3 ms·

> After 70 years of working with fission reactors, we know how to build and operate them at 95%+ efficiency (https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/what-generation-

> After 70 years of working with fission reactors, we know how to build and operate them at 95%+ efficiency (https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/what-generation-capacity https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/what-generation-capacity). France would like your phone number.

phil21 2y ago
Knowing how and being politically prevented from doing so are entirely different things. It’s nuclear or fossil fuels until an order of magnitude change in chemical storage. No one is going to be building enough gas peaker plants sitting idle 360 days a year to achieve the reliability of the grid most consumers and modern civilization require. So it’s burn more gas or coal on a regular basis or enjoy power outages if you want what we have today. I love solar. I plan to have a week or so worth of battery at an off grid home someday soon. It’s both entirely financially impractical (yay disposable tech income) and I will still back it with an expensive propane generator since I live over here in reality.
chickenbig 2y ago
> France would like your phone number I think there is a small matter of national/international politics (running nuclear as renewables backup), a lack of focus within EDF and perhaps a dash of French industrial action (at least a go slow on the refuelling outages). Project Hercules was meant to solve the latter https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/ceo-of-edf-defends-hercules-restructuring-deal/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/ceo-of-edf-defe... but this never happened. On them positive side their nuclear generation is recovering a bit, albeit from a low base. https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/journalists/all-press-releases/edf-estimates-higher-nuclear-power-generation-in-france-for-2024 https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/journ...

phil21 2y ago

Knowing how and being politically prevented from doing so are entirely different things. It’s nuclear or fossil fuels until an order of magnitude change in chemical storage. No one is going to be building enough gas peaker plants sitting idle 360 days a year to achieve the reliability of the grid most consumers and modern civilization require. So it’s burn more gas or coal on a regular basis or enjoy power outages if you want what we have today. I love solar. I plan to have a week or so worth of battery at an off grid home someday soon. It’s both entirely financially impractical (yay disposable tech income) and I will still back it with an expensive propane generator since I live over here in reality.

chickenbig 2y ago

> France would like your phone number I think there is a small matter of national/international politics (running nuclear as renewables backup), a lack of focus within EDF and perhaps a dash of French industrial action (at least a go slow on the refuelling outages). Project Hercules was meant to solve the latter https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/ceo-of-edf-defends-hercules-restructuring-deal/ https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/ceo-of-edf-defe... but this never happened. On them positive side their nuclear generation is recovering a bit, albeit from a low base. https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/journalists/all-press-releases/edf-estimates-higher-nuclear-power-generation-in-france-for-2024 https://www.edf.fr/en/the-edf-group/dedicated-sections/journ...