As Chuck pointed out, the design of the reactor had not been watertight. If the generator room had been elevated [IE; not in the friggin' basement...you know, the first place that floods during a flood?] then the coolant systems would've worked as they were meant to and the meltdown would never have happened.
Yes. That's right. It was the placement of the backup generators that ultimately allowed the meltdowns to happen. That and TEPCO's selfish greed. Had they introduced seawater earlier, yes, it would have ruined the reactors but it also would have averted the entire fucking disaster.
Now, these reactors had been built in 1971. They were old as shit, and the design was a poor choice for that region. Pressurized water coolant systems would have been a better design choice, though they are a bit more temperamental.
Solar power DOES have potential but it's not something that's going to universally work. Some areas simply just don't have either enough sunlight or wind for either solar or wind powered plants. Nuclear power is a terrific stop-gap in areas that are not capable of grid parity with more sustainable methods, since modern reactors have tons of safety implements in them designed to prevent not just the Fukushima Number One reactor disaster from repeating itself but also things like a friggin' plane bulls-eyeing the reactor housing. Truth be told I think all nuclear power plants should have a small battery of AA weaponry with a no-fly zone implemented in an area around the reactor for just such an instance, but. That's just me.
Now I keep hearing figures where cost per megawatt hour is like $375 for solar power, compared to nuclear's $90, whereas I've also heard that you have to take wholesale and retail values into account and...fucking...so much other shit that I can't keep track of all the figures.
Long story short, right now, as it stands, nuclear energy is far more cost-effective. Solar power is coming into its own, but it's going to take time to reach a point where it is economical.
Yes. That's right. It was the placement of the backup generators that ultimately allowed the meltdowns to happen. That and TEPCO's selfish greed. Had they introduced seawater earlier, yes, it would have ruined the reactors but it also would have averted the entire fucking disaster.
Now, these reactors had been built in 1971. They were old as shit, and the design was a poor choice for that region. Pressurized water coolant systems would have been a better design choice, though they are a bit more temperamental.
Solar power DOES have potential but it's not something that's going to universally work. Some areas simply just don't have either enough sunlight or wind for either solar or wind powered plants. Nuclear power is a terrific stop-gap in areas that are not capable of grid parity with more sustainable methods, since modern reactors have tons of safety implements in them designed to prevent not just the Fukushima Number One reactor disaster from repeating itself but also things like a friggin' plane bulls-eyeing the reactor housing. Truth be told I think all nuclear power plants should have a small battery of AA weaponry with a no-fly zone implemented in an area around the reactor for just such an instance, but. That's just me.
Now I keep hearing figures where cost per megawatt hour is like $375 for solar power, compared to nuclear's $90, whereas I've also heard that you have to take wholesale and retail values into account and...fucking...so much other shit that I can't keep track of all the figures.
Long story short, right now, as it stands, nuclear energy is far more cost-effective. Solar power is coming into its own, but it's going to take time to reach a point where it is economical.
