3 ms·

Not to mention the amount of land required to generate that much power.

• ncmncm 5y ago
  Generating solar or wind power does not take the land out of use. Both are compatible with agriculture. Agricultural productivity under partial solar cover is higher than without, for less water input. Pasture is probably the easiest to make compatible, and there is a very great deal of pasture, although little of it is irrigated. The prospect of less irrigation need will drive solar onto more intensive cropland.
  • arrosenberg 5y ago
    Maybe in an ideal world, but I think it would require way more coordination and upkeep than you are giving credit for in order to do that at the scale required. Way easier to maintain a couple dozen distributed nuke plants with wind and solar to handle daytime peaks and residential, personal use where appropriate.
    • ncmncm 5y ago
      What matters is cost, and the cost picture is crystal-clear: Nukes are very expensive, and not getting any less so. Solar/wind/storage cost is much lower and still plummeting.