7 ms·

In case anyone was curious, Germany used to get 25% of its generation from nuclear (now more like 10%), and they had as many as 17 nuclear reactors as of 2010.

In case anyone was curious, Germany used to get 25% of its generation from nuclear (now more like 10%), and they had as many as 17 nuclear reactors as of 2010. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Germany https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_Germany

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
Good thing they exported 15% of their domestic energy production to the friendly state of Russia - in the form of natural gas imports ($20B per year). What could possibly go wrong?
- Jon_Lowtek 4y ago
  96% of european uranium demand is met by imports, 4% is domestic, and 20% are imported from russia. Source: Euratom Supply Agency - Annual Report 2021 - Page 14 https://euratom-supply.ec.europa.eu/publications/esa-annual-reports_en https://euratom-supply.ec.europa.eu/publications/esa-annual-... Also look at page 26ff which states that it would take years to replace current dependency on russia, not only in raw ressources, but also enrichment and recycling services.
  - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
    You can import 100% of Uranium from actual allies without problem.
    - Jon_Lowtek 4y ago
      the linked Euroatom Supply Agency Report says otherwise. But it's besides the point anyway: the grandparent argued that it is stupid to import 15% energy
      - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
        Russia is 19% of your Uranium imports. Larger for natural gas. You can easily source that 19% from Canada, Kazakhstan, Australia, and the US instead of Russia.
- bamboozled 4y ago
  It was the eco-friendly choice /s
legulere 4y ago
And all of it was replaced by renewables: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Energiemix_Deutschland.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Energiemix_Deutschla...
- pantalaimon 4y ago
  And natural gas
- Rygian 4y ago
  Why is Germany using more natural gas now than in 2010? Did they replace coal by gas? Would it have been possible to replace coal with nuclear instead, and keep gas at 2015 levels?
  - jansan 4y ago
    It is needed in summer to replace solar energy during the night. Gas power plants can be switched on and off almost at will, unlike coal or nuclear plants that have long startup and shutdown times. So the gas power plants are switched on at night in summer when the sun doesn't shine. Also, the EU commission declared in February 2022 natural gas as a sustainable energy source, and the EU parliament confirmed this in July 2022. Sounds a bit bizarre, but the dates are correct.
    - Rygian 4y ago
      So nuclear was replaced by renewables+gas (EU newspeak not withstanding).
    - hedora 4y ago
      Some modern nuclear plants can be turned on and off at will. The reactor itself takes a long time to ramp up and down, but it heats a molten salt battery. The battery can burst-power the turbines at well-above the reactor output; they can be sized to handle peak demand + overnight loads.
      - 4y ago

onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago

Good thing they exported 15% of their domestic energy production to the friendly state of Russia - in the form of natural gas imports ($20B per year). What could possibly go wrong?

Jon_Lowtek 4y ago
96% of european uranium demand is met by imports, 4% is domestic, and 20% are imported from russia. Source: Euratom Supply Agency - Annual Report 2021 - Page 14 https://euratom-supply.ec.europa.eu/publications/esa-annual-reports_en https://euratom-supply.ec.europa.eu/publications/esa-annual-... Also look at page 26ff which states that it would take years to replace current dependency on russia, not only in raw ressources, but also enrichment and recycling services.
- onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
  You can import 100% of Uranium from actual allies without problem.
  - Jon_Lowtek 4y ago
    the linked Euroatom Supply Agency Report says otherwise. But it's besides the point anyway: the grandparent argued that it is stupid to import 15% energy
    - onlyrealcuzzo 4y ago
      Russia is 19% of your Uranium imports. Larger for natural gas. You can easily source that 19% from Canada, Kazakhstan, Australia, and the US instead of Russia.
bamboozled 4y ago
It was the eco-friendly choice /s

legulere 4y ago

And all of it was replaced by renewables: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Energiemix_Deutschland.svg https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Energiemix_Deutschla...

pantalaimon 4y ago
And natural gas
Rygian 4y ago
Why is Germany using more natural gas now than in 2010? Did they replace coal by gas? Would it have been possible to replace coal with nuclear instead, and keep gas at 2015 levels?
- jansan 4y ago
  It is needed in summer to replace solar energy during the night. Gas power plants can be switched on and off almost at will, unlike coal or nuclear plants that have long startup and shutdown times. So the gas power plants are switched on at night in summer when the sun doesn't shine. Also, the EU commission declared in February 2022 natural gas as a sustainable energy source, and the EU parliament confirmed this in July 2022. Sounds a bit bizarre, but the dates are correct.
  - Rygian 4y ago
    So nuclear was replaced by renewables+gas (EU newspeak not withstanding).
  - hedora 4y ago
    Some modern nuclear plants can be turned on and off at will. The reactor itself takes a long time to ramp up and down, but it heats a molten salt battery. The battery can burst-power the turbines at well-above the reactor output; they can be sized to handle peak demand + overnight loads.
    - 4y ago