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Nuclear power needs storage on the scale of a day or two. Wind needs storage on the scale of a few weeks. Solar needs storage on the scale of 3-6 months. You ca
by scythe 4y ago
Nuclear power needs storage on the scale of a day or two. Wind needs storage on the scale of a few weeks. Solar needs storage on the scale of 3-6 months. You can work around this a bit with demand scheduling and it's much less of a problem in the tropics, but we're talking about Japan: it's northern, densely populated and cloudy.
If you can turn a nuclear plant off (summer) and on (winter) once a year, the storage requirement for solar drops by a lot.
- cauch 4y agoSure, but 1) week storage and 3-6 months storage are extreme events, similar in probability as overlapping technical shutdowns in nuclear facilities. In practice, with interconnection, it is even arguable that such long term storage are even needed. 2) the technology built for short term storage is usually not that bad for medium term storage either. In any case, if you want a nuclear grid, you will need to invest in storage technology, and there is no reason the progress in those technology will only improve short term storage solutions. But I 100% agree: a nuclear plant turned on during winter will help. I'm not against nuclear, I just want to react to the incorrect view that storage is just a renewable problem.
- moloch-hai 4y agoThere is, in fact, no need for "a few weeks" of storage anywhere for any reason, never mind months. NG backup works fine, and will continue working fine indefinitely. Storage cuts the fraction of time the furnace needs to run. Eventually, synthetic fuel will displace NG. It will be imported at need, same as NG today, but with no possibility of cartels.
- panick21_ 4y agoNuclear really only needs storage for a few hours, exactly what existing LiIon is already really good at, quick charge, quick uncharge.