@New_NRG_Herald @simonahac Have you looked at lithium, graphite, nickel, copper, and cobalt demand and supply projections? There simply won't be enough battery metals to supply the world storage needs. This is why baseload carbon free nuclear generation is a necessity, not a choice.
@GerrardCostanz1 @simonahac It’s not going to be batteries. It’s going to be high energy liquids & gases. Next gen solar is going to be cheaper, WAY cheaper - 1/10th the price of current solar. It will allow the manufacture of high energy fuels for LESS than the current price of fossil fuel extraction
@New_NRG_Herald @simonahac So future unproven uneconomic tech is going to solve the storage problem? You talk about nuclear time frames, your storage solutions are 20 years out
@GerrardCostanz1 @simonahac Storage is being built today. Increasingly more will be built this decade. Solar 2.0 will just make it much MUCH easier. For the last 17 years the US had been trying to build just 4 new reactors: Vogtle 3 & 4 and VC Summer 2 & 3, so far none of them are operational - 17 years
@New_NRG_Herald @simonahac Firstly, the storage isn't being built to support 100% renewable grid, it has to be backed up by coal and gas, look at Germany. Look at how quickly China is building out their fleet, this can also be done in the US if there is government support on the same scale.
@GerrardCostanz1 @simonahac China is building much MUCH more renewable energy than nuclear . China’s 14th five-year plan states that 100s of GW worth of storage is to be built by 2030: Batteries, Hydro, compressed air, thermal etc will all play a part. China also sees hydrogen as a central future tech
@New_NRG_Herald @simonahac China is also doing the largest nuclear build out in history, 150 reactors in 13 years. Why do you think they are doing that? Also ever thought of hydrogen produced from nuclear? You could produce a lot for cheap when renewables are peak producing.
@GerrardCostanz1 @New_NRG_Herald china is notorious for overly-enthusiastic nuclear announcements that don't pan out. that's more than one start a month, yet they've only started two this year.
@GerrardCostanz1 @New_NRG_Herald i hope they successfully build that much nuclear in that time — especially if it helps them to stop expanding coal and then to contract that sector — but i bet they'll under-deliver on the promise.
@simonahac @New_NRG_Herald I hope they are successful too, but if you believe their renewables targets then you have to take their nuclear at face value too. If this is a climate crisis we need every tool we have available. Nuclear has an important part to pay in a non-carbon future.
@GerrardCostanz1 @New_NRG_Herald china frequently exceeds their renewables targets and fails their nuclear targets. what’s your logic in having to take both at face value?