A possible return to atomic power??? WTH??? 🤬 🤬 🤬

[hunter]

87. Wind and solar are hardly carbon free considering that they require fossil fuel backup...

... when the sun isn't shining and the wind isn't blowing.

Typically a fully built out hybrid energy system will require a total natural gas input of greater than 50%.

In such a situation adding more wind and solar capacity doesn't help because the excess electricity these generate is useless if there's no demand.

Contrary to popular belief, battery storage tends to be measured in minutes, and stand-alone hydro storage schemes capable of storing energy for even a few hours are very expensive and environmentally destructive.

The biggest problem with wind and solar is that it can drop out for days or weeks. There's no storage scheme capable of covering these kinds of gaps in production, thus fossil fuel power plants must still be maintained.

Hybrid renewable energy schemes will only prolong our dependence on fossil fuels, especially natural gas. Even if, in some perfect world, these hybrid energy schemes replaced three quarters of our fossil fuel use, that's not enough to save the world, especially as the world economy expands, more people are connected to electric grids, and more people drive cars, electric or not.