The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables

Re:The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables by cyberax on Sunday August 24, 2025 @02:26PM (#45006463)

> This truly is getting quite sad. Who cares if the 1 in 36 year event is solved with fossil fuels, biofuels, synfuels, hydrogen or whatever?

Because it requires maintaining costly infrastructure that needs to provide more than 100% of normal generation for these cases.

And even without considering _extreme_ events, normal weather variations still require multi-day storage capacity which is _still_ prohibitively expensive.

> The study of course did not specify what level of renewables they implemented. What would a 20% overbuild lead to? 50%? It would still cost a fraction compared to new built nuclear power.

Renewables need 10x (1000%) overbuild to ride through Dunkelflaute in Germany. And that's a conservative estimate.

> But whenever a cold spell hits that export flow is reversed to imports and they have to start up local fossil gas and coal based production.

Why are Greens always lying? https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20240118-france-reclaims-title-...

France had a rough 2 years when they took offline multiple plants due to deferred maintenance and bad luck. Now it's back to normal.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables by ViewTrick1002 on Sunday August 24, 2025 @05:06PM (#45007784)

> Because it requires maintaining costly infrastructure that needs to provide more than 100% of normal generation for these cases.

Please do tell me how costly an already existing open cycle gas turbine is to maintain compared to new built nuclear power.

This is truly getting silly.

> Renewables need 10x (1000%) overbuild to ride through Dunkelflaute in Germany. And that's a conservative estimate.

Again making numbers up without showing any sources to back it up. This truly is getting sad, I can tell that you are grasping for the straws.

> Why are Greens always lying? https://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20240118-france-reclaims-title-...

It is quite telling that you don't comprehend what I am saying. Or maybe don't want to comprehend? Easier to call me a "green liar".

Did I talk about the state of the French grid at average? Yes, I clearly validated your point that when no one cares the French are exporting massive amounts of electricity. Citing myself: "They generally export quite large amounts of electricity."

But the point, and interesting question what happens when the French grid is strained. That is where I spent the bulk of my comment, which you pointedly ignored because that means accepting that the French grid does not work during the similar conditions as you decry renewables for.

You even gave me a link to a study saying that nuclear power does not solve storage requirements during Dunkeflautes.

Let me cite myself:

> Take a look at France. They generally export quite large amounts of electricity. But whenever a cold spell hits that export flow is reversed to imports and they have to start up local fossil gas and coal based production.

> What they have done is that they have outsourced the management of their grid to their neighbors and rely on 35 GW of fossil based electricity production both inside France and their neighbors grids. Because their nuclear power produces too much when no one wants the electricity and too little when it is actually needed.

> Their neighbors are able to both absorb the cold spell which very likely hits them as well, their own grid as the French exports stops and they start exporting to France.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables by cyberax on Sunday August 24, 2025 @07:31PM (#45008765)

> Please do tell me how costly an already existing open cycle gas turbine is to maintain compared to new built nuclear power.

Sad, utterly sad.

> Again making numbers up without showing any sources to back it up. This truly is getting sad, I can tell that you are grasping for the straws.

Can you read the Wiki, please? At least. Thanks.

> Let me cite myself

Yes, you lied. The last year during the Dunkelflaute in November, France was exporting energy to Germany.

Here is proof: https://transparency.entsoe.eu/transmission-domain/physicalF... - you can look for the days around Nov 5, 2024. Germany with its oh-so-great renewables was being bailed out by France. Along with Spain and Belgium.

So what next? Can you give me a link to the border flow records that show France importing power during cold spells?

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables by ViewTrick1002 on Monday August 25, 2025 @04:53AM (#45011743)

Thank you for confirming that the maintenance costs for an open cycle gas turbine is near zero.

Why do you keep dodging? Because it means you have to accept that nuclear power does not solve the problem you decry as the end of the world?

You do know that Germany has enough thermal power to run the entire country without any imports or help from renewables?

I love when buying cheaper electricity than you can make on your own on the European market is billed as "the grid would otherwise collapse!!!".

You truly are out of your depth here.

Here's a random selection when the French grid would collapse without 35 GW of their own and neighbors fossil based electricity:

https://energy-charts.info/charts/power/chart.htm?l=en&c=FR&...

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables by dang on Monday August 25, 2025 @11:37PM (#45022006)

It's not ok to post like this. Please see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45021995 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45021981.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:The US Department of Agriculture Bans Support for Renewables by dang on Monday August 25, 2025 @11:37PM (#45022004)

Could you please stop posting in the flamewar style to HN? We've asked you this more than once before, and we eventually have to ban accounts that keep doing this. I don't want to ban you.

If you'd please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and stick to the rules when posting here, we'd appreciate it.

[ Parent | on HN ]