Chris Nelder 🤘Sep 6, 2024
New book from physicist MV Ramana of the University of British Columbia: "Nuclear is Not the Solution: The Folly of Atomic Power in the Age of Climate Change" is out now. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/sep/04/mv-ramana-why-nuclear-power-not-solution-energy-needs
Physicist MV Ramana on the problem with nuclear power

Nuclear is costly, risky and slow, Ramana says. Why then, he asks in his new book, do governments still champion it?

The Guardian
Show threadIcanbobSep 6, 2024

@chrisnelder The question is then what? In Ontario it is certainly not solar or wind. My simple 1GW 24/7 model of Ontario’s wind says we would need $21 billion in $50kWh storage to navigate the >10 week summer wind slump. All at a time when Ontario’s air conditioning load is highest. In Ontario we heat and cool with nat gas.

https://energyasicit.ca/WindModel/

Show threadChris Nelder 🤘Sep 7, 2024

@icanbob Simple models like that do not reflect how the grid is actually managed. Grids are never powered by one type of generation, and never need 10 weeks of storage.

For a deep discussion about how grid modelers actually think about this, listen to Ep. 188. https://xenetwork.org/ets/episodes/episode-188-getting-to-a-100-percent-clean-grid/

[Episode #188] – Getting to a 100% Clean Grid | The Energy Transition Show

Can we coordinate replacing fossil-fueled assets with clean, zero-carbon assets so that both systems remain functional and affordable during the transition?

The Energy Transition Show
Show threadIcanbobSep 7, 2024
@chrisnelder Of course not. However we also cannot make cost comparisons which are effectively apples to strawberries. The cost of making a renewable grid work carbon free is not often counted. Nor are the very real seasonal chasms that need to be bridged. The reality on Ontario’s grid is that without the gas generation it would not work. The real enabler for a carbon free grid is a carbon free replacement for the gas.
Show threadbelpatca
@icanbob @chrisnelder same for Alberta: solar, wind and storage alone won’t cover the several weeks in winter, unless you go crazy with the storage and make the entire solution *very* expensive, even with new storage technologies like thermal sand and pumped water.
Nov 28, 2024 at 2:38pmWeb