Nuclear versus Renewable Energy
Nuclear Energy is often looked to for being a good alternative to fossil fuels.
I think it’s possible that even with meltdowns in ALL of Japan’s reactors the resulting devastation might not be as bad as what we have done with coal. The effects of coal are much more sublime and worthy of discussion later, like after the next coal ash spill…
Depending on the source, Nuclear and Renewable energy are pretty close to each other in terms of percent used: Petro: 40% Coal 23% Gas 23% Nuclear 8.4% Renewables 7.3% Hydroelectric, the most subsidized renewable, makes up the most by far.
With our current course away from fossil fuels we shouldn’t let Nuclear increase in share. Nuclear Energy has been subsidized for a very long time. Its current position as a big producer of energy is in large part to that. If any energy should be subsidized it’s renewable.
It will be interesting to see society’s reaction to yet another nuclear accident.
Why should tax payers go along with something that causes such serious repercussions and vulnerability?
The reactors were not made by some corrupt, crumbling society like the soviets at Chernobyl. The Japanese are perhaps the most technologically advanced economy in the world with an extensive natural disaster prevention mentality.
The reactors were made by the American company GE. We have many nuclear reactors over fault zones all over the U.S. It might take only one serious accident to make it seem not worth it.
If it can happen from natural disaster that we prepare for, all the easier for disasters from man. Could there be a more vulnerable target for terrorists? Are there enough fail safes in place to prevent Murphy’s law?
When the end result is as horrifying as the 4 to 90 thousand deaths from cancer linked to Chernobyl fallout it is certainly worth a hard look. I recently searched radiation poisoning pictures and almost lost my breakfast earlier. Nuclear material is capable of very evil things.
After the catastrophic meltdown disaster risk, the waste issue has to be the biggest problem. We are transporting it all over our highways and storing it in unsafe facilities and geologic areas. Dont have any figures on amounts produced but it must be immense.
A major issue in comparing nuclear and renewable is transmission. Nuclear faces the same problem as coal and gas plants in that up to ¾ of the energy is lost in transport. Basically meaning ¾ times the amount of pollution and hidden costs had to be created just to get it there. Most renewables can be generated right where they are needed and have the fewest hidden costs.
Wind is a renewable but has the transmission problem. Winds biggest problem however is the “not in my back yard” mentality.
I would prefer having extensive ridge top and power line development in preference to even the fear of having a Chernobyl like incident in my back yard. I would even put up with the annoying flashing lights at night. I invite people to research what happened at Chernobyl. It’s really scary.
Whatever government subsidies are going to fossil and nuclear energy, need to be redirected to renewables. I see the laws in North Carolina that restrict developing ridge tops for wind energy as a form of subsidy for fossil and nuclear.
Perfect timing indeed. But I wonder if Americans have become too isloated from world events. Oh sure, we care and we watch it on TV and read about it in the papers. We even open our wallets and donate money to the Red Cross. But you definitley don't see much action, especially if it's not in their own back yard. However, we don't have that far to look thanks to Duke Energy. And yet we easily shrug these things off by thinking that would never happen here. I'm sure that Japan with their advanced technolgy and safety records also thought they were prepared for any threat imaginable. But you can't plan for the unimaginable or the unthinkable. That's why I agree with you. It's time for us to start thinking about renewable energy sources. Even better, we need to take action and DO something about it. So where do we need to go from here? It's never too little or too late.
ReplyDeleteBreaking news...GE just made a number of big solar power announcements. In nice, clean bullet form:
ReplyDelete•it and PrimeStar Solar (which it announced it has now fully acquired) have apparently developed the most efficient cadmium-telluride thin film solar cell on the market;
•it’s investing $600 million into growing its solar energy presence by manufacturing this solar cell (something that, as you know, doesn’t end up happening with a lot of “breakthrough” technologies);
•it’s going to be setting up its manufacturing base in the U.S., the biggest facility of its type in the U.S.;
•it has secured 100 MW of commercial deals for solar thin-film products already.
Hmmm...sounds like GE is on the right track!
What are your thoughts?
Great question Kat! The easiest but perhaps most powerful thing we can do is talk about it. Our society and democracy works as well as it does because of its openness and our economy’s success is largely thanks to our innovation. By discussing the issues at hand and getting involved in the decision making we can make an impact on what seems to be out of our control.
ReplyDeleteDebating the pros and cons of an issue is involvement. Getting passionate about a particular issue and taking additional actions can lead to innovation.
Different aspects of these issues appeal to different people. I focus on energy conservation because that’s what Iam passionate about. I spoke with someone yesterday who was passionate about the proposed Nuclear waste treatment center in South Carolina. Issues for discussion: Jobs for South Carolinians: good. Transporting radioactive waste through WNC: not so good. Check out http://www.mountainx.com/blogwire/2011/a_blue-ribbon_nuclear_bus_ride for a good mtn express blog on this issue.
I touched on the wind energy issue briefly but this probably deserves its own blog. It’s a very interesting topic because despite wind energy’s popularity, the biggest obstacle to wind development in WNC is from environmentalists.
http://www.wind.appstate.edu/ is the best site for people interested in this issue and has the results from a survey done about WNC resident’s attitudes toward wind energy.
The best place for wind development is on our pristine ridgetops. Even as an avid environmentalist, I would be willing to have giant turbines or transmission lines in my back yard or even on the public land I recreate on. I see value in sacrificing some wilderness in order to help society and the environment as a whole. It’s a personal view that not everyone agrees with but it’s an important discussion we need to have.
I am not a politically motivated person but if I could vote for a candidate that would propose changing NC law in favor of ridgetop development for wind turbines, I would definitely vote and make some effort to get out the vote.
I will try to add content and ways of getting involved as I come across them. Perhaps the best way of making an impact is to use less dirty energy!
On GE...
ReplyDeleteThank you Kat! This is very exciting news. GE must be commended for taking this direction, but its safe to bet that it was a decision that was financially motivated. I believe this is one of the biggest investments in solar energy made by any blue chip American corporation.
We are witnessing Photovoltaic (PV) energy become a mainstream source of energy. It was frustrating as a student in Appropriate Technology at ASU to learn that PV was simply not financially feasible to be a major player in our renewable energy future.
Things have changed a lot. Most importantly, our government has pushed for utility’s adoption of “Net Metering” or “Grid tied” electrical panels. This has been the biggest driver of the use of PV because it eliminated the battery portion of the system.
Utility companies benefit because power is generated during the “peak demand” hours of the day. The “peak demand” hours are responsible for rolling blackouts and the need to build new power plants. Generally, power plants have plenty of electricity to sell except during the few hottest hours of a summer day when everyone is running their Air Conditioner.
Society benefits because the clean power is generated on site, drastically reducing the hidden costs of energy that would otherwise be lost in transmission which is considerable. PV also has the power to impact the transportation sector with charging stations.
600 million is pocket change to GE but it could be an investment that keeps this stalwart American company relevant for a long time to come. Hopefully it will be as profitable as its wind energy division which I read is a 6 billion dollar platform.
Making PV cheaper is the ultimate desire for renewable energy advocates. The fact that the investment is in thin-film technology is also very exciting because it has shown the most flexibility in design applications yet does not currently put out the juice of more traditional PV panels.
Thanks for your comments. As always, they are well articulated.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like everywhere I look I'm finding articles on renewable energy opportunities. I just found this report from the USDA when I checked their website to sign up for Civil Right Compliance Training. This sounds much more interesting...
http://www.usda.gov/oce/reports/energy/RenewablePowerOpportunities-Final.pdf