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by ViewTrick1002
237 days ago
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This tells me you don't know how a grid works. You do know that the demand is variable right? With the same reasoning nuclear power is a scam because it can't adapt to the grid demand and forces gas peakers to sit in standby. Socializing the losses, to use your words. In California the grid shifts between ~15 GW at the minimum and 52 GW at the peak. When studies have looked at the difference in dispatchable power required comparing majorly renewables or nuclear powered grids when meeting true a grid demand the difference is quite small. It does favor nuclear power but the differences are not significant in the grand scheme of things when factoring in the absolutely stupid cost for new built western nuclear power. These studies of course did not take into account 45% of the nuclear fleet being offline, they modeled it based on their average ~85% capacity factor. Or are you suggesting that we should have peaking nuclear plants to match grid demand? So it isn't a scam for the ratepayers? |
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Some demand is variable. But a lot (usually most) is not. So having reliable base generation is highly valuable and not having that base-load generation ramp up and down is a feature, not a bug.
Intermittent generation is not variable, it is intermittent. Whereas to meet variable demand it would need to be dispatchable. Look it up.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dispatchable_generation
Intermittent renewables are not dispatchable. Not even a bit.
The US nuclear fleet's CF has hovered over 90%. France's is only in the high 70s or low 80s because they do extensive load following (the stuff you say nuclear can't do...they've only been doing it for four decades or so).
France took its fleet offline in the summer of 2022, because that is where demand is lowest and generation from intermittent renewables is highest, for example Germany typically has to give away lots of electricity (or even pay consumers to get rid of it) because of their guaranteed feed-in.
In the end, France had to import only 4% of its electricity even in 2022, and most of that was in the summer, again where electricity prices are lowest because of high generation and low demand. And during all the other years it tends to be largest exporter of electricity in Europe if not the world.