tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post4322999455557568209..comments2024-03-07T02:00:01.582-05:00Comments on NEI Nuclear Notes: Indifferent to Nuclear Energy, Against Wind PowerUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-46439781684581033612012-11-19T11:48:04.359-05:002012-11-19T11:48:04.359-05:00While a wind turbine produces power most of the ti...While a wind turbine produces power most of the time, how much power they produce vary significantly. On average they produce around 25% of their rated capacity (thats why wind lobbyist prefer to make claims about installed capacity, rather than actual production), but since actual production varies from time to time you always need backup power ready. When electricity demand is high you can only expect a few percent of the installed wind power capacity to be availible with some certainty. If you have a large nuclear fleet this number is much higher. That means a much lower demand for standby backup power, and significantly less strain on the electric grid.<br /><br />So while wind turbines may produce power most of the time, that claim doesn't really tell the whole story.Edishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623353353241198944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-46230944701305703362012-11-16T23:02:28.998-05:002012-11-16T23:02:28.998-05:00"Just last week, National Grid announced that...<i>"Just last week, National Grid announced that another record amount was being generated by wind – 13.5% of the UK's entire electricity needs."</i><br /><br />I can't find data for last week, but for 16 Nov, wind generated 17905 MW-h (746 MW-days), which was 1.9% of total demand.<br />http://www.bmreports.com/bsp/bsp_home.htm<br /><br />Looking further back to 30 Sept, wind supplied 3073 MW -- 14.1% of the 21778 MW total demand. But that was at 05:00 on a Sunday morning. <br />At 18:30 on 9 Oct, wind provided 142 MW -- 0.3% of the day's peak demand of 46296 MW. <br />http://www.geog.ox.ac.uk/~dcurtis/NETA.htmlBillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08749459207189576328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-39262466030019754502012-11-16T20:16:43.850-05:002012-11-16T20:16:43.850-05:00I disagree, Gore's position on nuclear energy ...I disagree, Gore's position on nuclear energy is not "all good." In fact, he has done great harm.<br /><br />His cherry picking of IPCC recommendations to match his politics, and his slick media productions that promote efficiency, wind, and solar as the primary tools for reducing CO2 emissions perpetuate myths and have contributed to public misunderstanding of the massive scale of the problem. He has influenced government policies that have led to wasteful taxpayer funded investments and subsidies to favored technologies & renewables. This approach has done little more than boost natural gas consumption at many times the cost of simply installing CCGTs. In our current economic state we can ill afford the luxury of squandering our limited resources on Gore's vision of our energy future.J Wheelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01297139247058382607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-61497798860054848002012-11-16T19:15:46.182-05:002012-11-16T19:15:46.182-05:00I suspect that more than a few politicians are &qu...I suspect that more than a few politicians are "anti-wind" mostly for the same reason a notable political family knocked down a gaggle of windmills from despoiling their front view of a postcard Nantucket shoreline... Pristine scenic vistas and aesthetics aside, I'm surprised that the security angle of power sites hasn't been brought up in this age of terrorism and wanton vandalism. It's FAR easier to destroy or severely damage windmills and solar farms ruining the scenery in the boondocks than a single fortified site like a nuclear plant.<br /><br />James Greenidge<br />Queens NY<br /><br /><br /><br />jimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02624023124404414596noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10911751.post-22598261702233523152012-11-16T12:11:55.668-05:002012-11-16T12:11:55.668-05:00Is Gore indifferent to nuclear power? No, I think ...Is Gore indifferent to nuclear power? No, I think it's something more than that. Way back in "An Inconvenient Truth" I found it very significant that his proposed solutions for the future were taken directly from the IPCC, but with the pointed omission of nuclear. He went out of his way to not mention it at all. That is a significant passivity, and it also shows that he's a purist rather than a pragmatist, and nuclear is "dirty" to the greens. <br /><br />For me, though, nuclear is a litmus test for being serious about the future of energy--if you don't consider it as a part of the solution to decarbonizing our energy mix, then I really don't have time to talk to you about wind/solar/etc.Ericnoreply@blogger.com