Italy has always been nuclear free because it couldn't afford it. I guess sometimes it pays off being economically weaker.
Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
51–60 of 210 posts
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#52I guess it is pretty obvious that a non-nuclear energy strategy will definitely result in higher energy prices in the short term. That said, some people might be comfortable with this as long as the price increase is moderate. In the long run however, renewable energy sources are absolutely the way to go. It might actually pay off nicely to invest a lot of resources in renewable energy early on and come out ahead of…
I agree..except that's assuming a static world for the next decade. Both China and India are intently looking into Thorium reactors (and the US sorta is)...that's where I'd put my money too.
That's why I actually like seeing the negative sentiment around current nuclear reactors. Because this way the status quo can be broke, and they will actually look int other safer technologies and put their money on them to improve them faster. I'd prefer if we'd use mostly only such power from the sun or wind, but I'm open minded enough to accept a safer nuclear power option such as Thorium based reactors.
And as a human race working with atoms like that is probably inevitable anyway, but we just need to make sure we choose the right paths. Perhaps the Uranium one wasn't the very best path. Hopefully we can even make fusion reactors in a few decades.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#53Sweden held a referendum in 1980 about nuclear power, and the only choice was about how fast our nuclear power plants should be shut down. It took twenty years until a reactor was closed, and five more years until one whole plant was closed. During this time, Sweden's energy consumption has of course gone up, and although there's been some increase in wind and water power, the net result is that each time we close a…
Because of the ongoing massive costs savings it is expected that within 2015 or so it will be cheaper for house owner's to produce their own energy with photovoltaic than buying it. (Without governmental support) This will be a massive game changer: Decentralized, DIY, prosumer energy connected in a smart grid. The private rooth area and climate in for example Austria is enough to produce 1/3 of the electric energy u…
A plus-energy house from a German university won the last competition in the US.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#54Earlier quoted context omitted.
I cannot agree. You are stuck in a view that energy needs to be cheap and that energy must be available despite the costs of nuclear reactors for nature and future generations. This is the classical view of people who see technical progress as a kind of god given fact or as the natural direction humanity must take.
it's got bugger all to do with any gods or deities. I can't help noticing that the natural tendency of the human species is to expand and adapt - that is what we are. I also notice that the various movements that advocate more basic living patterns have never really caught on. So you are going to have two options: 1) Refuse to do anything about power, let it get more and more expensive until enough people die that yo…
The time of cheap power is over.
The challenge will be to have enough power at all.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#55Throughout the whole article no mention of any specific alternatives to be used? 23% is a big amount to make up to. A relevant TED talk by Bill Gates (Bill Gates on energy: Innovating to zero): http://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates.html In short, the most viable option currently, in his opinion, is the thorium reactors. Current uranium reactors can be converted to work with thorium. "The main point of using thorium, in…
Germany does not want a different form of nuclear power. Nuclear power is no option.
The goal is to develop renewable energy to 100% over the next 40 years.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#56I'm a German and I think myself that it is really stupid. The way to think should not be "Don't do nuclear power anymore" but "do X". We have no plan what X is. So we didn't solve any problem.It's so frustrating. We really had a chance with the strong movement from most people here.
We have plans. Maybe you should get in contact with our government and check it out. There are a lot of publications from them about the future energy strategiy.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
Nuclear is the safest form of energy that we currently have. More people die from installing solar panels than deaths occurred in nuclear accidents: http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/03/deaths-per-twh-for-all-ener... .
I've heard that argument before. I'm actually inclined to believe the general sentiment (in the sense that producing and burning most non-renewables, or building huge dams is disgusting). However, I'm highly skeptical that they are accurately tracking long term health effects of radiation poisoning.
I'm also highly sceptical of tracking reduced age expectancy due to atmospheric coal pollution.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
What I suspect will happen is more power will be imported from nations that flagrantly pollute the environment. The Chinese might be on to something with putting the engineers in charge. Sometimes the public really doesn't know what the fuck they're doing, and should be completely ignored.
> and should be completely ignored. How about: "and should be educated" (from ground up).
Ignored until they're educated.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#59Meanwhile Japan itself, which has weathered the effects of several nuclear disasters (Fukushima being the mildest), is doing no such thing. And apparently Germany will continue to import power derived from nuclear plants.
The Czechs and the French are most likely glad that Germany will become a permanent net electricity importer.
They aren't glad.
The french can't even meet their own demand in summer and winter. They are importing electricity from Germany.
Re: Germany to be nuclear-free by 2022
#60Sweden held a referendum in 1980 about nuclear power, and the only choice was about how fast our nuclear power plants should be shut down. It took twenty years until a reactor was closed, and five more years until one whole plant was closed. During this time, Sweden's energy consumption has of course gone up, and although there's been some increase in wind and water power, the net result is that each time we close a…
Because of the ongoing massive costs savings it is expected that within 2015 or so it will be cheaper for house owner's to produce their own energy with photovoltaic than buying it. (Without governmental support) This will be a massive game changer: Decentralized, DIY, prosumer energy connected in a smart grid. The private rooth area and climate in for example Austria is enough to produce 1/3 of the electric energy u…
Citation needed. Is this with photo-voltaic cells built with dangerous and scarce materials?