Nuclear always comes up when discussing the energy transition but renewables seem to be a much more popular consideration. Can nuclear energy help us towards a greener future or is it a long dead dream?
Nuclear always comes up when discussing the energy transition but renewables seem to be a much more popular consideration. Can nuclear energy help us towards a greener future or is it a long dead dream?
You are correct. I only talked about nuclear, I didn’t do a comparison.
About the base load for starters I could suggest the following article:
That’s not a bad article, but it’s largely focused on debunking claims about renewables on today’s grid (e.g., the false claims that they have somehow been responsible for blackouts in CA and TX).
I generally agree with the articles points, but what I’m talking about is a future grid with 90%+ renewable generation and limited geothermal/hydro resources.
It’s purely a hypothetical at the moment because no one has come close and technology could advance quite a bit before the grid even reaches those limits.
That said, based on today’s technology, under the right circumstances, nuclear can provide a cost effective means of closing the final gap in reaching zero-carbon electricity, but only AFTER we do the bulk of the work solving the other 90% of the problem which is installing more renewables and storage.