4 ms·

In what way was it a failure? CO2 per kWh had been going down steadily. Germany just built less renewables than the UK.

mpweiher 3y ago
Coal use went UP the last two years, not down. This year it's down, in part due to the recession reducing overall demand. And the recession is in large part due to high energy prices. Germany has the 2nd highest electricity prices in the EU. AND the 2nd highest CO2 emissions per unit of energy. That's after 20 years of "Energiewende". If that isn't a failure, I don't know what is. And yes, emissions do go down. It's just that "yes, renewables produce some electricity some of the time" is not exactly success.
- ViewTrick1002 3y ago
  In large part due to making up the French nuclear shortfall. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/business/nuclear-power-france.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/business/nuclear-power-fr...
  - mpweiher 3y ago
    France had planned inspection and maintenance shutdowns that took longer because they had deferred those during the COVID years. Scheduled for the summer when electricity consumption is lowest and PV generation is highest. Because, well, you actually can schedule power generation with a nuclear power plant. And that was the only year. In 2023 France is exporting to Germany again.
    - ViewTrick1002 3y ago
      Now you are misrepresenting facts to present a rosy picture. Is it that hard to go by the facts? Or does nuclear power require lies to be sold? They found unexpected corrosion cracks in critical cooling pipes across much of the fleet. It was not planned or deferred maintenance. We lasted the entire winter with half the French nuclear energy fleet off line, when it was needed the most. France was an importer of German coal the entire winter. Now we are back, but we need to keep in mind that fleets of nuclear plants share the issues. Exactly like when we ground fleets of commercial aircraft. The failure modes are correlated.
      - mpweiher 3y ago
        Nothing that I wrote was wrong. Now they actually found a problem during these routine inspections, so they took longer than anticipated. Though that's kind of why you have inspections: so you find problems before they become real problems. Which is what happened here. And again, the reason it was so many power stations at the same time is that maintenance was deferred during the COVID years (and the chronic underinvestment the last decades). So stuff accumulates. But again, this is because they were able to choose when to do this. Which is pretty much the opposite of how it was portrayed in the press in Germany and how it stuck in the minds of anti-nuclear advocates.
        ViewTrick1002 3y ago
        Good to know that they chose to do the safety critical maintenance during winter and coinciding with a fossil gas supply crisis due to war in Europe. Smart thinking!
        mpweiher 3y ago
        Incorrect. They chose to do it in summer. Because they found more than they had anticipated, it took longer. You're welcome.
        ViewTrick1002 3y ago
        Is it so hard to stick to the truth when promoting nuclear power? They unexpectedly found corrosion cracks and immediately shut down the plant. Based on this they precautionar shut down several plants. Then as fast as possible they inspected the rest of the fleet and shut down the offending reactors. They did not plan it.
        mpweiher 3y ago
        Is it so hard to stick to the truth when trying to denigrate nuclear power? (Narrator: yes it is) The shutdowns for the inspections and maintenance were planned. Not for a single plant, for a lot of plants. The inspections found a problem. The shutdowns were extended so they could be fixed, in the original plants and in other plants that might also be affected. The shutdowns, the inspections and the maintenance were planned. What they found was obviously not planned. If you could plan for what you find during an inspection, you wouldn't need an inspection. That's why you inspect. End of story.
- adrianN 3y ago
  Renewables account for something like 40% of electricity production in Germany. That’s a lot more than „some be energy some of the time“.

Coal use went UP the last two years, not down. This year it's down, in part due to the recession reducing overall demand. And the recession is in large part due to high energy prices. Germany has the 2nd highest electricity prices in the EU. AND the 2nd highest CO2 emissions per unit of energy. That's after 20 years of "Energiewende". If that isn't a failure, I don't know what is. And yes, emissions do go down. It's just that "yes, renewables produce some electricity some of the time" is not exactly success.

ViewTrick1002 3y ago
In large part due to making up the French nuclear shortfall. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/business/nuclear-power-france.html https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/business/nuclear-power-fr...
- mpweiher 3y ago
  France had planned inspection and maintenance shutdowns that took longer because they had deferred those during the COVID years. Scheduled for the summer when electricity consumption is lowest and PV generation is highest. Because, well, you actually can schedule power generation with a nuclear power plant. And that was the only year. In 2023 France is exporting to Germany again.
  - ViewTrick1002 3y ago
    Now you are misrepresenting facts to present a rosy picture. Is it that hard to go by the facts? Or does nuclear power require lies to be sold? They found unexpected corrosion cracks in critical cooling pipes across much of the fleet. It was not planned or deferred maintenance. We lasted the entire winter with half the French nuclear energy fleet off line, when it was needed the most. France was an importer of German coal the entire winter. Now we are back, but we need to keep in mind that fleets of nuclear plants share the issues. Exactly like when we ground fleets of commercial aircraft. The failure modes are correlated.
    - mpweiher 3y ago
      Nothing that I wrote was wrong. Now they actually found a problem during these routine inspections, so they took longer than anticipated. Though that's kind of why you have inspections: so you find problems before they become real problems. Which is what happened here. And again, the reason it was so many power stations at the same time is that maintenance was deferred during the COVID years (and the chronic underinvestment the last decades). So stuff accumulates. But again, this is because they were able to choose when to do this. Which is pretty much the opposite of how it was portrayed in the press in Germany and how it stuck in the minds of anti-nuclear advocates.
      - ViewTrick1002 3y ago
        Good to know that they chose to do the safety critical maintenance during winter and coinciding with a fossil gas supply crisis due to war in Europe. Smart thinking!
        mpweiher 3y ago
        Incorrect. They chose to do it in summer. Because they found more than they had anticipated, it took longer. You're welcome.
        ViewTrick1002 3y ago
        Is it so hard to stick to the truth when promoting nuclear power? They unexpectedly found corrosion cracks and immediately shut down the plant. Based on this they precautionar shut down several plants. Then as fast as possible they inspected the rest of the fleet and shut down the offending reactors. They did not plan it.
        mpweiher 3y ago
        Is it so hard to stick to the truth when trying to denigrate nuclear power? (Narrator: yes it is) The shutdowns for the inspections and maintenance were planned. Not for a single plant, for a lot of plants. The inspections found a problem. The shutdowns were extended so they could be fixed, in the original plants and in other plants that might also be affected. The shutdowns, the inspections and the maintenance were planned. What they found was obviously not planned. If you could plan for what you find during an inspection, you wouldn't need an inspection. That's why you inspect. End of story.
adrianN 3y ago
Renewables account for something like 40% of electricity production in Germany. That’s a lot more than „some be energy some of the time“.