Thursday, January 21, 2010
Congress / Woods Corker Missed the Email About Tennessee's Energy Message
Posted by Jeff Woods on Thu, Jan 21, 2010 at 6:15 PM
Comments (5)
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"Corker said the Obama administration is too focused on more exotic technologies, like solar and biofuels generated from crop waste.
"You're slow-walking things that are proven, and wanting to spend lots of money on things that are unproven." Corker said. "It makes me less trustful of the department."
Corker is right.
Wind and solar are less reliable and more expensive forms of energy generation. They both require some other energy generation source as a backup to provide baseload power. And that backup will be generated by either fossil fuels (coal or natural gas) or nuclear.
Not only that, but the places where the wind and solar are best suited for maximum generation are not usually close to where energy demand is. That adds even more costs to build out the transmission lines to get the power to where it is needed.
Instead we should be building breeder reactor nuclear power plants. It is cheaper, provides a far more reliabile power source and the fuel can be reproccesed and used over and over again virtually forever.
Now that is renewable power.
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Do you know how many spent fuel rods we currently have the capability to reprocess in the United States? None. Do you know the last time anyone in the United States tried to build a breeder reactor in the United States? 1982. Do you know why? They're really, really expensive and in a world where extra plutonium is not a great idea, really, really dangerous.
What a nice place it must be, however, where you're always the smartest person on every subject. Do they serve lemonade and cookies there, too, Gilbert?
http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/inf08.html
See "Fast Neutron Reactors" section.
an exerpt
"Japan plans to develop FBRs, and its Joyo experimental reactor which has been operating since 1977 is now being boosted to 140 MWt. The 280 MWe Monju prototype commercial FBR was connected to the grid in 1995, but was then shut down due to a sodium leak. Its restart is planned for 2009."
Educate yourself Howie.
Other countries are developing and planning to use breeder reactor plants.
There's no reason we can't do the same. The technology of today is not the same as the technology of 1982.
You'd think the Mayor of Wolfsburg would know that that part of Germany is filled to the brim with windmills.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wolfsburg_Merian.png
Also, if nukes are such a good idea, why haven't any been started in over 30 years? A hint:
10. Takes Too Many
9. Too Little Infrastructure
8. Too Little Safety
7. Too Much Waste
6. Too Much Carbon
5. Too Much Emissions
4. Not Suited For Warming Climates
3. Too Slow
2. Renewables and Efficiency are Faster, Cheaper, Safer and Cleaner
1. Too Expensive
http://www.nirs.org/climate/background/top10reasonsnukeswontsaveclimate.pdf
Where do we find these idiots?
