Nuclear and Natural Gas are Sustainable Forms of Energy.

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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Here's the problem with wind. Take your standard 2MW turbine. Depending on the environment they're in they have a shelf life of 20-25 years. Now, in order to meet just the annual increase in demand for power, you'd have to cover an area about the size of Great Britain in wind farms every year. After 25-30 years you'd cover a land mass almost equal to the size of Russia. And that's where the problem really begins. First, this doesn't take into account replacing the fossil fuel power plants, this is only to meet the annual increased demand. Secondly, after 20-25 years you'd have to start building twice as many turbines every year, half to meet the annual increased demand for power and the other half to replace the old, worn out turbines. Plus, you still need oil to lubricate them and you can't use vegetable oil. As well they require the same batteries for back up as the ones that like to spontaneously combust.

Solar is a better option but only if you get enough annual solar radiance to make it viable. They benefit at least is you can use molten salt batteries.

Here's the reality in Canada. Quebec and Ontario could supply the entire country with almost 100% emissions-free power. (As it is the country as a whole pumps out 3% of the world's annual total power while doing it 82-83% emissions-free.) But in order for that to be feasible in the near future, people need to quit shitting their pants over nuclear power so we can build micro reactors.
Whirlygigs and solar panels are just infill to meet a local increase in demand without the expense of stringing new transmission lines and stationary generation. The cost is never seen by the power companies but the benefits are abundant.
 
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Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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Whirlygigs and solar panels are just infill to meet a local increase in demand without the expense of stringing new transmission lines and stationary generation. The cost is never seen by the power companies but the benefits are abundant.
Wind can provide an excellent supplement to fossil fuels, but it’s impossible to fully replace fossil fuels using current turbine technology. An average wind farm takes up roughly 4,000 acres and requires 25 wind turbines as tall as 30 story buildings—a huge expanse of land. There also isn’t an adequate way to store wind energy yet for long-term use when the wind doesn’t blow, meaning wind energy farms have to be used in conjunction with other forms of energy to deliver power to customers 24/7.

Solar has also been beset with a number of problems. Aside from the high-profile bankruptcies of government-subsidized firms like Solyndra, new reports are circulating of wide-spread defects in solar panels. Solar panels are supposed to last for roughly 25 years, but many are already failing after two years. Solar energy also requires the highest amount of government subsidies to function and is extremely inefficient. There is also evidence that large-scale solar farms are also a hazard to birds.
 
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petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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LEVERAGING RENEWABLE ENERGY TO ACHIEVE LONG-TERM ADEQUACY​

An important aspect of power system planning is ensuring that adequate generation capacity exists to meet electricity demand during all hours of the year. Mechanical failures, planned maintenance, or lack of on-demand generating resources (especially for variable renewable resources) may leave a power system with insufficient capacity to meet demand. Grid planners project future peak demand patterns and estimate the relative contribution of each generator towards achieving a reliable supply of energy. When generating during peak demand periods, variable renewable energy (VRE) such as wind or solar PV provides capacity value to the system. By providing capacity value, VRE can help to defer capital investments in traditional generation and transmission infrastructure.

 

Taxslave2

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Aug 13, 2022
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Wind can provide an excellent supplement to fossil fuels, but it’s impossible to fully replace fossil fuels using current turbine technology. An average wind farm takes up roughly 4,000 acres and requires 25 wind turbines as tall as 30 story buildings—a huge expanse of land. There also isn’t an adequate way to store wind energy yet for long-term use when the wind doesn’t blow, meaning wind energy farms have to be used in conjunction with other forms of energy to deliver power to customers 24/7.

Solar has also been beset with a number of problems. Aside from the high-profile bankruptcies of government-subsidized firms like Solyndra, new reports are circulating of wide-spread defects in solar panels. Solar panels are supposed to last for roughly 25 years, but many are already failing after two years. Solar energy also requires the highest amount of government subsidies to function and is extremely inefficient. There is also evidence that large-scale solar farms are also a hazard to birds.
One way solar/wind energy could be stored is to pump water back into reservoirs for hydropower. Which is the only true environmentally friendly energy.
 

Taxslave2

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Wind can provide an excellent supplement to fossil fuels, but it’s impossible to fully replace fossil fuels using current turbine technology. An average wind farm takes up roughly 4,000 acres and requires 25 wind turbines as tall as 30 story buildings—a huge expanse of land. There also isn’t an adequate way to store wind energy yet for long-term use when the wind doesn’t blow, meaning wind energy farms have to be used in conjunction with other forms of energy to deliver power to customers 24/7.

Solar has also been beset with a number of problems. Aside from the high-profile bankruptcies of government-subsidized firms like Solyndra, new reports are circulating of wide-spread defects in solar panels. Solar panels are supposed to last for roughly 25 years, but many are already failing after two years. Solar energy also requires the highest amount of government subsidies to function and is extremely inefficient. There is also evidence that large-scale solar farms are also a hazard to birds.
Wind mils on Vancouver island have been failing after 3 years. Can't take the salt air and real winds. Also wasted a fair amount of land, much of which could grow trees.
 

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
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LEVERAGING RENEWABLE ENERGY TO ACHIEVE LONG-TERM ADEQUACY​

An important aspect of power system planning is ensuring that adequate generation capacity exists to meet electricity demand during all hours of the year. Mechanical failures, planned maintenance, or lack of on-demand generating resources (especially for variable renewable resources) may leave a power system with insufficient capacity to meet demand. Grid planners project future peak demand patterns and estimate the relative contribution of each generator towards achieving a reliable supply of energy. When generating during peak demand periods, variable renewable energy (VRE) such as wind or solar PV provides capacity value to the system. By providing capacity value, VRE can help to defer capital investments in traditional generation and transmission infrastructure.

Mostly deferring to when costs are going to be much higher.
 

Jinentonix

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 6, 2015
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Olympus Mons
There isnt any debate, hydro is NFG.
Hydro is fine if you're smart about it. There's a place in Colorado that has harnessed the power of falling water without a damn. If you live in a populated area that has a river running through it you can harness that power with micro-turbines. L.A. is using micro-turbines to power its water filtration and distribution during the daytime and at night it also powers the street and traffic lights.
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
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If ifs n buts were fruit and nuts we'd all have a merry Christmas.

I could light up a birthday cake everytime I flush too but is it practical or is it fluff? 25 streetlights can be run off a car cigarette lighter.

On the real, useful scale of production, hydro kills aquatic life, steals potential for downstream users in several ways.
 

Taxslave2

House Member
Aug 13, 2022
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There isnt any debate, hydro is NFG.
Hydro is the best power source available. Uses the water and returns it to the River. There can even be multiple dams and generators on one river. Doesn’t pollute either.
 

pgs

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 29, 2008
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Hydro is the best power source available. Uses the water and returns it to the River. There can even be multiple dams and generators on one river. Doesn’t pollute either.
Yes but the bottom land it floods is often the most productive . How did salmon fare with the damming of the Columbia and Kootenay Rivers ?
 

Ron in Regina

"Voice of the West" Party
Apr 9, 2008
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This Russia/Ukraine thing drags out, & I’m assuming coal & firewood are going to also become sustainable forms of energy.
Cow chips and old tires. . .
Sustainable Cow chips and old tires. . .
Over the past decade, Germany has been shuttering its zero-emission nuclear power plants. That unfathomable decision was based on a plan to replace them with wind and solar power that, predictably, proved both prohibitively expensive and completely unreliable.

This decision forced Germany to become more dependent on Russian natural gas. Then came Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Germany’s dependency on Russian gas left it no alternative but to continue importing it, thus providing the funds Putin needs to continue his murderous war on innocent Ukrainians.

The overall world oil supply situation is also a huge boon for Russia. Since COP 1, world oil demand has increased from 64 to 100 million barrels per day. And despite all the “net zero” rhetoric, the International Energy Agency forecasts that world oil demand will keep right on growing.

Thus, demand grew while supply stagnated. The Ukraine crisis revealed just how narrow the supply margin has become. Regrettably, most of that margin is in the hands of Vladimir Putin.

Meanwhile, amid the wanton destruction of a civilized democracy and a global oil and gas shortage, what does our country, which possesses one of the world’s largest endowments of oil and gas, do to help? The answer is basically nothing because our fanatically anti-fossil fuel government has deliberately stymied the construction of both export pipelines and LNG plants.


The importance of unleashing Canada’s enormous oil and gas resources has never been clearer, except to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. During his trip to Latvia in March, a reporter asked whether Canada could help replace Russian oil. His answer illustrated the fanatical depth of his worship at the net-zero altar: “We will be there to support, as the world moves beyond Russian oil and indeed, beyond fossil fuels, to have more renewables in our mix.” (????)

Putin is no doubt grateful to Justin Trudeau for helping him control world oil markets by hamstringing Canada’s supply potential.
Germany already authorized restarting Coal energy

There’s a second country that’s a big winner from the West’s attempt to meet its net-zero goals. That country is run by another despotic dictator named Xi Jinping. The Chinese president has promised to reduce carbon emissions, but the Global Coal Plant Tracker shows China has nearly 200 coal-fired power plants under construction, with hundreds more coming down the pike.

The reality is that China pretends to reduce emissions while increasing cheap coal-fired power generation. Meanwhile, North American and European politicians worshipping at the net-zero altar implement policies mandating costly and unreliable wind and solar power generation, combined with continually rising carbon taxes.

The BRICS alliance that we know today consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – five major emerging economies with over three billion people that account for over 40% of the world’s population and just over a quarter of the global GDP. Just over two weeks after Russian state media announced that Iran and Argentina filed their official applications to join BRICS, alliance President Purnima Anand revealed that Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt began the process of making the same move.
  • The BRICS mechanism aims to promote peace, security, development and cooperation. It also aims at contributing significantly to the development of humanity and establishing a more equitable and fair world.)
As a result, our manufacturers simply cannot compete, leaving us with no choice but to import Chinese-made goods, which helps the Chinese government further strengthen its global political and military standing.

Who could ever have imagined that the West’s attempts to phase out fossil fuels, which supply 84% of global energy, would leave two dictators in control of both global energy security and the supply of manufactured goods? The truth is indeed sometimes stranger than fiction.