• alvvayson@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    The actual data on renewables is impressive, but not nearly impressive enough to stop climate change…as.anyone can see who is paying attention to the emissions data.

    Renewables still greatly depend on fossil fuels as a backup power and thermal power source, which is why fossil fuel companies are promoting renewables-only to the masses.

    It ensures society remains dependent on fossil fuels for the next decades, albeit at a lower intensity. Which works out very well for them, since they already passed peak production and just want to sell the remaining stock as long as possible for the highest price.

    Once we crank up a few hundred nuclear reactors to serve as the backup for renewables and as a thermal energy source for producing synthetic hydrocarbons, then fossil fuels will become obsolete.

    Until then, we’re going to be partly dependent on fossil fuels and pay a hefty price for them.

    • TWeaK@lemm.ee
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      1 year ago

      Fossil fuel companies are not promoting renewables only. I’ve only seen objective reports from within the electricity industry promoting this - eg the UK’s Nation Grid recently did a Future Energy Scenarios study that determined renewables was the fastest way for the country to reach net zero.

      Building a few hundred nuclear reactors takes a long time. Meanwhile, fossil fuels will continue to dominate our use. This is what fossil fuel companies want, to delay our transition away from them. Renewables give us the opportunity to wean off fossil fuels much more quickly. We’ll use a lot more fuel waiting for nuclear than we will backing up renewables.

      We need nuclear, as part of a complete energy portfolio. However, renewables are available now, they’re quick, cheap, proven and profitable. If we build an excess of renewables, we can account for nearly all of the times where the wind isn’t blowing or the sun isn’t shining. Then, once we’ve weaned off fossil fuels, we can fill out our portfolio with nuclear. By the time the nuclear plants are built, our demand will have grown and that excess in renewables probably won’t be an excess anymore.