Wind and solar exceeding Coal in 2023

Although obviously facetious that's pretty much what happened in Texas.
Texas power struggle: How the nation’s top wind power state turned against renewable energy.
Will Texas Blow Up Its Energy Miracle to Bolster Fossil Fuels?

 

Corrosion is an endemic problem. There is no eliminating it. At best, you choose materials that slow the rates of corrosion and MTTF (Mean Time To Failure). There is still significant research that needs to be done in terms of identifying ways to standardize salt purification and settle on what "pure salts" even mean. We are not even close yet. Other technical problems including identifying a process for replacing the Heat Exchangers frequently, as they will be highly corroded (and radioactive). Oak Ridge was working on radiation hardened repair robots for the task, but I am not sure where that project is?

People think that it is a Chernobyl and now Fukushima are the type events I worry about. They aren't. I do not believe for one second that the United States, despite the historically bad condition of our current generation of ancient nuclear power plants, will ever see an event on part with Chernobyl or Fukushima. For one thing, our reactors fail-safe in a much different manor than the Russian reactors, even with safety systems partially disabled. For another, the red-tape of the American regulatory agencies has actually served us well. The reactors were so "over designed" for safety, that many are still in operation 10-20-25 years beyond their original mandatory de-certification dates. That is not my concern.

What does concern me is the hundreds of reportable events each years. Again, not large enough leaks to be recorded and investigated by NRC, but those "small, no-harm" incidents like that are allowed to happen daily with releases of steam or other contaminated by-product. We have almost no way of tracking, let alone knowing the long term impact of these events on the surrounding eco-system.

There are entire cultures that have been "relocated" from places like northern rural Sweden because the reindeer heards that make up most of their food, clothing, milk, etc...are still so contaminated that they are not safe to consume due to the Chernobyl event.

At Fukushima, we have no idea how the radiation that was and is and will be spread across the Pacific is impacting the eco-system, and subsequently humans.

Just because these accidents have fallen out of the news does not mean that they are not still impacting the planet.

However, as I said above, I recognize that the US is not likely to have such global disasters, but those "localized events" are not as localized as people want to believe.

 

Yeah, if only we had more of that clean (NOT) energy.

Abandoned Mines Cleanup | US EPA.

 

Probably should hold onto some coal just in case …

Solar farm pelted by giant hail as severe storm ripped through Nebraska

 

Maybe it's because fossil fuels is probably the historically single largest source of wealth in TX.

 

Oh, I get it. I misunderstood. So your plan is to dig more mines to ruin the earth, because there are already bad mines in place…. which are ruining the earth. More bad mines at some point is going to equal peace on earth? Is this one of those new Woke math things?

 

YOU are the one advocating digging more mines, or do you think Uranium and Thorium grow on trees somewhere? It is YOU who is the only one mentioning mining for some of the most deadly substances trapped in ores below the earth's surface. You can try to turn your lack of understanding into a rant about whatever non-sense you are ranting about now, but you would look better if you just admit that you have no idea what your are talking about when it comes to sourcing nuclear power and go back to lionizing the Supreme Court.

 

Yes it was and will probably still be for a while. That being said it's still not rational to support a shrinking industry by stifling innovation.

 

Do you really think we need to mine more uranium, or do you think we have enough to spare for some nuclear energy?

 

Solar without batteries is like sex without a woman. It just doesn’t work. Wind is unreliable and kills birds. Wave/tidal gadgets have great promise, but they may kill whales. So many developing technologies out there. Exciting time to be an engineer.

 

Stop. Dude, just go admit you know nothing about what you are talking about.

 

Oh snap! WTF! This science shit is hard!

Turning Nuclear Weapons into Nuclear Fuel

 

Wind does kill birds although if that's a real concern it sure beats fossil fuels.

 

I’ve never seen a piece of coal break a bald eagle’s neck. Do they just shoot out of the eyes of the dead polar bears, like lasers? Your source for whatever that is that you posted is less reliable than Biden’s Christmas wishes to his 7th grandchild.

 

You just can't admit you have no idea, typical lawyer.

1. You apparently did not even read your entire link, otherwise you would understand how obtuse you are being.
2. You are simultaneously advocating building more nuclear power plants, yet the entire US arsenal would not fuel the current nuclear power plants.
3. Then, since the average reactor needs to refuel every 12-18 months, I guess you could go out and create a new generation of nuclear weapon, so you could then convert them to your "un-mined Uranium". Genius.
4. What are you going to do with the rest of the world?? China has built 55 nuclear reactors, and they plan to build 150 more in China by 2035. They are also building 30 additional reactors across Africa as part of the Belt and Road initiative. Where is all of that fuel coming from?

Again, you simply won't admit that you were wrong. Fine. My brother is a lawyer, I have come to expect it.

 

Wow, your grasp of the world around you is truly stunning.

 

So I’ve been told. It’s called wisdom. Keep aiming high, you’ll get their buckaroo.

 

Nuclear energy is the cleanest most reliable energy the world has known. Small footprint, huge output. Read this: Why Nuclear Power Must Be Part of the Energy Solution

how much uranium do we have? Enough to get us through the global warming end of world predictions. 250-500 years. How long will the world's uranium supplies last?

now..it’s time for your bedtime junior.

 

You if want to know how coal kills birds you can always educate yourself by clicking on the link below:
Coal: Extraction and Energy Production Impacts on Birds