(November 24, 2012 at 1:39 pm)Chuck Wrote: How do you know? The lesson of Fukushima is even an obsolete nuclear powerplant, without a waterproof and airtight containment shell capable of withstanding a 747 flying into it, is nonetheless essentially capable of withstanding the third most powerful earthquake ever recorded, and one of the largest tsunami ever recorded, in rapid succession.
The weakness of Fukushima, only made a problem by reliance for grid power for black start and insufficient protection for blackstart backup, in fact easily overcome, and by no means common to nuclear plants. Put backup diesels in the main building rather than the basement, or provide watertight protection to the electrical control of the diesel generators, and Fukushima would still be running today.
How do you know this lesson is not learned???
Question: How risky can a institution or part of the inferstructure be towards the wellbeing of the general public, and still be built?
The question is not "How to prevent a catastrophy", but "who will take responsibility in case of?", "how much risk can one take?"
The lesson I think which should have been learned, and why the german parlament passed a law to close down all nuclear plants by 2020, was that a nuclear powerplant - eaven when garanteed by it`s operating company to be safe, is to big a risk to take.
Quote:As to solar power, even in Arizona with cheap subsidized Chinese panels, solar power can not achieve grid parity.
Totaly agree. There is to much naivity and to much optimism within the movement for green energy. No one seems to be interested in the logistics of the matter, when it comes to building the inferstructure for green energy. Logistics only seem to be interesting when calculating the effects of carbon emission.
Probably one of the reasons why currently nothing is moving forward in the "Energiewende" here.
Fact is - solar technology isnt jet fully developed. With the currently used semiconductors between 60 - 70% of energy which could be produced is lost and further developing these conducters is very costly and will take alot of time - which is why solar power stations, such as in spain are enormous in size and due to the big number of panels which have to be cleaned and managed the logistics of such a product have a price increasing effect on the cost of electricity - which makes the product non-competetive without subsidations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_conv...efficiency
