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by pluckytree 3761 days ago
"Plus, there are thorny issues like how to dispose of radioactive waste and how to decommission old plants."

The fact is, we're creating tremendous amounts of potentially dangerous waste and we have no long-term plan, much less the technology to pull it off. We don't know what the political situation will be in a country 500 years from now. If we put 1/100th of the money that we put into dangerous technologies and subsidizing fossil fuels and put them into renewables, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. Germany is on track to be 100% renewable by 2020. Including solar. And they are not exactly known for their excess of sun.
2 comments
peferron 3761 days ago
"Germany is on track to be 100% renewable by 2020"

Do you have a source for this? It seems completely unbelievable.

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melling 3761 days ago
No he doesn't because what he said is complete bullshit.

http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/nuclear-powe...

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toomuchtodo 3761 days ago
http://cleantechnica.com/2015/05/05/new-study-95-renewable-p...

"New Study: 95% Renewable Power-Mix Cheaper Than Nuclear And Gas"

Applies to both France and Germany.

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melling 3761 days ago
Sounds like we still talking 35 years from now:

"With wind and PV growing to 80 % of total power production in 2050, the study gives a lot of attention to how – and at what cost – the different regions can fill the gap when neither the wind nor the sun can meet the demand."

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krylon 3761 days ago
In Germany, as currently planned, the last nuclear reactor will be shutdown around 2020, but coal and gas power plants will continue to run.

100% renewable is the eventual goal, but the short-term goal is merely to get rid of nuclear.

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