Germany decides to abandon nuclear power by 2022

It is not a simple fossil fuel or nuclear power question. The US could go 100% renewable if there was a will to do it.

One lesson from the Japanese experience is that it is not a situation where you want people hiding their mistakes. The US military has far to much experience hiding mistakes.

 

The question is, how much will they rely on coal? I am not a nuke fan, but the question is quite complicated. Let's hope they have the national will to do this right.

Icarus

 

Coal's future suddenly looks brighter in Germany | Business | Deutsche Welle | 11.05.2011

 

Apparently not well enough if you know about them.



Tom

 

Isn't what de-facto happened with US program after Chernobyl? of cause 3-mile island accident and the Challenger disaster did not help.

 

There are pilot ccs and other types that burn coal in co2 an o2 not air, but the general plan is as follows.

Germany to have coal power plants with the least CO₂ emissions? - Interesting energy facts

This is an example of a technology that will be used in new plants

http://www.siemens.com/innovation/e...earch_news/2008/index/e_22_resnews_0814_2.htm

 

The 45%-50% is current tech for new plants using IGCC. The problem is the cost of the plants and there are still some problems with water polution. These plants eliminate a great deal of SO2 and NOx compared to conventional plants. The O2 and CO2 is called oxyfuel and has a pilot plant in Schwarze Pumpe by berlin. You will likely be disapointed in this technology if you don't trust CCS, as though it reduces NOx further the main point is to make it less expensive to add CCS onto a coal plant, and this is planned for the second stage for the demo at Schwarze Pumpe.

For comparison in the united states, there is ample natural gas, and Siemens equivalent CC design is 60% percent efficient, which makes it produce about 42% as much CO2 as the 50% efficient coal plant before sequestration. CCS can be added to either plant.

 

The thing that makes me laugh (in a sarcastic manner) is that Germany will be shutting down its nuclear plants which generate 23% of their electricity only to import electricity from France!!! France the Country that generates most of its power from nuclear and has so much that it actually makes a fortune exporting it to other Countries - the UK being one and shortly Germany.

So you can't have nuclear in your own Country but it's ok to import nuclear produced electricity from the Country next door? That's ok then? ha ha ha.

 

Yes, it is classic NIMBY.

Tom

 

I am sure that the politicians in Germany that want to close the German power plants would also like to close those in France. I doubt with the euro debt crisis it is a burning issue between germany and france though. The politics does speak to some hypocrisy though.

How is that? Germany can not enact a trade barrier from the importation of French power with out some really nasty politics. Germany currently buys off peak power from france and sells it peak power. Nuclear does not have a cost efficient way to throttle down power production which is one reason france sells low cost power when it is greater than their consumption.

 

- The Japanese NDP was in the pocket of industry and organized crime for decades and now they're paying for it.
- The Germans are hysterical Pollyannas. Betcha a dollar they never shut down all of their nuke plants.
- For the best existing model of nuclear power management, study France.

 

Germany must be upwind of France.

 

I disagree with GC's accusation that German use of French nuclear power is hypocritical, unless France builds more plants to supply Germany.