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If nuclear can handle what we currently use gas for, all the better, and I'd be totally down with that. > We're already starting to hit during peak renewable p
by dukeyukey 6y ago
If nuclear can handle what we currently use gas for, all the better, and I'd be totally down with that.
> We're already starting to hit during peak renewable production
What do you mean by that?
- Manuel_D 6y agoSolar panels produce energy in a sine wave. Once the peak of the sine wave exceeds energy demand, you start hitting diminishing returns. The fluctuations in wind production are more complicated, but it's subject to the same problem. You can over-produce to make up for the troughs in energy demand, but the nature of overproduction means that a portion of generated energy goes to waste. This is already happening in California: daytime energy production is saturated. This is why most renewable plans assume that there will be some silver bullet that makes energy storage effectively free. Without some way to turn an intermittent source into a consistent source, it'll be very difficult to decarbonize with wind and solar.