• iterable@sh.itjust.works
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    1 year ago

    I didn’t even mention tidal or geothermal. But how are any of those just as damaging? Nuclear waste is still a issue and again if it were attacked or destroyed would cause a massive ecological issue. Again last I checked destroying a wind, solar, tidal, or geothermal generator would not release radiation. Also the time to build one of those compared to a nuclear plant is a lot less last I checked.

    • DarthBueller@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Tidal is not a proven technology. The ocean environment is incredibly harsh on equipment. High-temp geothermal power generation is extremely site-specific, though ground-loop technology for heating and cooling is a proven technology that is woefully underutilized (though there are big challenges there as well, since ground loops take up space and done incorrectly overheat the ground temp/water table, etc.).

      • iterable@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        How would you define tidal as proven? Also correct there is no one solution for all areas. Unless you built a massive solar panel array around the planet I guess.

    • amigan@lemmy.dynatron.me
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      1 year ago

      Producing wafers for solar panels is indeed one of the most ecologically damaging activities we can engage in. Have you ever been to a semiconductor fab?

      • iterable@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Solar does not mean just solar panels. There are methods of using solar without them. Also what about wind, geothermal, or tidal?

        • amigan@lemmy.dynatron.me
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          1 year ago

          What else does it mean, CSP? I’d love to see more CSP projects, but it’s not where most of the investment is. Wind, as I’ve pointed out, is even less space-efficient than solar. And geothermal also isn’t seeing the same investment dollars. It should. Tidal power is interesting, but good luck with the fishing lobby. My state has the first commerical offshore wind farm in the US, and it continues to receive significant backlash from the fishing industry. This isn’t nearly as invasive as tidal might be.

          And this is to ignore the elephant in the room, that without nuclear, we will not get away from fossil fuels soon enough. We don’t have the technology to solve the base load problem with renewables yet. Making plans based on some assumed cadence of progress is a recipe for disaster. Storage is a hard problem, and batteries are such a dirty, shitty technology.