[soitgoes511]

Is this why we were having energy shortages during the winter time and there was a rush to get the nuclear reactors back online in France ? I don't consider that having, "it figured out". If you want to discuss prices.. my place of employment is paying millions more euro this year than last. The increase in energy cost is also leading to increase in water costs.. I could go on, but you get the point.

[locallost]

That's some rewriting of history considering it's less than a year old. The scramble to get France's nuclear plants back online was because they completely failed in the first place, and at a critical time. Half of the fleet was offline most of the year, and half of those were completely unplanned and difficult to fix [1]. And it's still happening [2]. This failure was one of the biggest reasons for the electricity crunch and high prices - the expected output of France was missing and they themselves became net importers. [3]

Thank God the reliable renewables delivered.

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/business/nuclear-power-fr... [2] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/frances-nuclear-watc... [3] https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/sweden-tops-france-e...

[soitgoes511]

I don't know how anything I said was re-writing history. The fact was over half the reactors were down due to corrosion and need of maintenance, yes. There was indeed a push to get them back online. I am happy the nytimes and reuters gave you such an informed perspective. The fact is we needed the nuclear reactors back online or we wouldn't have had power in sub-freezing tempetatures. So, sure.. thank God for the renewables.

[locallost]

It's the framing that we were having energy shortages because of renewables and that renewables were somehow responsible for the high prices. That is clearly not the case.

1) the shortages stem from the failure of France's nuclear power to deliver

2) the high prices were partly because of shortages, and the wholesale prices were the highest in France all year

I am too lazy to post prices for lst year, but they can be easily verified - besides you are not really interested in facts you don't like. Another thing that can be verified is that those coal plants that were put on emergency stand by had a very very low capacity factor and all the coal that was stockpiled early in the year was basically left unused. Because for all the talk of base load and reliability, when push came to shove, renewables kept the lights on.

The high prices are not so bad overall, there is and was a big incentive to build more capacity fast. Next years will be transformative, and it will all be led by renewables.

[ericmay]

Wouldn’t rushing to get nuclear reactors online just make the OPs point stronger? Geopolitics of oil showed the weakness of relying on fossil fuels.

[soitgoes511]

The point is that Europe does not have energy in general figured out. If I am being told I can be fined for having my thermostat higher than 19C (true for children school also), than we are far from that statement.

[ericmay]

Or maybe Europe does have it figured out and an unforeseen shock to the system temporarily set back plans?

[soitgoes511]

I love the idea of clean energy. But the energy "sobriety" we have been experiencing this year in France particularly has been painful. TF1 educated the population on the nightly news on how to block our door jams to not lose energy and warmth. Villages were creating centers for people to go and stay warm. Boulangeries have been shutting down because they cannot afford the still increasing cost of energy. Whatever the plan is, it currently isn't working.

[pyrale]

> Boulangeries have been shutting down because they cannot afford the still increasing cost of energy.

I still shudder at the perspective of a looming croissant shortage.