You talking about Chernobyl? We’ve had 70 years of nuclear energy and one major incident, which while terrible wasn’t as bad as the folklore made it out to be. It was the result of multiple levels of gross negligence. Pretty much the best perfect storm of the design type meets no control system in place and thus in charge don’t speak the language of their training
In a magical land (Germany) they store nuclear waste in containers that are something like 12" thick and put them in very stable locations. In a non-magical land (the United States) at both San Onofre and Diablo Canyon they have waste stored in 3" thick containers, exposed to the elements, some right on the beach that are too corroded and fragile to be moved.
If you live in the real world you should be wary of nuclear power.
It’s not cost competitive anyway. At this point the primary purpose of nuclear power is as a reason to slow down the transition to renewables.
I really can’t imagine thinking solar roads are worth trying before the vast majority of roofs are solar.
There has been various incidents with nuclear plants. Fukushima isn’t a minor incident and happened because of nature. SL-1 and Three Mile island shouldn’t really be considered minor events either.
Until Devil can give us cold fusion, I’m going with solar as the way of the future for the short run of humanity.
Solar roads need some major technological advances to be viable but they are an interesting idea so testing them now is definitely worth it. Biggest issue is maintenance. It is really quick and easy to replace the top layer of an asphalt road. Nobody has figured out a way to do that for a solar panel road.
Just wanted to say the solar chat is super interesting. Learning from you guys which is much appreciated.
Yeah, testing doesn’t hurt. It’s definitely not low hanging fruit though.
I think we really need a mix.
Hot country? Get some solar.
Consistant winds on or offshore? Wind.
Mountains? Hydro and pumped hydro.
Stable developed world country with no earthquakes and a well developed regulatory framework. Nuclear.
With a lot of investment in the grid and trading and storage technologies to bring it all together.
2 Likes
Yeah. The fact that there are companies with big warehouses and a daytime operation that still don’t have solar, just blows my mind.
Selling this stuff is like shooting fish in a barrel.
It’s not that hard to sell, but it’s not easy to make money. I only know one person who I’m sure started as a solar contractor before me that’s still doing it and I’ve seen a lot of companies come and go.
Elon Musk is lurking ITT:
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1163018466871263234
https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1163020430136844288
Also, I just found out that post drafts are saved across devices. Holy shit.
1 Like
earthquakes are only an issue for nuclear if the plant has a bunch of other safety failures.
Solar roof roads!!!
No it isnt. We’re running out of time. There’s no time to try solutions that are not ready. In 10-20 years we’re looking at possible doomsday scenarios without any extreme mitigation strategies.
Can solar help us bridge the gap to getting off fossil fuels? Absolutely, and we should utilize any and all alternative energy sources. I just am extremely skeptical there exists a large scale solar solution (meaning 60+% of our power is generated by solar) that isnt multiple decades away or extremely impractical.
We need a drastic solution now, people putting solar panels on their roofs isnt making a difference anymore.
Yeah with nuclear and solar it really isn’t either or… it’s both. Solar and wind need to be used to the maximum extent possible and then nuclear needs to be used to handle the rest. Natural gas and coal specifically must go.
The ship has maybe sailed on new, advanced nuclear plants, but the shutdown of existing plants is a big problem that solar triumphalism tends to mask:
Part of the salt from nuclear advocates is that the green movement prevented the nuclear industry from developing over the last 50 years, got a lot of subsidies for favored energy sources, and now is crowing about how their subsidized costs are so low. It is what it is now, but should not be surprising that people who do are not financially invested in solar find annoying.
Incidentally, Germany’s nuclear shutdown is much, much worse, a shocking environmental crime, but it basically gets covered up because they lavish the solar industry with subsidies. The leading source of electricity in Germany is now brown coal, which is the least environmentally friendly power source there is, maybe outside of burning whale oil or condors or something.
2 Likes
Heh, I live in a run down shack and it takes me literally years to get around to doing routine maintenance stuff.
The one serious bit of advice I can give you based on a couple decades of building and renovating homes for other people is: Do not wrap up your hopes and dreams for the future, personal identity, family expectations, etc. with the roof you have over your head.
I’ve never seen anybody go bankrupt because they decided to just stay in an apartment.
I’ve never seen a couple get divorced from the stress of buying a cheap double wide.
I’ve never seen children who enjoy a big yard more than they enjoy having parents who can afford to spend time with them.
What I have seen, over and over and over again, is people who make themselves and the rest of their family miserable trying to achieve some stupid consumerist American Dream that is not and has never been the key to a good life.
I know this sounds like trite advice that can be ignored because reasons, but please do consider it. You and the GF should be brutally honest with yourselves and each other about why you want whatever it is you think you need, and whether it’s really necessary or even makes sense.
As much as I love architecture and design, much of what people spend their housing dollars on is a completely pointless waste of money. It’s all guided by ego, self-image, and a dumb belief in architectural determinism. And it is usually counterproductive to the goal of domestic happiness.
11 Likes
I don’t think functional plants should close, but nuclear receives a ton a subsidies. Most of the solar and wind subsidies have expired. There’s a 30% tax credit. Some utilities still have rebates, but the biggest ones in CA don’t. And there have been 27%+ tariffs on most of the solar panels sold in the US since 2012.
And of course the development of nuclear power was pretty much entirely subsidized, as is all the continuing research.
And suggesting that I have a financial stake in solar is kind of lol. I have a negative financial stake if anything.
In the absence of widespread, cheap renewable alternatives that can power up in 15 minutes or less, we absolutely need gas if we want solar and wind.
You get unexpected clouds on a hot afternoon in summer. You better hope you’ve got something which can switch in.
Ideally its battery and hydrogen and pumped hydro, but natural gas probably has a role to play for a while to come.