Say it ain't so Baraka!

[Rajoo]

Minneapolis/St. Paul is quite liberal too, frigid winters but very friendly people.

[Grouch]

Originally Posted by finnbow

Most liberal city in the Midwest? Minneapolis or Madison? Both great towns.

Y'all are right but I only live in one of 'em

[Rajoo]

There goes the promise of coal mining jobs for the ignoramus. Perhaps W. Virginia should merge with Virginia to up their average IQ.

Why a Big Utility Is Embracing Wind and Solar

Xcel Energy is a utility company with millions of electric customers in the middle of the country, from Texas to Michigan. In booming Colorado, the company asked for proposals to construct big power plants using wind turbines and solar panels.

The bids have come in so low that the company will be able to build and operate the new plants for less money than it would have to pay just to keep running its old, coal-burning power plants.

You read that right: In parts of the country, wind and solar plants built from scratch now offer the cheapest power available, even counting old coal, which was long seen as unbeatable.

Granted that this is perhaps somewhat due to subsidies in place that are going away in two years, but expectations are that demand and economies scale will easily outweigh any cost increases. This after the stupid tariffs on important solar panels enacted by the Dotard Trump.

Now if only the deplorables got a bit educated, they would see that there is no future in coal or fossil fuels. Don't count on it, they would rather be mesmerized by the snake oil guy.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/06/o...l-right-region

[nailer]

Not all areas of the country have the necessary levels of sun and wind, so carbon based fuels will still be needed for some time. We wouldn't find ourselves in this predicament if not for the liberal media overreaction to TMI.

[Pio1980]

Originally Posted by nailer

Not all areas of the country have the necessary levels of sun and wind, so carbon based fuels will still be needed for some time. We wouldn't find ourselves in this predicament if not for the liberal overreaction to TMI.

I wouldn't necessarily call it a "liberal overreaction" to something that wasn't supposed to happen. The distrust that resulted from this incident was general and not unreasonable, given the causes.
A learning experience for better technology, procedures and design that was already marginally cost effective.
Nuke power is tantalizing, but it has to be safe, clean, and cost effective. It has yet to fulfill all of those goals.
Meanwhile, it's been bypassed by relatively cheaper fracked gas that has yet to fully reveal the unintended consequences of it's adoption.
Meanwhile, geothermal power generation is getting attention as the next perpetual renewable energy resource.

[nailer]

Originally Posted by Pio1980

I wouldn't necessarily call it a "liberal overreaction" to something that wasn't supposed to happen. The distrust that resulted from this incident was general and not unreasonable, given the causes.
A learning experience for better technology, procedures and design that was already marginally cost effective.
Nuke power is tantalizing, but it has to be safe, clean, and cost effective. It has yet to fulfill all of those goals.
Meanwhile, it's been bypassed by relatively cheaper fracked gas that has yet to fully reveal the unintended consequences of it's adoption.
Meanwhile, geothermal power generation is getting attention as the next perpetual renewable energy resource.

Somehow I left media out, but it was clearly on overreaction and you were probably an overreactor.

Most of France's electrical power is nuclear generated. The amount of radiation released due to TMI was less than Denver experiences daily and the lessons learned from TMI would have improved the technology.

We screwed the pouch here.

[Pio1980]

We still have the non disposable trash disposal cost problem with spent fuel, decommissioned facilities and hardware, heat pollution of waterways, and cost of construction and maintainance. Will/ can it be safe, clean and cost effective compared to the alternatives?
It was supposed to be "too cheap to meter", almost a free lunch resource that never materialized.

[Rajoo]

Cost and time it takes to build a nuclear reactor is the greatest impediment to this technology. Ask GE how it feels. Perhaps the nuclear power generation in France is state owned operation like in India?

[nailer]

Originally Posted by Rajoo

Cost and time it takes to build a nuclear reactor is the greatest impediment to this technology. Ask GE how it feels. Perhaps the nuclear power generation in France is state owned operation like in India?

The nuclear power boat sailed from our shores a long time ago thanks to the TMI frenzy.

[Pio1980]

It may sound like I am anti-nuke, but not so. I'd very much like to see advanced nuke technology that successfully addresses all past and present shortcomings. We've discussed this topic here before with CANDU, molten salt, ect. Long term cost effectiveness is vital for a successful competitive approach.