3 ms·
To give everyone some perspective, the two reactors in the San Onofre power plant generated a total of 2250 MW. O'Shaughnessy Dam (in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir) ge
by akiselev 13y ago
To give everyone some perspective, the two reactors in the San Onofre power plant generated a total of 2250 MW. O'Shaughnessy Dam (in Hetch Hetchy Reservoir) generates a measly 230 MW and in total, there are FOURTEEN natural gas plants that generate more than 200 MW in the entirety of the United States operating today.
California consumed about 272 billion kWh in 2011 [1], which is 272 million MWh so that $4.11 increase is SIGNIFICANT. Replacing 2.25 GW of generating capability + building infrastructure for growing needs is not simple, cheap, or fast and if we keep going this way (removing high generating nuclear reactors and trying to replace it with renewables) then we will soon be in a situation like Germany. Hint: California can't afford an HVDC build out!
Also, the NRC approved the building of two new reactors after Fukushima in Georgia [2], so I'm curious why uncertainty about the license renewal? The Georgia reactors are also pressurized-type, although they aren't going on 60 years.
[1] http://www.ecdms.energy.ca.gov/elecbyutil.aspx http://www.ecdms.energy.ca.gov/elecbyutil.aspx
[2] http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nuclear_power_news/archive/2012/02/09/nrc-approves-vogtle-reactor-construction-_2d00_-first-new-nuclear-plant-approval-in-34-years-_2800_with-new-plant-photos_2900_-020902.aspx http://nuclearstreet.com/nuclear_power_industry_news/b/nucle... - Thankfully only one person voted no for reasons of Black Swan/Fukushima.
- sebastianavina 13y agowhat is the situation in germany?
- uvdiv 13y agoThey're shutting down nuclear power, building an incoherent mixture of coal, solar, and wind, causing both skyrocketing electricity prices and increasing CO2. http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/european-commission-set-to-fight-german-energy-subsidies-a-902269.html http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/european-commissi... http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21569039-europes-energy-policy-delivers-worst-all-possible-worlds-unwelcome-renaissance http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21569039-europes-ener...
- akiselev 13y agohttp://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/germany-takes-the-lead-in-hvdc http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/renewables/germany-takes-the... Basically, the nature of solar and wind power compared to the classical utility power is severely at odds if you try to shift to solar/wind too fast. It's more complicated than just comparing direct vs alternating current but it can be simplified to that.
- uvdiv 13y agoand in total, there are FOURTEEN natural gas plants that generate more than 200 MW in the entirety of the United States operating today. California alone has over 45,000 MW of natural gas capacity, including 46 plants over 200 MW. They add about 1,000 MW more every year (that state alone), and they're built very quickly and cheaply. Replacing nuclear plants with fossil fuels isn't remotely sensible, but it is easy. http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/electricity/electric_generation_capacity.html http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/electricity/electric_generation_... [.xlsx] http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/powerplants/Power_Plants.xlsx http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/powerplants/Power_Plants.xlsx
- akiselev 13y agoAhh I was working off of terrible data it appears.