3 ms·

I don't know how many times this needs to be said: solar and wind and batteries can't provide consistent enough power, either for current or the growing energy

I don't know how many times this needs to be said: solar and wind and batteries can't provide consistent enough power, either for current or the growing energy needs, of the US or the world. Alternative power sources are required to maintain energy sufficiency into the future. Period. Ask any company that builds green energy if you don't believe me. What's more ridiculous than this oversight is the idea that the cost of wind, solar, or batteries is somehow never going to go up. News flash: all advanced industrial processes that depend on a global supply chain are subject to price fluctuations.

pydry 3y ago
>I don't know how many times this needs to be said Zero. Few people are unaware that the sun doesnt shine at night. It never needed repeating. What theyre less educated about is that pumped storage, hydrogen, batteries, solar/wind anticorrelation and demand shaping are, together, more than capable of accomodating renewable intermittency. What's most ridiculous is that even the most expensive form of viable power storage (hydrogen) is still cheaper when paired with solar or wind than nuclear power is alone. This isnt to say that we should go all in on hydrogen/solar, just that nuclear power's cost is unconscionably high. Indeed, if it werent for the nuclear military's reliance on civilian supply chains and skills it would never get built and the 'environmentalist nuclear' PR offensive of the last ~8 years that resonated with so many people wouldnt have happened.
- throwawaaarrgh 3y ago
  The energy sector is still private. If green were cheaper, and more reliable, and gave a good return, it would be getting a bigger investment. But it's not, because it's not. Maybe in theoretical-perfect-future-world it's cheaper, but not today.
  - fifilura 3y ago
    This is because the producers are not paying (enough) for the waste they create. Emissions or nuclear waste. Seems like natural they would?
  - adrianN 3y ago
    The growth of renewables is still on a nice exponential curve. We build solar literally add fast as we can scale production.
    - throwawaaarrgh 3y ago
      I work for an energy company that builds renewables. No we do not. I mean Jesus that's ridiculous. There's literally not capital for that, and the debt would be astronomical, to say nothing of legal, land access, problems with construction, contacts. But besides that there's different kinds of solar, and all kinds of specific issues with it, battery capacity being just one. Wind is a bigger opportunity and more commonly pursued, but has even more problems. Making up shit just because you want it to be true isn't helping anybody.
      - adrianN 3y ago
        Lack of capital is one of the limiting factors of scaling production...

pydry 3y ago

>I don't know how many times this needs to be said Zero. Few people are unaware that the sun doesnt shine at night. It never needed repeating. What theyre less educated about is that pumped storage, hydrogen, batteries, solar/wind anticorrelation and demand shaping are, together, more than capable of accomodating renewable intermittency. What's most ridiculous is that even the most expensive form of viable power storage (hydrogen) is still cheaper when paired with solar or wind than nuclear power is alone. This isnt to say that we should go all in on hydrogen/solar, just that nuclear power's cost is unconscionably high. Indeed, if it werent for the nuclear military's reliance on civilian supply chains and skills it would never get built and the 'environmentalist nuclear' PR offensive of the last ~8 years that resonated with so many people wouldnt have happened.

throwawaaarrgh 3y ago
The energy sector is still private. If green were cheaper, and more reliable, and gave a good return, it would be getting a bigger investment. But it's not, because it's not. Maybe in theoretical-perfect-future-world it's cheaper, but not today.
- fifilura 3y ago
  This is because the producers are not paying (enough) for the waste they create. Emissions or nuclear waste. Seems like natural they would?
- adrianN 3y ago
  The growth of renewables is still on a nice exponential curve. We build solar literally add fast as we can scale production.
  - throwawaaarrgh 3y ago
    I work for an energy company that builds renewables. No we do not. I mean Jesus that's ridiculous. There's literally not capital for that, and the debt would be astronomical, to say nothing of legal, land access, problems with construction, contacts. But besides that there's different kinds of solar, and all kinds of specific issues with it, battery capacity being just one. Wind is a bigger opportunity and more commonly pursued, but has even more problems. Making up shit just because you want it to be true isn't helping anybody.
    - adrianN 3y ago
      Lack of capital is one of the limiting factors of scaling production...