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Shutting down atomic power in Germany was such a brilliant move.

by krzat 5y ago

toomuchtodo 5y ago
> Shutting down atomic power in Germany was such a brilliant move. What's done is done. Europe has enough wind potential to power the world [1]. Add solar [2], batteries, transmission, pumped hydro, remaining operational nuclear, and electrify everything (EVs, heat pumps, etc). Fill the remainder with LNG shipments from the US in the short term [3]. It's a national defense/security/sovereignty issue now to get off of Russian gas, and it should be treated as such with regards to allocation of resources to speed the effort. [1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europes-onshore-and-offshore-wind-energy-potential https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europes-onshore-and-o... [2] https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/solar-seen-claiming-60-of-eu-power-mix-by-2050/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/solar-seen-clai... [3] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/europe-remains-top-destination-us-lng-second-month-running-2022-02-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/europe-remains-top-d...
- CamperBob2 5y ago
  Wind power is useful but not directly comparable to gas or nuclear, for obvious reasons. You can't store the wind or the electricity generated from it.
- polotics 5y ago
  Europe does not have enough wind power potential to power the world, by a very large margin. To power France with wind, not just electricity but all energy needs including oil, natgas, etc... you would need one large windmill for every single square kilometer of the country...
  - toomuchtodo 5y ago
    Research paper with data to provide a citation for my assertion: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421519304343 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03014... | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.064 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.064 I confirmed it’s in SciHub if you want to grab a copy. > The continuous development of onshore wind farms is an important feature of the European transition towards an energy system powered by distributed renewables and low-carbon resources. This study assesses and simulates potential for future onshore wind turbine installations throughout Europe. The study depicts, via maps, all the national and regional socio-technical restrictions and regulations for wind project development using spatial analysis conducted through GIS. The inputs for the analyses were based on an original dataset compiled from satellites and public databases relating to electricity, planning, and other dimensions. Taking into consideration socio-technical constraints, which restricts 54% of the combined land area in Europe, the study reveals a nameplate capacity of 52.5 TW of untapped onshore wind power potential in Europe - equivalent to 1 MW per 16 European citizens – a supply that would be sufficient to cover the global all-sector energy demand from now through to 2050. The study offers a more rigorous, multi-dimensional, and granular atlas of onshore wind energy development that can assist with future energy policy, research, and planning.
    - matthewterhune 5y ago
      "Global" in this context means all of Europe, not all of earth. 1 MW per 16 European citizens is not remotely close to enough power for the entire earth.
  - elevaet 5y ago
    One windmill per km^2 is not very dense. Of course, just relying on wind would never work.
- heurisko 5y ago
  I was/am pro-energy transition. But it's obvious that it was too fast too soon. Capability should have been built up before decommissioning.
  - formerly_proven 5y ago
    Not destroying the German solar industry for shits and giggles would've been a good idea.

Shutting down atomic power in Germany was such a brilliant move.

by krzat 5y ago

Shutting down atomic power in Germany was such a brilliant move.

> Shutting down atomic power in Germany was such a brilliant move. What's done is done. Europe has enough wind potential to power the world [1]. Add solar [2], batteries, transmission, pumped hydro, remaining operational nuclear, and electrify everything (EVs, heat pumps, etc). Fill the remainder with LNG shipments from the US in the short term [3]. It's a national defense/security/sovereignty issue now to get off of Russian gas, and it should be treated as such with regards to allocation of resources to speed the effort. [1] https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europes-onshore-and-offshore-wind-energy-potential https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/europes-onshore-and-o... [2] https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/solar-seen-claiming-60-of-eu-power-mix-by-2050/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/solar-seen-clai... [3] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/europe-remains-top-destination-us-lng-second-month-running-2022-02-01/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/europe-remains-top-d...

CamperBob2 5y ago
Wind power is useful but not directly comparable to gas or nuclear, for obvious reasons. You can't store the wind or the electricity generated from it.
polotics 5y ago
Europe does not have enough wind power potential to power the world, by a very large margin. To power France with wind, not just electricity but all energy needs including oil, natgas, etc... you would need one large windmill for every single square kilometer of the country...
- toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Research paper with data to provide a citation for my assertion: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301421519304343 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S03014... | https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.064 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.06.064 I confirmed it’s in SciHub if you want to grab a copy. > The continuous development of onshore wind farms is an important feature of the European transition towards an energy system powered by distributed renewables and low-carbon resources. This study assesses and simulates potential for future onshore wind turbine installations throughout Europe. The study depicts, via maps, all the national and regional socio-technical restrictions and regulations for wind project development using spatial analysis conducted through GIS. The inputs for the analyses were based on an original dataset compiled from satellites and public databases relating to electricity, planning, and other dimensions. Taking into consideration socio-technical constraints, which restricts 54% of the combined land area in Europe, the study reveals a nameplate capacity of 52.5 TW of untapped onshore wind power potential in Europe - equivalent to 1 MW per 16 European citizens – a supply that would be sufficient to cover the global all-sector energy demand from now through to 2050. The study offers a more rigorous, multi-dimensional, and granular atlas of onshore wind energy development that can assist with future energy policy, research, and planning.
  - matthewterhune 5y ago
    "Global" in this context means all of Europe, not all of earth. 1 MW per 16 European citizens is not remotely close to enough power for the entire earth.
- elevaet 5y ago
  One windmill per km^2 is not very dense. Of course, just relying on wind would never work.
heurisko 5y ago
I was/am pro-energy transition. But it's obvious that it was too fast too soon. Capability should have been built up before decommissioning.
- formerly_proven 5y ago
  Not destroying the German solar industry for shits and giggles would've been a good idea.