Re: "Nuclear energy 'not the solution to global warming"

It'll probably be buried too deep by then.
I doubt it. No one is buying geologic repositories with their own
money. When the day comes to pay people stop to think what they're
really getting for their money.
It just isnt worth it.
This is a good discussion with no nutters on either side. Amazing for
a usenet forum...
Obviously, Ireland is doing what Denmark and other countries are
doing, they even admit it: lot's wind, subsidized by coal and nuclear
on the other side of the 'border'. Part of the proposals the Irish
energy folks are talking about...and a very cheap one, is an other
upgrade of the DC cables running across the Irish sea to British
nuclear and gas fired plants. They really will never get "80%" from
wind, they will never get about 25% probably, as the grid becomes
totally unstable trying to compensate for the ups and downs of wind
power, as it's the most unreliable, no only when the wind is not
blowing, but when it does blow. You need a strong on demand (who
attached 'on demand' to wind here? That is idiotic) supported grid to
support wind.
If you are going to guarantee wind at a certain generation, you need
to produced about 70% more turbines and rate the total as about half
of that to maintain anything dispatchable. This is not going to happen
as it is way too expensive.
I don't think Ireland will build nuclear, they will import it from
Britain. They will have lots of wind, and cheap nuclear to back it up.
Denmark has an even better advantage, being connected to Norwegian
hydro facilities. Hydro is the perfect partner to wind, and as such
Denmark could build wind capacity to > 100% of demand.- Hide quoted text -
Alex, let's not go over board. Denmark tried to go over 20% on a windy
day and almost tripped the entire Denmark/Norwegian grid off line. I
think Denmark was talking about 50% (so there wouldn't have to be
concurrent hydro OR fossil/nuclear back up). I haven't read on their
latest plans since last August and I understand they have now scalled
back what they want to do to about 30%.Time will tell (about 2 years)
to see who this match up goes.
OK - "could" would require significant grid strengthening across the
Baltic (and far Northwards) at a very high price, so without
widespread plug in hybrids and domestic generators, 30% might make a
sensible target.

I don't understand why they almost tripped the system on a windy day.
Surely the problems would be greatest on still days with no wind,
especially cold ones where demand for electricity remains high.

And...nuclear is also a good match with hydro, which is what the
French do, with little or no fossil buring at all. For that matter, w/
enough nuclear you could do wind too.

Everything is a good match with hydro, especially if you don't mind
turning a river on and off. (I remember kayaking on the Tully? in
Queensland. Kayaking and rafting needed to be coordinated with
electricity production.)

Nuclear and wind are not easily responsive to demand. (Nuclear can be
turned down, but no money is saved, as the interest payments are not
dependent on output).

However, nuclear is great baseload, and wind in't generally *too*
bad a matchup with peak. What we *really* need is a good, cheap,
efficient, mass energy storage method. Get that and a lot of woes are
over.

If hydrogen were ever to become a useful fuel (a big if), then high
temperature reactors (e.g. PBMR) could switch to thermal production of
hydrogen when demand for electricity is low.


Honestly, hydrogen is *useful* now, just not as a transportation
fuel or energy storage medium :) It's used in every oil refinery, it
can easily be added to the NG grid up to 10% without any particular
problemss. I'm a little sceptical about the idea of a mode switching
pmbr reactor, due to the fact that I really can't see how you'd
'switch out' central elements of the hottest loop in the reactor
without badly degrading the efficiency and more importantly the
reliability of the reactor. Of course, just because I can't see how
doesn't mean it can't be done :)

.

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