Live data from Hacker News

Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

nationalinterest.org

11–20 of 568 posts

Re: Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

#11

Relevant: "Germany's 66.5 GW of installed wind is only producing as much as the 3 reactors that turned off last night used to produce." https://twitter.com/energybants/status/1647799729734971396

Wind alone produces ~20% of the recent years electricity in Germany.

Nuclear produced only half of that in recent years.

The whole renewable energy production covers ~40% of all the energy produced. Despite 16 years of almost full stop of expansion.

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Branchen-Unternehmen/Energ...

Re: Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

#12
As a French not expert in the matter but living near nuclear plants:

- one of the plant regularly leaks radioactive material

- rivers are getting too hot to cool down nuclear plants correctly

- nuclear plants are very unreliable, we almost got out of power this winter and next winter will be equally tough (only an abnormally hot winter avoid cuts...)

- the government wants to simplify control organism and laws around building new plants

(References are easy to find if you want confirmation)

I am not against nuclear power, but it has to be done properly and safely, which is certainly not the case around here.

Edit: it seems the fusion (no pun) of regulation organisms has been rejected by the senate. Still annoying to see this law discreetly pass, with no parliament debate outside of the senate, during a political crisis

Re: Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

#14
post #7

Renewables are cheap and far less risk-prone. Not going all in on renewables is a footgun for industrial societies.

Nuclear is dense, comes with months worth of storage built-in, and lets smaller countries be self-sufficient for a while without having to rely on other countries.

Re: Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

#15
post #7

Renewables are cheap and far less risk-prone. Not going all in on renewables is a footgun for industrial societies.

Renewables are absolutely not less risk-prone. Per kw generated, nuclear energy is the safest and it's not even kinda close. Renewables also cannot output a steady amount of energy. Maybe there's a massive drought upstream. Maybe there's no wind today. Maybe it's a cloudy day.

Nuclear is THE ONLY SOLUTION. We would need such a hilarious, painful amount of renewable energy sources just to survive, let alone thrive. Or, we could just build a few thousand reactors around the world.

Re: Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

#18
post #4

The authors profile is even more hilarious than the article: https://nationalinterest.org/profile/todd-royal

Nuclear power is the way. If you have something to refute from the article, please do so. Otherwise I'll just lump you in with the rest of the green-party fanatics who think solar and wind will solve our energy needs.

It is the way of wasting money while facing the reality of cheap and truly clean alternatives. It's the way backwards.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/amorylovins/2019/11/18/does-nuc...

And I'm sorry I hurt your feelings by pointing the obvious bias of the author.

This was not intended.

Re: Nuclear Power Is the Answer to Global and Environmental Energy Woes

#20

Relevant: "Germany's 66.5 GW of installed wind is only producing as much as the 3 reactors that turned off last night used to produce." https://twitter.com/energybants/status/1647799729734971396

On a night when wind output was particularly low.

Another way to put this is that variable sources of energy are variable.

Post reply on HN