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The problem with hydro is that there are draughts. Is global warming going to make that better? Nuclear can run fine in rain or shine. Hydro should be put in th
by _-david-_ 5y ago
The problem with hydro is that there are draughts. Is global warming going to make that better? Nuclear can run fine in rain or shine. Hydro should be put in the same category as wind and solar.
- Retric 5y agoA a general rule, places where droughts are a problem don’t get enough precipitation to generate significant hydropower. That said, when you start talking 0.01% edge cases plenty of options open up. Burning fossil fuels at that scale for example is nowhere near a significant CO2 source compared to current releases. I fully expect hospitals to have backup generators and that’s not a significant issue.
- _-david-_ 5y agoDroughts are supposed to get worse with global warming. If that is the case then places where they are not currently a problem could become a problem. I have no issues using hydro, I just don't think it should be placed in the reliable category. I think coal, gas, nuclear, etc should be in that category.
- Retric 5y agoThat might be your gut feeling, but the utter simplicity of hydro made it vastly more reliable than those options you mention. Individual coal, gas, nuclear etc all needs to be regularly taken offline due to various issues from mechanical faults to weather and supply chain issues. As demonstrated by the multiple recent power outages in Texas coal, gas, and nuclear even have dependencies to the weather and the wider electric grid which will take them down at the same time. Of course total capacity on an annual basis basis varies. But we care about the ability to reliably produce power when necessary far more than maximum capacity across months. Markets adjust to supply limits on an annual basis far more easily than a power outage.