3 ms·
How do do you think we harness the heat from a coal fired plant? We boil water! The steam turns a turbine and then the water is cooled in a tower and then expel
by TehCorwiz 3y ago
How do do you think we harness the heat from a coal fired plant? We boil water! The steam turns a turbine and then the water is cooled in a tower and then expelled.
Nuclear replaces the first step, heating the water. The other steps are the same.
- amelius 3y agoYes, if you insist on comparing to coal plants.
- skissane 3y agoIf you need guaranteed power at any time of day, fossil fuels and nuclear can provide that, solar and wind can't – while batteries can smooth over the intermittency, the amount of battery storage required to provide the same power availability as a coal or nuclear plant is cost-prohibitive. So, if we are comparing apples to apples, coal plants vs nuclear is a legitimate comparison, wind and solar aren't. Pumped hydro does better than batteries, but building new dams causes massive ecological damage, and in some parts of the world fresh water is a rather scarce resource. The heated water from a nuclear power plant arguably does less environmental damage overall than a big new dam does.