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Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

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Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#361

Post by euroderf »

Manuel_D wrote: post #113
nine_k wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is a known way to handle "nuclear waste": burn it in fast-neutron reactors [1]. The waste is mostly still uranium. The rest can still be burned, turning it into much less active isotopes and producing energy. Yes, these machines produce plutonium suitable for nuclear weapons. But plutonium is a perfectly good nuclear fuel, too, and the US already has nuclear weapons, longer than any other country. [1]: https://…

Or, bury it underground in impermeable rock. Short of a meteor strike right on top of the repository, it will not make its way out to the surface.

And if you bury it a kilometer or two down, then if a meteor strike is big enough to dislodge it, the nuclear waste is the least of your problems.

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#362

Post by Krasnol »

holoduke wrote: post #338
jillesvangurp wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany can't wave a magic wand and switch off Russian imports overnight. But they did just commit a few hundred billion to accelerate their plans to get rid of coal and gas based generation. That's a direct consequence of the Ukrainian situation. Like the US, Germany was overly depending on cheap gas until recently. Now that it has to import the gas in liquid form from the US (and a few other places), it's going to…

And those plans will be reconsidered in 5 years from now. Cheap Russian gas will likely flow again. And don't forget Ukrainian recent found giant gas reserves. One of the reasons for this conflict.

Do you have some magic uranium ball which tells you the future or where do you get those useless claims?

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#363

Post by mixermachine »

fallingknife wrote: post #322
croes wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How many wind turbines have to be down to have the same effect as one nuclear power plant being down? Not to mention that some people think Putin could attack other countries after Ukraine. That's not the time you want nuclear power plants as possible target.

Ridiculous argument. A nuclear power plant is much less of a concern as a target than, you know, Berlin.

Attacking a nuclear power plant is quite effective in terms of ammunition vs burned soil.

If somebody attacks my region I would rather not like to worry about nuclear to be honest.

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#364

Post by neilwilson »

mdp2021 wrote: post #210
neilwilson wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Uh...Germany's actually recarbonized by shutting down their nuclear" Germany outsourced their nuclear to France. Remember that Germany and France are no longer countries, but states in the Eurozone within the wider European Union. It's the same effect as, say, New Mexico exporting nuclear power to California and California then calling itself 'nuclear free'.

> no longer countries Well, no. The entities united in the European Union are still Countries - Sovereign States, "governments over permanent populations in defined territories enabled to relate with peers, entering as part of the international community after recognition from at least one peer". They have embassies and deal with embassies. The distinction you are trying to convey, allegedly changing the scenario in…

They no longer control their supreme law, nor do they control their own money.

Since there are in a fixed currency arrangement, it makes no sense to see 'nuclear' stopping at the German border. The price is the same across the Eurozone, and the grids are interconnected.

Compare that with the current imports from the UK which not only varies with the exchange rate, but the export influences the exchange rate.

Germany declared itself a nuclear free zone in the same way that Derbyshire declared itself a nuclear free zone in the UK. They knew the nuclear power would come over the grid from areas they were pegged to that weren't so bothered.

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#365

Post by natmaka »

smueller1234 wrote: post #331
Gravityloss wrote: post #303

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany could have cancelled their nuclear shutdown process. But saving face is more important than Ukrainian lives.

That's a very simplistic way to look at the situation. At a large trade show, I once ran into a retired nuclear engineer and we had a long conversation: he had been called back into service by the state out of desperation. There weren't enough knowledgeable folks who could do safety audits of the plants for TüV. This was 14 years ago and things would be far worse today. Restarting a complex industry (and it's ageing…

As far as I know in Germany any industrial equipment has to be insured for good, including any civilian nuclear operation (not, as in most other nations, with very low ceiling).

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#366

Post by jillesvangurp »

seydor wrote: post #298
WalterGR wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Batteries work at night.

1. They need 2-3x renewable capacity to charge 2. You need to buy the batteries

1) nonsense. Charging batteries is very efficient. About 90-95% efficient. The idea is to use peaks in power to charge the batteries. Those peaks already exist and don't require new capacity. Every time people complain about broken wind mills, what's actually happening is that they are being turned off to reduce the output: grids are currently bad at handling supply peaks from wind and solar.

2) Yes, lots of them. Luckily, people are buying EVs (aka. batteries with wheels). Soon in the order of tens of gwh per year. Those batteries will be perfect for absorbing supply peaks (just plug the car in). And a growing number of cars can also return power to the grid. And mostly the second life for EV batteries is grid storage after they survive the car they were in. Of course other storage solutions are available as well.

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#367

Post by ncmncm »

Manuel_D wrote: post #114
ncmncm wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why geothermal has not taken off. Anything that needs a steam turbine needs very expensive periodic maintenance. All the other nuke expenses just add to that.

Geothermal is popular in more or less every area that has the right geology for it. It's just that those faults that being usable thermal energy close to the surface are few and far between.

Almost all geothermal was, like nukes, built long before renewables got so much cheaper that literally anything else.

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#368

Post by natmaka »

arinlen wrote: post #300
seydor wrote: post #275

Earlier quoted context omitted.

what is the yield of solarwind in germany though? looking at their energy stats , it is underutilized https://energy-charts.info/charts/power/chart.htm?l=en&c=DE&... https://www.energy-charts.info/charts/installed_power/chart.... https://sminpowergroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Renewa... and what happens to that massive coal+gas infrastructure?Apparently , wind+solar don't work at night and you will always need…

> Apparently , wind+solar don't work at night (...) This line of argument is either disingenuous or ignorant. https://m.dw.com/en/new-energy-storage-facilities-in-high-de... https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-storage

Indeed, and the next step is continental: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/180592/european-cooperation-...

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#369

Post by froglets »

FooBarWidget wrote: post #257
jayd16 wrote: post #250

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If it's just about regulation why hasn't China (or anyone) broken the stagnation? It's unwarranted regulations in every country?

Actually China seems to be the only country where nuclear is alive and thriving. There were some hiccups for some years due to lack of experience with 3G designs, as well as US sanctions (forcing some companies to drop France's AP-1000 design and to design their own), but they have now solved those problems and are ramping up nuclear fast because they are serious about 2030 peak carbon target. Source: David Fishman,…

UAE are building nuclear plants as well.

Re: Why is the nuclear power industry stagnant?

#370

Post by thematrixturtle »

natmaka wrote: post #353
oceanplexian wrote: post #229

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Recent events in the Ukraine are cutting off cheap Russian supply of both coal and gas This is not the impression I have gotten from recent events. The reason Germany hasn’t experienced blackouts is because they are funding the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine in exchange for energy. Germany has advocated for the continued purchase of Russian gas and has pushed back against the EU admitting Ukraine to the union.…

Nuclear isn't better on this account: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/exclusive-us-utiliti... This is even true for France, as most of its uranium comes from Kazakhstan.

Kazakhstan is not Russia, and in fact they're rather alarmed by recent Russian sabre-rattlijg about reclaiming land in northern KZ to protect Russian speakers etc (heard this one before?).

The current leadership is very much indebted to Putin though for saving them during a recent near-revolution, so they're walking a tightrope.

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