Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilBlanchard
This is entirely suspect. Nuclear plants take about 10 years to build, and about 10 years to dismantle - and we have to store nuclear waste for millenniums - and they only produce power for about 50-60 years. Mining and refining nuclear fuel takes lots of energy. Shutting down nuclear plants every 18 months for several weeks for refueling, and major systems have to be repaired / maintained, requiring additional shutdowns.
The embedded energy of solar panels is covered in about 2 years, or less. They will last for 30-40 years.
Land based wind power is THE cheapest to build, now - and solar is the next cheapest.
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Nuke is the cheapest/cleanest/safest non-hydro way to produce power on demand. Next gen reactors promise to vastly reduce waste, and to utilize already stored waste as fuel, while being walk-away fault tolerant.
Wind doesn't solve the problem of demand, and introduces it's own problem of unpredictable supply. That's not to say the technology isn't interesting and useful, only that it's an incomplete solution.