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But the planet is at stake. Do we not agree that the reality is that renewables are the only sustainable option for energy production?

ta1243 1y ago
The cause needs to be investigated and appropriate measures put in place. Renewables however can't be the only answer - storage is key too. Wide scale blackouts aren't exactly unknown, no matter what the generation. And while you and I may agree, sadly the people who need convincing are those who listen and vote for the parties who say "it doesn't matter what we do here when China builds more coal power plants a week than we've ever had". When they say "the reason you were without power is solar", and the opposition say "doesn't matter, you can't have gas", they aren't going to vote for the opposition.
sofixa 1y ago
> Do we not agree that the reality is that renewables are the only sustainable option for energy production? No, we do not, unless you use a very narrow definition of sustainable. Nuclear will play a big part, especially in Western Europe, thanks to France which exports to all its neighbours and is a good stabilising provider. And other than that, who knows. Green hydrogen could be a solution for energy storage.
- adrianN 1y ago
  France is effectively planning to reduce nuclear power though. Since they want to keep nuclear weapons it won’t go to zero, but they’re not planning to build enough new reactors to maintain their current output. Electricity demand however will increase in the future.
- ndr42 1y ago
  Since we are taking about the planet about "the planet at stake" I am not so sure that nuclear in france can play such a big part. Climate change will make it much more difficult, this is from Wikipedia: As of early September 2022, 32 of France's 56 nuclear reactors were shut down due to maintenance or technical problems. In 2022, Europe's driest summer in 500 years had serious consequences for power plant cooling systems, as the drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling.
  - sofixa 1y ago
    > In 2022, Europe's driest summer in 500 years had serious consequences for power plant cooling systems, as the drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling. And rules around this have been adjusted to have less of an impact for the next "once in a 500 years" event. Also, in the same way that France's nuclear power generation being out was covered by German and British renewables, during low points of renewable generation in those countries, French nuclear covered the gaps. That's the point of an interconnected network.
polotics 1y ago
renewables that could renew themselves would be great, but neither solar panels nor wind turbines have an energy return on energy invested. that looks good right now to really close the cycle. much trucking and container shipping is involved in the so-called renewable solution

ta1243 1y ago

The cause needs to be investigated and appropriate measures put in place. Renewables however can't be the only answer - storage is key too. Wide scale blackouts aren't exactly unknown, no matter what the generation. And while you and I may agree, sadly the people who need convincing are those who listen and vote for the parties who say "it doesn't matter what we do here when China builds more coal power plants a week than we've ever had". When they say "the reason you were without power is solar", and the opposition say "doesn't matter, you can't have gas", they aren't going to vote for the opposition.

sofixa 1y ago

> Do we not agree that the reality is that renewables are the only sustainable option for energy production? No, we do not, unless you use a very narrow definition of sustainable. Nuclear will play a big part, especially in Western Europe, thanks to France which exports to all its neighbours and is a good stabilising provider. And other than that, who knows. Green hydrogen could be a solution for energy storage.

adrianN 1y ago
France is effectively planning to reduce nuclear power though. Since they want to keep nuclear weapons it won’t go to zero, but they’re not planning to build enough new reactors to maintain their current output. Electricity demand however will increase in the future.
ndr42 1y ago
Since we are taking about the planet about "the planet at stake" I am not so sure that nuclear in france can play such a big part. Climate change will make it much more difficult, this is from Wikipedia: As of early September 2022, 32 of France's 56 nuclear reactors were shut down due to maintenance or technical problems. In 2022, Europe's driest summer in 500 years had serious consequences for power plant cooling systems, as the drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling.
- sofixa 1y ago
  > In 2022, Europe's driest summer in 500 years had serious consequences for power plant cooling systems, as the drought reduced the amount of river water available for cooling. And rules around this have been adjusted to have less of an impact for the next "once in a 500 years" event. Also, in the same way that France's nuclear power generation being out was covered by German and British renewables, during low points of renewable generation in those countries, French nuclear covered the gaps. That's the point of an interconnected network.

polotics 1y ago

renewables that could renew themselves would be great, but neither solar panels nor wind turbines have an energy return on energy invested. that looks good right now to really close the cycle. much trucking and container shipping is involved in the so-called renewable solution