- Joined
- 28 May 2020
- Posts
- 6,319
- Reactions
- 11,980
All is not what it appears to be.
Mick
Mick
Yes the handouts just delays the bill shock, hopefully everyone is prepared, they can't say the haven't been warned it has been covered extensively in the media.
I guess the issue isn't how long it will take, as that won't change, the issue is how prepared are we if that becomes the only viable option.Chris Bowen exaggerates the build time of nuclear reactors in the US.
Still, that's no comparison to Australia that has little nuclear industry.
Chris Bowen says the average build time of a nuclear plant in the US has been 19 years. Is that correct?
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen says the average build time for a nuclear power plant in the United States has been nearly two decades. Is that correct? RMIT ABC Fact Check runs the numbers.www.abc.net.au
As usual, it is a clear as mud.Dick Smith backs nuclear power, saying no country has ever run on 100% renewables?
Is he right?
We fact checked Dick Smith on whether a country can run entirely on renewables. Here's what we found
Entrepreneur Dick Smith says no country has ever been able to run on renewables, labelling the idea "impossible". What do the experts say?www.abc.net.au
Dick Smith backs nuclear power, saying no country has ever run on 100% renewables?
That is the whole issue, we are moving quickly toward renewables, one of the fastest transitions in the World, we have actually slowed a little bit in the last couple of years to let infrastructure catch up.This is what Finkel is on about, if we hang around waiting for things like this, the switch to renewables won't happen and we will be in the poo.
Small modular thorium reactors are currently being developed, but don't hold your breath.
This is what Finkel is on about, if we hang around waiting for things like this, the switch to renewables won't happen and we will be in the poo.
If indeed, many of the homeowners were surprised to learn that they themselves owned the infrastructure, perhaps its time for someone in WA to sue Western Power for unauthorised use of those pieces of infrastructure.One of the reasons I suggested to the son he go off grid, when he bought the 100 acres a few years ago, this was bound to happen.
Western Power conducts private power pole inspections, tells WA residents to replace them at own cost
The electricity network operator began the private power pole inspection program in 2021 after a fallen pole on private property in the Perth Hills sparked the 2014 Parkerville bushfires, leading to the loss of 57 houses.www.abc.net.au
After inspecting 120,000 power poles on private properties across the state, Western Power has sent about 1,000 notices to homeowners telling them to replace the pole or face having their electricity disconnected.
- In short: About 35,000 property owners have been sent letters recommending they replace their electricity pole.
- Many homeowners have been surprised to learn they own the infrastructure and are responsible for maintaining it.
- What's next: More poles are expected to be inspected by early 2025, with the infrastructure to be inspected every four years.
The electricity network operator began the private power pole inspection program in 2021 after a fallen pole on private property sparked the 2014 Parkerville bushfires, leading to the loss of 57 houses.
A Western Australian Court of Appeal decision had found that while Western Power did not own the pole, it had failed in its duty of care to avoid risk or damage by not conducting periodic assessments of such poles on private property.
Since then, the corporation has issued notices to about 1,000 customers, giving them either 30 or 90 days to have their poles replaced or risk having the power disconnected.
There's three plants, in layman's terms three independent production lines (though they do share some common pipes etc) at Longford processing gas from Bass Strait.retired one of two remaining gas plants at its Longford facility in South Gippsland during 2028.
That is the same article SP that I was referencing. I just copied in the introduction.Another article from Dr Finkle also gives a great explanation on nuclear power and the realities.
From the article:Yes, nuclear’s an option. But let there be no confusion about its flaws
Nuclear power, as clean and safe as it is, cannot help us in our transition to clean energy this decade or next.www.smh.com.au
Let’s start with a look at its benefits.
From the engineering point of view, it ticks many boxes. It is unequivocally zero emissions during operation and the emissions associated with construction are low. It integrates smoothly with our existing electricity grid and contributes to frequency control and system strength.
Nuclear power can be dispatched on demand independently of the weather and can, in principle, be located near existing transmission lines. The only technological limitation is that – like coal-fired power plants – large nuclear reactors are slow to ramp their output up and down, but small modular reactors (SMRs) are expected to be better in this respect.
The mining resources required for construction are low: no battery materials such as lithium and cobalt, or rare-earth elements such as neodymium and terbium, are needed.
The volume of fuel is small, with only one tonne of uranium needed to produce the same amount of electricity as 100,000 tonnes of black coal.
The land footprint is only about three square kilometres for a one-gigawatt nuclear plant versus about 60 square kilometres for a three-gigawatt solar plant that would generate the same annual output.
And nuclear power has an excellent safety record. Since commercial operations began in the late 1950s, the death rate from accidents and air pollution is as low as the death rate from solar and wind power and much lower than the death rate from coal power.
So, what are the barriers?
The most obvious is that there is a legislated ban on construction of nuclear power plants, introduced by the Howard government in 1998. Removal of this ban is a prerequisite for deeper consideration.
To create a nuclear power industry in Australia, we would need to identify a waste-storage site, beef up the regulatory system, find the first location, identify the first operator, issue construction contracts, run the environmental regulatory gamut, train a workforce and fight protests in the streets, and in the courts.
Despite the challenges, it is worth considering nuclear power as a long-term option in Australia for two reasons.
The first is to minimise the new land area and additional mining to expand electricity generation as our population continues to grow and as we invest in producing decarbonised versions of our export products, such as green iron, aluminium, ammonia-based fertiliser and sustainable liquid fuels.
The second is to minimise the ongoing mining and landfill from replacing batteries about every 10 years and solar panels and wind turbines every 25 years.
However, given the timeframes to develop a nuclear industry capability from scratch, then commission and build our first nuclear power plant, nuclear power cannot help us in our transition to clean energy this decade or next and would not be ready to replace the electricity generation we will lose as our ageing coal-fired power fleet shuts down.
In the short term, there is no alternative other than solar and wind power, supported by battery storage and gas-fired electricity generation.
No one has disagreed with that, in this thread.That is the same article SP that I was referencing. I just copied in the introduction.
I can see the POV that maybe, if, the engineering issues can be resolved then in the longer term nuclear power could be a part of our energy system. But as Dr Finkel points out it cannot be part of our near term need to rapidly reduce CO2. And most importantly it can't replace our aging coal fired power stations in the required time span.
We still have critical problems moving to a renewable energy based society but going nuclear is not the solution to that problem even if it could be useful in the much longer term.
I notice he doesn't mention hydro. This may have been an unintentional omission, but could also indicate that the industry has given up trying to placate the greenies and have written off hydro as a viable option.Another article from Dr Finkle also gives a great explanation on nuclear power and the realities, without the political hyperbole.
From the article:Yes, nuclear’s an option. But let there be no confusion about its flaws
Nuclear power, as clean and safe as it is, cannot help us in our transition to clean energy this decade or next.www.smh.com.au
Let’s start with a look at its benefits.
From the engineering point of view, it ticks many boxes. It is unequivocally zero emissions during operation and the emissions associated with construction are low. It integrates smoothly with our existing electricity grid and contributes to frequency control and system strength.
Nuclear power can be dispatched on demand independently of the weather and can, in principle, be located near existing transmission lines. The only technological limitation is that – like coal-fired power plants – large nuclear reactors are slow to ramp their output up and down, but small modular reactors (SMRs) are expected to be better in this respect.
The mining resources required for construction are low: no battery materials such as lithium and cobalt, or rare-earth elements such as neodymium and terbium, are needed.
The volume of fuel is small, with only one tonne of uranium needed to produce the same amount of electricity as 100,000 tonnes of black coal.
The land footprint is only about three square kilometres for a one-gigawatt nuclear plant versus about 60 square kilometres for a three-gigawatt solar plant that would generate the same annual output.
And nuclear power has an excellent safety record. Since commercial operations began in the late 1950s, the death rate from accidents and air pollution is as low as the death rate from solar and wind power and much lower than the death rate from coal power.
So, what are the barriers?
The most obvious is that there is a legislated ban on construction of nuclear power plants, introduced by the Howard government in 1998. Removal of this ban is a prerequisite for deeper consideration.
To create a nuclear power industry in Australia, we would need to identify a waste-storage site, beef up the regulatory system, find the first location, identify the first operator, issue construction contracts, run the environmental regulatory gamut, train a workforce and fight protests in the streets, and in the courts.
Despite the challenges, it is worth considering nuclear power as a long-term option in Australia for two reasons.
The first is to minimise the new land area and additional mining to expand electricity generation as our population continues to grow and as we invest in producing decarbonised versions of our export products, such as green iron, aluminium, ammonia-based fertiliser and sustainable liquid fuels.
The second is to minimise the ongoing mining and landfill from replacing batteries about every 10 years and solar panels and wind turbines every 25 years.
However, given the timeframes to develop a nuclear industry capability from scratch, then commission and build our first nuclear power plant, nuclear power cannot help us in our transition to clean energy this decade or next and would not be ready to replace the electricity generation we will lose as our ageing coal-fired power fleet shuts down.
In the short term, there is no alternative other than solar and wind power, supported by battery storage and gas-fired electricity generation.
The latter.I notice he doesn't mention hydro. This may have been an unintentional omission, but could also indicate that the industry has given up trying to placate the greenies and have written off hydro as a viable option.
Hello and welcome to Aussie Stock Forums!
To gain full access you must register. Registration is free and takes only a few seconds to complete.
Already a member? Log in here.