4 ms·
Is that really how the financing of these projects works, though, to say that dollars are simply diverted from renewables to fission? I think not. As a civiliza
by pawsforthought 4y ago
Is that really how the financing of these projects works, though, to say that dollars are simply diverted from renewables to fission? I think not. As a civilization, we surely have the capacity and the imperative to do both. (That said, we should absolutely stop giving trillions in subsidies and financing to fossil fuel projects.)
Not to mention, we have a land use problem. Far too much land is given over to grossly inefficient livestock rearing, but solar installations are hardly better in land use terms, much as I recognize their necessity.
In any case, sites for solar installations are hard to find. Same deal for fission plants, for obviously different reasons, and in spite of their impeccable safety record by the numbers.
Difference being, though, that for every fission plant that overcomes NIMBYism, you get a lot more generation, albeit with considerable delay before that generation comes online, as you note.
All of which is to say that, the realities are not straightforward, it is not a binary choice. We should build as much new, non-carbon-emitting generation as possible.
Energy is the principal civilizational force multiplier. Given the damage we’ve already done that we need to undo, we need as much energy as we can get.
While we’re on the subject, let’s drop the facile pretense that any of these generation technologies are actually clean. They all have environmental externalities. I think it’s incumbent upon us to fairly represent that, and to make a whole-system analysis of this problem.
- ncmncm 4y agoHand-wringing about land use amounts to concern trolling. There is absolutely no hint of shortage of land to site overabundant solar on. Solar coexists synergetically with numerous existing uses, including reservoirs and canals, pastures and farmland, and on industrial, warehouse, and even residential roofs and parking lots. On water, solar farms operate more efficiently and cut evaporation and biofouling. In pasture and farmland, they operate more efficiently, cut water demand and heat stress, and for many crops even increase yield. They extend the life of roofs under and cars parked under them. The area now devoted to domestic oil extraction is well over the most that would ever be needed for overbuilt solar, even without dual use. Wind extraction, of course, has long coexisted nicely with agriculture and navigation. So, the most effective way to get the overabundant energy we will need is to overbuild renewables. The "environmental externalities" of renewable generation are orders of magnitude less than for others, so for purposes of planning really are negligible. Most of that is carbon emission occasioned by fabrication before the power used can be generated renewably.
- pawsforthought 4y agoCunningham’s Law in action (unintentional on my part) [1]. Thanks for the detailed response, that gives me plenty to read up on further. Agrivoltaics looks like a very clear win, especially for shade-loving crops [2]. [1]: https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cunningham%27s_Law https://meta.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/Cunningham%27s_Law [2]: https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE https://youtu.be/lgZBlD-TCFE