this post was submitted on 01 Jun 2024
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Because it’s really cool tech and unlike burning coal, oil and gas it’s CO2 neutral. And alternatives like fusion reactors are still decades away, at least, and we can’t build renewables fast enough either.
In my opinion shutting down all nuclear powerplants was the stupidest thing the government here in Germany has ever done, especially since coal is still being subsidized and our planet isn’t getting any cooler.
What is so cool about making some water boil?
Because you’re not just making a fire to make water boil, you’re literally splitting atoms in a controlled environment. That’s kinda cool. You can’t do that at home.
Yea but splitting atoms just to boil water. The atom splitting part is the cool part. Using it just to boil water is not so cool.
Aside from flattening a city, what exactly would you do with nuclear technology? How do you think we could capture the energy from fission without boiling water?
Well it seems like a stupid idea to use nuclear technology to boil some water. So just don't. Just because it's possible doesn't mean you should do it.
And yet for a plethora of regions it's the only viable alternative to fossil fuels for reliable electricity.
Well if its the only choice you have then do it. Luckily for most part of the world it's not necessary.
None of what you say is false.
None of what you say is enough to make it the right path for the future.
It‘s a better path than fossil fuels and a worse one than renewables.
Exactly, so you invest the money in renewables.
If that’s possible. There are places where neither solar, wind, nor water are viable options to cover all the electricity needs. What do you do then?
I wouldn't call it worse than renewables. It's a sidegrade from coal burning. Where I'm from, solar is non-viable 6 months of the year. Wind is theoretically viable year-round but in reality it's less than that due to cold snaps and the intermittent nature of wind. And there's no way that wind power alone could provide enough power even when running at 100%. There are no viable rivers here for hydro either. Geothermal is nigh impossible here as well. So without a reliable back-up power source, everyone here would be experiencing brown outs on a fully renewable system. Many wouldn't receive power at all due to a significant rural population and the challenges inherent to it (and forcing people into cities is not a viable option). So the only options are fossil fuels and nuclear. Given that we're killing everything with the former, I would much prefer we give the latter a go.
I don't know where you're from, but I doubt it's as bleak as you make it sound for renewables. They key to renewables is threefold IMHO:
You have to overbuild. You need to be able to sustain things on 50-60% of maximum output.
You must have multiple grades of storage to cover different time scales. Hours, days, weeks, months. Different capacities of storage that can respond on different timescales.
You need to exploit the diversity of different geographic areas. Take the US for example. Wind in the northern coastal regions. Solar across the south. Hydro in the mountains. These different areas can't do it alone. They need to supply each other in times of plenty, and depend on each each other in times of "famine".
So there's lots of investment needed; In capacity, storage and transmission, and the choice is always where you spend your money. I would rather spend it on renewables and the infrastructure to support it. It'll be quicker to bring online, cheaper, and a better long term solution.
Well, they are worse in the sense that, if renewables were a viable option, you would choose those instead of nuclear. And nuclear does produce more waste than renewables. However nuclear is still miles better than fossil fuels and in cases like yours definitely the best choice to fill the gaps.
Agreed! So let's stop wasting time and energy (get it?) by fantasizing about a nuclear future and push renewables. There is no alternative anymore, let it go.