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> But it is a pipe dream to assert that we can mine enough raw materials necessary to produce the wind and solar generation, install them (often in less than fa
by Schroedingersat 4y ago
> But it is a pipe dream to assert that we can mine enough raw materials necessary to produce the wind and solar generation, install them (often in less than favorable geographies), install their requisite energy storage tech, in order to make a meaningful dent in CO2 emissions anywhere near as quickly as a renaissance in nuclear power would offer the world.
Solar module production is 240GW and wind is 100GW and both industries are growing at double digit percet yoy. Even at current production rates that will replace 15% of current fossil fuel energy before one new reactor like hinkley C will be built. At projected growth rates we'll see 2-4% of current primary energy in new capacity per year. The limiting resources (Silver and Copper) consume 2-5% of worldwide production.
Compare to the exotic metals like niobium, hafnium, beryllium and so on needed for a nuclear reactor which cannot scale to 100s of reactors a year.
Building a bunch of LWR plants won't solve the problem though because at those burnup rates world uranium reserves will only last around a century (and require just as much of that mining you complain about). Breeder plants and enrichment facilities will take even longer and cost even more.
> But it is a pipe dream to assert that we can mine enough raw materials necessary to produce the wind and solar generation, install them (often in less than favorable geographies), install their requisite energy storage tech, in order to make a meaningful dent in CO2 emissions anywhere near as quickly as a renaissance in nuclear power would offer the world.
Wind turbines can be built from abundant materials, but there is plenty of copper for current and future production (the same copper a steam turbine would use). Silicon cells are made of sand, Cu, Al, Ag, and Fe. There is only around 1g of silver per kW (and this proportion is decreasing faster than production is increasing) and a kg or so of copper for wiring -- most of which can be subbed out for Al.
All this nuclear shilling is just directing energy away from the thing that will make fossil fuels irrelevent and helping the coal plants stay on for a few more years.