After nuclear disaster, Japan to install ten new solar power plants and more

Well, it's a no-brainer to me. Though, it would be foolish to not also install wind power generators.

 

I really hope Japan and Germany can pull this off and bring renewable energy to the mainstream. It would be nice to see something good come from the disaster that happened.

 

Too bad nobody had the common sense to locate the emergency backup generators UPHILL from the plant, instead of next to the shoreline.

 

that was pretty thick. It really amazes me that they hadn't really considered the tsunami threat in their contingency planning.

 

:frusty:

 

The emergency generators in the USA probably wont work anyway.They dont need a tsunami to fail.Just a tornado to knock out power lines.
US nuclear power generators fail during tests - Utility Products Magazine
"In a failure that paralleled those at Fukushima in Japan, generators in US nuclear power stations failed during tests at the Seabrook Station in New Hampshire and 32 other US plants in the past eight years, according to a report by US Representative Edward J Markey's office.
Markey's report related to backup generators that failed, making them inoperable for at least a day, and noted that there had been at least 69 reports of problems with emergency diesel generators during tests conducted at 33 nuclear plants.
It was found that a total of 48 reactors had been affected, with failures at 19 that lasted over two weeks and six that lasted longer than a month, according to the report.
According to Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the agency took the maintenance and testing of emergency diesel generators very seriously, as their lack of availability raised plant safety risk."

 

I mean really, how damn hard is it to think ahead and make sure that a SIMPLE AC power generator be placed in a safe location, much less actually work the second you need them! Hello, buried conduit, for the power mains...greatly Tsunami resistant. The plant I work in went to the extent of placing the key portions that are ABSOLUTLY required to maintain operation on a hughmongos UPS supply, well sorta like Fukushima, 8 hours on battery. The backup generators back the UPS up. Jesus, it's not really that hard......

 

Good idea. It seems there should be rules requiring the immediate shutdown of a plant if its backup systems are not fully functional, and rules requiring regular testing and maintenance of backup systems.

 

I am pleased to see that Japan is looking to go solar. Any existing power plant can be converted to solar, even abandoned plants as long as they still contain the generators. Plants are generally on large pieces of land, providing ample space for the solar collectors. The distribution infrastructure is already in place.

I agree that they should amend the solar plan with wind, especially given the amount of coastline they have. Perhaps this entrepreneur will get Japan off to a good start, making the best of a bad situation.

 

Just to add an interesting wrinkle to this drama, Mr. Son is ethnic Korean.

 

I can see this one coming, they place the Solar Systems near the top of Mt. Fuji.......
They will finish the plant just in time for Fuji to erupt again....