Originally posted by joe beyser The other thing is that nuclear power may one day not even be a consideration.
I am not even convinced that it should be a consideration even now. I am not suggesting we shut down current nuclear plants, but I don't think the investment in new ones is worth while. I think it would be better to invest in renewables. We are at the point where solar and wind can compete with nuclear.
Further investment in nuclear is just a dead end in the long term and even in the short term it is unlikely that we can significantly drive down the cost of nuclear. The best we can hope for is improved safety. Whereas further investment in renewables has a long term benefit as well as more short term potential for lower costs.
Originally posted by twhitehead I am not even convinced that it should be a consideration even now. I am not suggesting we shut down current nuclear plants, but I don't think the investment in new ones is worth while. I think it would be better to invest in renewables. We are at the point where solar and wind can compete with nuclear.
Further investment in nuclear is just a dead end in ...[text shortened]... ment in renewables has a long term benefit as well as more short term potential for lower costs.
The German experiment with renewables is not so successful as you suggest. While they do get a significant amount of power from solar and wind, they do have to pay a lot more than for nuclear power. Meanwhile, France gets most of its power cheaply, reliably, safely and efficiently using nuclear power.
Originally posted by KazetNagorra The German experiment with renewables is not so successful as you suggest. While they do get a significant amount of power from solar and wind, they do have to pay a lot more than for nuclear power. Meanwhile, France gets most of its power cheaply, reliably, safely and efficiently using nuclear power.
When did they start investing? When did France build its last reactor? Are you factoring in future costs of cleaning up spent nuclear fuel?
I am not saying you are wrong, I just want clarification.
I am not anti nuclear in general, I just think that renewables are a better bet.
I was talking about investment from now onwards, so if we are talking about investments made decades ago then it doesn't apply. If we are talking about the last 5 years or so, then I am interested.
Originally posted by twhitehead When did they start investing? When did France build its last reactor? Are you factoring in future costs of cleaning up spent nuclear fuel?
I am not saying you are wrong, I just want clarification.
I am not anti nuclear in general, I just think that renewables are a better bet.
I was talking about investment from now onwards, so if we are talking about ...[text shortened]... ago then it doesn't apply. If we are talking about the last 5 years or so, then I am interested.
Wind may generate 18% of world electricity by 2050
26 Oct '13 10:43
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