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Agree. That's why we need real solutions like nuclear fission/fusion instead of symbolic half-assed efforts like solar and wind. Wind and solar lock us into dependency on natural gas for backup generation.
We have no idea today where technology will take us into the future. Right now we can utilize only a very small percent of the energy the sun supplies. The opportunity is there for large gains.
Agree. That's why we need real solutions like nuclear fission/fusion instead of symbolic half-assed efforts like solar and wind. Wind and solar lock us into dependency on natural gas for backup generation.
Nuclear cannot be built without massive government subsidies. The current plants under construction will end up costing 2-3 times what was agreed upon as the price. A utility can sign an iron clad contract for pv and wind guaranteeing the price before anyone lifts a shovel. Why risk ratepayer money on a total crap shoot with nuclear.
Actually things are much worse than the predictions and there no discernible benefit from the higher CO2 level.
Which things are "much worse than predictions"?
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCforever
Nuclear cannot be built without massive government subsidies. The current plants under construction will end up costing 2-3 times what was agreed upon as the price. A utility can sign an iron clad contract for pv and wind guaranteeing the price before anyone lifts a shovel. Why risk ratepayer money on a total crap shoot with nuclear.
Probably because nuclear can provide steady, reliable base load power that solar and wind can't. Not without large scale storage that doesn't exist.
Article is more focused on wind than pv or a mix of wind and pv. Article concludes 20-30% renewables is feasible. That is certainly true.
It says high penetration of renewables will require a more robust transmission system. While that is incorrect for roof top solar, it isn't expensive. Transmission overall is about 5% of a consumer's electric bill. Building more transmission is usually more an issue of public acceptance than economic cost.
....Building more transmission is usually more an issue of public acceptance than economic cost.
More a problem of economics. A more obvious analogy is gasoline vs NG as an automotive fuel: we already have an expensive, extensive infrastructure for gasoline- wells, refineries, pipelines, service stations. There's practically no infra structure for gas. It makes sense to first run the gasoline supply to near depletion and then start adding the gas infrastructure so it's an easy transition as the gasoline runs dry.
Some day all fossil fuel will be depleted. They claim we have 6 centuries worth of NG available. For how many generations into the future are we today to be responsible? Should Columbus have been blamed for today's consequences of his voyages? How different is the world today compared to Columbus' day? Surely they'll have figured out cold fusion in the next six centuries.
As I've said before, personal solar & wind installations have their niche; industrial sized alternative installations have more expense & negative environmental consequences than they're worth.
More a problem of economics. A more obvious analogy is gasoline vs NG as an automotive fuel: we already have an expensive, extensive infrastructure for gasoline- wells, refineries, pipelines, service stations. There's practically no infra structure for gas. It makes sense to first run the gasoline supply to near depletion and then start adding the gas infrastructure so it's an easy transition as the gasoline runs dry.
Some day all fossil fuel will be depleted. They claim we have 6 centuries worth of NG available. For how many generations into the future are we today to be responsible? Should Columbus have been blamed for today's consequences of his voyages? How different is the world today compared to Columbus' day? Surely they'll have figured out cold fusion in the next six centuries.
As I've said before, personal solar & wind installations have their niche; industrial sized alternative installations have more expense & negative environmental consequences than they're worth.
20-30% wind and 20-30% solar are the appropriate niches.
You use terms like "industrial size" that have no meaning in the utility industry. My personal opinion is that wind farms are appropriate built as a central station power resource, while pv makes the most sense deployed as distributed generation, where it usually relieves transmission congestion. We won't run out of coal or natural gas, we will just move over time to better technology. We didn't transition to the Bronze Age because we ran short of rocks.
Nuclear cannot be built without massive government subsidies. The current plants under construction will end up costing 2-3 times what was agreed upon as the price. A utility can sign an iron clad contract for pv and wind guaranteeing the price before anyone lifts a shovel. Why risk ratepayer money on a total crap shoot with nuclear.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DCforever
The grid reliability is not sacrificed by use of wind and solar as components of the portfolio. Anyone building nuclear today is a fool.
Right now, the cheapest source is natural gas. Why use wind, solar, or nuclear at this point? Let's just go with the cheapest option.
Right now, the cheapest source is natural gas. Why use wind, solar, or nuclear at this point? Let's just go with the cheapest option.
Because the political left has insisted on the thoroughly imaginary contention that "carbon is bad." It's all politics, not science.
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