Re:Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output
by Arn_Thor on Friday July 26, 2019 @05:27AM
(#20533485)
Doesn't have to be greater than winter usage to be problematic. All it takes is several unfortunate events occurring at the same time—the kind of curve ball father time likes to throw occasionally. Say, extra hot weather, little wind which leaves wind power lacking, a few gas power plants out for technical reasons or supply shortage and then throw in baseload nuclear power plants short on water.. Unlikely? Yes, but unlikely events occur all the time. And for something essential as electricity..such a risk should be taken seriously, not dismissed out of hand as a "non-problem"
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Re:Hot weather cuts French, German nuclear power output
by seszett on Friday July 26, 2019 @06:40AM
(#20533788)
Well, right now there is extra hot weather, little wind, little installed solar power in France (and reduced solar power output because of the heat) and no problem at all either. There is a lot of spare gas capacity, the gas plants are mostly unused right now, and the nuclear plants are more than able to cope with the power demand, as less than 60% of installed capacity is needed now.
There is really no reason to think there is, or could be any problem in summer in the foreseeable future, since we are already in a worst case situation (highest temperatures ever recorded, basically no renewables used, nuclear as almost the only source of electricity at the moment) that is not problematic.