Renewables Set to Overtake Coal by 2025

[Koldo]

Even that incident did not lead to any direct loss of life, bad though it was. The safety record of nuclear (or "nucular", if you're going for the all-American higgerance prize ) power is in fact remarkably good.

No thanks. I am never going to be in favor of a energy source that is bound to cause a disaster.

In any event I believe we have no choice. Nuclear power has to be part of the powergen mix.

Why do you believe this way?

 

[Koldo]

But in most of the world there is no actual need to build these plants in earthquake zones, surely?

Sure. But you missed the point. Even though earthquakes were to be expected, the japanese couldn't handle it properly. Now imagine less responsible people dealing with unforeseeable circumstances.

 

[Wandering Monk]

A new report from the International Energy Agency says that electricity generation from renewable sources should reach almost 42% of total generation by 2025, overtaking coal as the leading source of powergen. World’s renewable energy capacity grew at record pace in 2023

Renewable capacity jumped in 2023 by a record amount. Apparently China alone installed more renewable capacity last year than the whole world did the year before. About 3/4 of the new capacity is solar. There are also record rates of growth of renewables in Europe, the USA and Brazil.

So a good news story for a change, to cheer up people of my son's generation especially.

Still little to no progress on displacing gas for home heating, I'm afraid, but the decarbonisation of electricity is a vital enabler of that, of course.

China was the largest polluter for total hydrocarbon output, but per capita the US leads in hydrocarbon output.

 

[Wandering Monk]

No thanks. I am never going to be in favor of a energy source that is bound to cause a disaster.



Why do you believe this way?

There were reactor designs in the 60's that made meltdowns impossible. See the Nova documentary 'The Nuclear Option.' France has had reactors that can run on spent nuclear fuel which reduces the amount and toxicity of nuclear waste.

 

[King Phenomenon]

Unfortunately vehicles use gas to transport those renewables

 

[sayak83]

This is not an organic result but fully artificial. Renewables are supplemented while coal is regulated; rigged smoke and mirrors. How is it possible that China and Indian still produces the most CO2 from coal, with that number not falling? The renewables China makes is for sale to the boneheads. It is double counted.

Electric cars in the US are artificially cost effective, due to large Government subsidies both at purchase and free charging. This is not real world costs but a lure. Once Trump wins and gets rid of the cheat, the free market will make a correction. Biden had $billions earmarked for charging stations; two years ago, but not a single charging station has been built. US auto manufacturers are pulling back on electric due to weak demand. The rich are saturated, and the poor cannot shop at that supplemented price point, especially with the Biden Inflation.

This is all a rip off scam to harm the middle class, who will not be able to afford the change, and will be treated as global criminals, thereby making the world composed of the rich with their poor indentured serfs, all without a middle class.

I feel sorry for poor countries who will are not allowed to follow an organic path of growth to build sophistication or time. They will be required to jump over the organic path and grow in a way that excludes most people. Soon the poor natives in the rain forest, will not be able to use a wood fire to cook, but will need to get electric hot plates or be sent to jail. This is the Fascist future that needs to be stopped.

Climate change is being caused by activity in the inner earth. Heat seepage along crustal boundaries are adding heat. Warm water floats on cold water, so atmospheric heating of the oceans does not sink that easily. However, heat from below will rise due to density differences and convection so less heat can impact more water.

We can do an experiment, where we have two insulated cylinders of ocean water. We will heat the top for one and the bottom of the other; same watts, to see which heats to uniformly, first.

Dont worry about us poor countries. We like renewables very much thanks. Cheaper by far.

 

[sayak83]

I think most people want cheaper easier lives rather than more difficult more expensive ones. It's really what the bottom line is.

Perfect reasons to go for renewables then!

 

[exchemist]

No thanks. I am never going to be in favor of a energy source that is bound to cause a disaster.



Why do you believe this way?

I've alluded to it in previous posts in this thread. Renewable generation is subject to fluctuations in output (day and night, cloud vs. sunshine, wind vs. still conditions, etc.) This limits the proportion of electricity that can be obtained from such sources. Admittedly, the issue is one of energy storage and if that can be overcome then the problem goes away. But it is rather an intractable problem at present.

Most of the energy plans I have read about assume a proportion will be required from continuous sources and the rest from renewables. I don't know how much though, nor what size of nukes will be appropriate. There are some promising designs of small modular reactor (~200MW) which might be more decentralised and thus suitable for the future than the traditional massive installations we have had up to now.

 

[Twilight Hue]

Perfect reasons to go for renewables then!

I find renewables worse as far as price goes.

 

[exchemist]

Sure. But you missed the point. Even though earthquakes were to be expected, the japanese couldn't handle it properly. Now imagine less responsible people dealing with unforeseeable circumstances.

That's true of any technology of course. But I take your point that there are areas of the world where one might not trust the authorities to run them competently and safely. The answer for them may be to buy in the electricity from those that do run them.

 

[exchemist]

I find renewables worse as far as price goes.

You find?! The cost of renewable powergen is now below that of fossil fuel generation. That's a major reason for its explosive growth around the world.

 

[sayak83]

I find renewables worse as far as price goes.

How do you know. Are they priced seperately?

 

[Twilight Hue]

How do you know. Are they priced seperately?

I just go to the store and look at the insane prices on what you would call eco-friendly products.

 

[sayak83]

I find renewables worse as far as price goes.

For the record this is the average cost of a unit of electricity in US over the last 5 decades adjusted for inflation.
The costs have decreased in a consistent manner. What do PPL complain about then?
Electricity Prices Adjusted for Inflation

 

[Twilight Hue]

For the record this is the average cost of a unit of electricity in US over the last 5 decades adjusted for inflation.
The costs have decreased in a consistent manner. What do PPL complain about then?
Electricity Prices Adjusted for Inflation

It's nice but it's just sad I don't see it reflected on my electric bill.

 

[sayak83]

I just go to the store and look at the insane prices on what you would call eco-friendly products.

What in the name of heaven does that have to do with renewable energy????!!!

 

[Koldo]

There were reactor designs in the 60's that made meltdowns impossible. See the Nova documentary 'The Nuclear Option.' France has had reactors that can run on spent nuclear fuel which reduces the amount and toxicity of nuclear waste.

I am sorry but no degree of technological development is going to ever make me trust nuclear energy sources.

 

[exchemist]

China was the largest polluter for total hydrocarbon output, but per capita the US leads in hydrocarbon output.

Yup, but that's one interesting thing about the IEA report. China is making a huge effort, there is no doubt of it. The problem, I have read, is partly a lack of coordination at different levels of bureaucracy in China and partly their historically high rate of industrialisation, now slowing down, which put a premium on getting power plants builts double quick ad often they used domestic coal of course. (In the last decade of my working life they were also building diesel power plants, for industries that couldn't get connected quickly enough to a stable power supply. Most of those plants are now shut down.) But the Chinese do get it, that's for sure. They have also got pressure from the population in cities blighted by air pollution.

The USA is another story, but a lot of states have got the memo. My rather brief experience of the energy sector in the US was that it is mostly state led rather than federally led, often starting with California as an early adopter and then spreading.

 

[Koldo]

I've alluded to it in previous posts in this thread. Renewable generation is subject to fluctuations in output (day and night, cloud vs. sunshine, wind vs. still conditions, etc.) This limits the proportion of electricity that can be obtained from such sources. Admittedly, the issue is one of energy storage and if that can be overcome then the problem goes away. But it is rather an intractable problem at present.

Most of the energy plans I have read about assume a proportion will be required from continuous sources and the rest from renewables. I don't know how much though, nor what size of nukes will be appropriate. There are some promising designs of small modular reactor (~200MW) which might be more decentralised and thus suitable for the future than the traditional massive installations we have had up to now.

Since I don't expect a massive worldwide energy transition to take place in the near future, I see ample time to develop energy storage solutions.

 

[sayak83]

It's nice but it's just sad I don't see it reflected on my electric bill.

Faulty memory maybe?
Get your slip from 1980. Get one from 2023. Correct for average inflation and check.