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Cheap renewables are mounting a serious challenge to nuclear power, which in 2017 has had a difficult year.
Key projects have been abandoned, costs are rising, and politicians in countries which previously championed the industry are withdrawing their support.
Renewables, on the other hand, especially wind and solar power, have continued to expand at an enormous rate. Most importantly, they have gotten significantly cheaper.
And newer technologies like large-scale battery storage and production of hydrogen are becoming economic, because they harness cheap power from excess renewable capacity.
This latest trend—the production of hydrogen from excess wind and solar power—raises the possibility of replacing natural gas, at least in part, for domestic heating and cooking and for power stations.
Many existing gas pipelines and domestic networks are equally capable of taking natural gas, biogas and hydrogen, or a mixture of all three.
The speed with which the transition is taking place has exceeded all official estimates. In favorable locations across the world, including the U.S., Europe and India, onshore wind and solar farms are the least expensive way of producing electricity.
Even off-shore wind, five […]
“for the first time both the U.S. and the UK admitted that their support for the nuclear industry is linked to the need to maintain their military capability in nuclear submarines and personnel. This is key, because both powers have previously claimed that there is no link between civil and military nuclear industries.”
Further proof that we are constantly lied to by our government. Conventional nuclear reactors have never been economically viable on their own and the excuses for extending the lifetimes of existing reactors or commissioning new ones is evaporating. Excellent article. We cannot afford to keep the nuclear industry going in terms of cost or in terms of the safety risk of one more Fukushima. Even if we shut down every nuke in the U.S. right now the safety risks of spent fuel and long term radioactive waste storage is unacceptable. Go solar and wind! It is also long past time to free our scientific community to pursue even better technologies that were pioneered by Tesla and other inventors but locked up in patents or black projects. Excellent article.
I totally agree with you Mark R, this is great news. Now we can get rid of the idea of using nuclear power or weapons for any purpose, and the world will be a better place because of it.