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Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by r00fus on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @03:02PM (#36231805)
For baseload power I agree, but looking at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, it's hard not to see the downsides of nuclear: it's vulnerable to water/cooling issues and can be weaponized by terrorists or an invading army.

Solar has none of these issues, and is resilient/decentralized as well.

Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by xyzzyz on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @03:22PM (#36232095)
Same can be said about cities: they are vulnerable to water issues (if a city loses access to water, it’s a major disaster), and military can weaponize them as fortification.

Does it mean that we shouldn’t build cities? No, obviously not, that’s silly: it just means that you have to make sure water is flowing, and that military invasions are hugely destructive.

Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by bwb on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @03:30PM (#36232208)
That isn't a good analogy.

Cities have multiple water sources, and it is a very complex system. Not to mention we have special trucks and responses when that happens (at least in the USA).

Nuclear has some problems.

Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by crznp on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @04:28PM (#36233082)
Do cities have redundant water sources though? Not all of NYC's water goes through Hillview Reservoir, but it seems like a pretty serious vulnerability to me. It doesn't seem like a terrible analogy.

But cities are worth the risk, can you say the same about nuclear plants? Most established designs can't operate as peaker plants, or even seasonal plants (eg: covering for solar in the winter when there is less sun and more load for heating). They are expensive because they are mired in political issues and red tape. I don't think it has to be like that, and I wish it weren't. But is fixing nuclear an easier problem to solve than to invest in grid storage and more dynamic pricing?

Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by bwb on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @05:55PM (#36234160)
It is a good question, and I am not sure either.
Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by CyberDildonics on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @05:41PM (#36233998)
That's a bizarre argument when the point being made is that solar is an alternative that doesn't have those problems.
Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by the8472 on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @03:16PM (#36232020)
> and can be weaponized by terrorists or an invading army.

These risks seem vastly overstated for a large fraction of the world. That such events happen occasionally does not mean the entire world needs to be on a war footing all the time. That would be incredibly wasteful.

> it's vulnerable to water/cooling issues

Yeah that seems more like an issue but may be solvable by using sea water for cooling?

Re:Global Solar Power Investment Will Top $1B per Day This Year by r00fus on Wednesday June 07, 2023 @08:17PM (#36235476)
> These risks seem vastly overstated for a large fraction of the world. That such events happen occasionally does not mean the entire world needs to be on a war footing all the time. That would be incredibly wasteful.

That’s part of the problem. It’s an asymmetric risk/cost issue. The attackers only need to get it right once, you need to defend your installation constantly.

Security for nuclear power stations already increase the upkeep cost considerably.