It’s difficult to make sense of Mr Hemmings’ letter as he seems to wander Trump-like all over the place (All renewable grid a fantasy, CCN 479), but I shall do my best.
Again he uses the old canard of wind and sun not being available 24 hours/day, justifying it by an alleged lack of suitable battery technology; is he so convinced that the technology will not improve that research is not necessary?
I assume that he’s never heard of Chinese EV manufacturer BYD, whose vehicles are eating Tesla’s lunch?
He also seems to not have heard that Europe has been closing its nuclear reactors; why?
Because of their expense; imagine that!
Geothermal power is another possibility; pump water deep underground and harness the steam coming back up.
And finally, if he wants to pursue his nuclear fantasy then consider thorium reactors; they have no dangerous byproducts.
Nuclear power is as dead as Peter Dutton’s policies; get over it.
Email, March 24
Dave Horsfall, North Gosford
Go Nuclear,
Look at the new 1000KW BYD charging, if we had a whole fleet of these cars, how are we supposed to power them at night with our current infrastructure… or in a heatwave, add thousands of these charging at the same time, with all the air conditioners on. Give us a cloudy week and we up the creek, we need a better solution that relying on clear skies, and wind.
I can understand why the idea of nuclear has appeal to many. However, with how many experts have denounced the plan, I have little confidence in its viability. After all, these are people whose reputations are on the line if they’re giving dodgy advice, and there’s a LOT of them
For more information, search ofr article from Juice Media or The Guardian.
Also, I should say: when we consider nuclear power plans, we should also consider other renewable energy sources. Think of them all like a toolbox: sure, you can use a pair of pliers to turn a screw, but it’ll work much better if you use a screwdriver.
Everything has a place and a time, and we need to identify not just what works, but what works BEST
And If lots of EV’s had v2g (vehicle to grid), they might put power back in the grid when needed. That would spoil the need for coal and nuclear.