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We definitely do! However the rate that solar can be added is nowhere near fast enough to replace fossil fuels in a timeframe that meets our climate goals and p

We definitely do! However the rate that solar can be added is nowhere near fast enough to replace fossil fuels in a timeframe that meets our climate goals and prevents environmental catastrophe[1]. > Solar and wind power alone can’t scale up fast enough to generate the vast amounts of electricity that will be needed by midcentury, especially as we convert car engines and the like from fossil fuels to carbon-free energy sources. Even Germany’s concerted recent effort to add renewables—the most ambitious national effort so far—was nowhere near fast enough. A global increase in renewables at a rate matching Germany’s peak success would add about 0.7 trillion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity every year. That’s just over a fifth of the necessary 3.3 trillion annual target. > To put it another way, even if the world were as enthusiastic and technically capable as Germany at the height of its renewables buildup—and neither of these is even close to true in the great majority of countries—decarbonizing the world at that rate would take nearly 150 years. [1] https://www.wsj.com/articles/only-nuclear-energy-can-save-the-planet-11547225861 https://www.wsj.com/articles/only-nuclear-energy-can-save-th...

westoncb 5y ago
> However the rate that solar can be added is nowhere near fast enough ... Any idea what the bottleneck(s) is/are?
- 7952 5y ago
  In the UK substation capacity is a constraint. Rural connection points tend to have limited capacity to export to the wider grid.
7952 5y ago
It seems unfair to compare a hypothetical nuclear build rate to a real one in renewables. We just don't know if a nuclear industry could get anywhere near the deployment rate required.
- mullingitover 5y ago
  You're right, and I'm not saying we should slow down on solar, but based on the numbers, solar alone is not going to get us where we need to be, so we should be pushing the nuclear industry to find out how fast they can deploy and bulldozing a path for them while we also push for faster deployment of solar.
jodrellblank 5y ago
Between 2010 and 2019 the UK added 10GW of onshore wind generating capacity, 8.5GW of offshore wind generating capacity, roughly 13GW of solar capacity, and 0 nuclear plants. The UK has not brought a new (commercial/public power) nuclear reactor online since the nineties, or finished building a completely new site since the eighties. It has started building one, which is over budget and delayed and has been described as “the most expensive power station in the world”. It has had three recent plans cancelled, four more go nowhere in years, had two developers (EON and nPower) pull out of UK nuclear, and the Scottish parliament had backed no new nuclear plants in Scotland. If nuclear is our saviour, it’s not looking very likely that we’ll be saved.

westoncb 5y ago

> However the rate that solar can be added is nowhere near fast enough ... Any idea what the bottleneck(s) is/are?

7952 5y ago
In the UK substation capacity is a constraint. Rural connection points tend to have limited capacity to export to the wider grid.

7952 5y ago

It seems unfair to compare a hypothetical nuclear build rate to a real one in renewables. We just don't know if a nuclear industry could get anywhere near the deployment rate required.

mullingitover 5y ago
You're right, and I'm not saying we should slow down on solar, but based on the numbers, solar alone is not going to get us where we need to be, so we should be pushing the nuclear industry to find out how fast they can deploy and bulldozing a path for them while we also push for faster deployment of solar.

jodrellblank 5y ago

Between 2010 and 2019 the UK added 10GW of onshore wind generating capacity, 8.5GW of offshore wind generating capacity, roughly 13GW of solar capacity, and 0 nuclear plants. The UK has not brought a new (commercial/public power) nuclear reactor online since the nineties, or finished building a completely new site since the eighties. It has started building one, which is over budget and delayed and has been described as “the most expensive power station in the world”. It has had three recent plans cancelled, four more go nowhere in years, had two developers (EON and nPower) pull out of UK nuclear, and the Scottish parliament had backed no new nuclear plants in Scotland. If nuclear is our saviour, it’s not looking very likely that we’ll be saved.