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> but trying to go 100% renewables is very expensive. Any source for that claim? I mean, yes it’s not exactly cheap. But neither are the alternatives. Expensiv

by audunw 3y ago

> but trying to go 100% renewables is very expensive. Any source for that claim? I mean, yes it’s not exactly cheap. But neither are the alternatives. Expensive compared to what? I’ve seen several studies that indicate that going 100% renewable will be cheaper than the energy infrastructure we have today. Either in a 2050-perspective with the technology/prices we have today (Marc Z Jacobsen). Or on a shorter timeline assuming continues technology and price improvements (Tony Seba). > Sadly, the final nuclear reactors were shut down last year. I think it remains to be seen which path was the right decision. France has recently had some very expensive and long outages. They had to import power from Germany for long stretches during the energy crisis. France has also had some downtime due to hot weather, something we’ll be seeing more of. Most of these nuclear power plants are old. And if they can’t be relied upon as actual base load, what’s the point? I think going 100% renewables could have some major benefits in focus (no need for government to spend resources on regulating nuclear power) and synergies (you get lots of excess cheap electricity that can be used to make hydrogen which can be used to decarbonise steel and fertiliser production, and you invest more in battery R&D which also benefits cars and off-grid applications). We’re also starting to see that advanced geothermal could become a viable alternative to nuclear. I believe that would be a huge Hail Mary to the energy transition because it’ll be easier to get people from the oil and gas section aboard. That will give a lot more political willpower for the transition.

wkat4242 3y ago
> I think it remains to be seen which path was the right decision. France has recently had some very expensive and long outages. They had to import power from Germany for long stretches during the energy crisis. France has also had some downtime due to hot weather, something we’ll be seeing more of. > Most of these nuclear power plants are old. And if they can’t be relied upon as actual base load, what’s the point? Yes and Belgium has had some actually dangerous situations due to the age of their plants.
tsimionescu 3y ago
We already can see that France produces less than half the CO2 that Germany does, per year. So, it is absolutely unequivocal that France's strategy was and continues to be better. Even if it takes the French 20 more years than Germany to get to fully renewable, they will still be better for the environment. CO2 is additive, so every ton (or, at this scale, every hundred million tons) you don't emit today is a massive win. And don't expect Germany to actually hit any of its targets for renewables. Operating a fully renewable grid in a continental country so far up north is not an easy thing to do.

by audunw 3y ago

wkat4242 3y ago

> I think it remains to be seen which path was the right decision. France has recently had some very expensive and long outages. They had to import power from Germany for long stretches during the energy crisis. France has also had some downtime due to hot weather, something we’ll be seeing more of. > Most of these nuclear power plants are old. And if they can’t be relied upon as actual base load, what’s the point? Yes and Belgium has had some actually dangerous situations due to the age of their plants.

tsimionescu 3y ago

We already can see that France produces less than half the CO2 that Germany does, per year. So, it is absolutely unequivocal that France's strategy was and continues to be better. Even if it takes the French 20 more years than Germany to get to fully renewable, they will still be better for the environment. CO2 is additive, so every ton (or, at this scale, every hundred million tons) you don't emit today is a massive win. And don't expect Germany to actually hit any of its targets for renewables. Operating a fully renewable grid in a continental country so far up north is not an easy thing to do.