (reloading fuel, maintenance) etc... 1. https://twitter.com/laydgeur/status/1232667445246222338 https://twitter.com/laydgeur/status/1232667445246222338