Wind Power falling out of favor

[forkup]

How many sq miles of windmills equals 1 nuke plant.

How many risk you want to take for efficiency. Not trying to deflect but that's the calculation. As I said there are countries right now that are capable of providing 50 percent of their power needs solely from wins. Showing it is possible.

Yes, nuclear is much more efficient. But it guarantees problems. At best for future generations. At worst right now.

So, I'll ask you too. What do you suggest you do with fuel that remains dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years?

 

[forkup]

No problemo, Señor. Spent nuclear fuel has many nifty uses...


AI Overview
Learn more

Depleted uranium, a byproduct of the nuclear fuel cycle, is primarily used in military applications like tank armor and armor-piercing ammunition due to its high density and ability to sharpen on impact. It also finds some use in civilian applications, such as radiation shielding and as ballast. Additionally, depleted uranium can be mixed with recycled plutonium to create mixed oxide fuel (MOX), says the World Nuclear Association.


Here's a more detailed breakdown:


Military Uses:

• Tank Armor:
  Depleted uranium is incorporated into tank armor, making it more resistant to penetration by other rounds, says the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (.gov).
• 
  
• Armor-Piercing Rounds:
  It's used in the tips of tank shells, bullets, and mortar rounds to enhance their penetration capabilities, says the BBC.
  
  
• 
  
• Aircraft Balance Weights:
  Due to its high density, it's used as a balancing weight in aircraft, says the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Civilian Uses:

• Radiation Shielding: Depleted uranium is used as a shielding material, particularly in industrial radiography and medical settings,.
• 
  
• Ballast: It can be used as ballast in various applications, such as sailboat keels.
  
  
• 
  
• Mixed Oxide Fuel (MOX): Depleted uranium can be mixed with recycled plutonium to create MOX fuel, which can be used in nuclear reactors, says the World Nuclear Association.

Are you suggesting all nuclear waste can simply be recycled? Not according to AI.

However, recycling nuclear waste is complex and expensive. Some forms of radioactive waste, particularly high-level waste, remain hazardous for thousands of years and require secure long-term storage

 

[GMCGeneral]

I took this photo last summer along the highway around The Dalles Oregon.
Notice how small the tractor pulling this wind blade looks, and keep in mind the end of the blade is out of the picture, and also this was just a single blade.

View attachment 1102806

Oh that's nothing. Try waiting at a railroad crossing with a freight train pulling a bunch of them.

 

[Manonthestreet]

How many risk you want to take for efficiency. Not trying to deflect but that's the calculation. As I said there are countries right now that are capable of providing 50 percent of their power needs solely from wins. Showing it is possible.

Yes, nuclear is much more efficient. But it guarantees problems. At best for future generations. At worst right now.

So, I'll ask you too. What do you suggest you do with fuel that remains dangerously radioactive for tens of thousands of years?

Big wind has plenty of waste problems

Big Wind’s Dirty Little Secret: Toxic Lakes and Radioactive Waste

The wind industry promotes itself as better for the environment than traditional energy sources such as coal and natural gas.…

www.instituteforenergyresearch.org

The toxic fallout from wind turbine blades ‘should not be underestimated’

Recent research reveals that as blade coatings degrade, they leach thousands of tons of noxious metals into the water -- and your seafood. When one of the massive turbine blades at Vineyard Wind fell apart last July, an intense although short-lived

www.wind-watch.org

 

[forkup]

Big wind has plenty of waste problems

Big Wind’s Dirty Little Secret: Toxic Lakes and Radioactive Waste

The wind industry promotes itself as better for the environment than traditional energy sources such as coal and natural gas.…

www.instituteforenergyresearch.org

The toxic fallout from wind turbine blades ‘should not be underestimated’

Recent research reveals that as blade coatings degrade, they leach thousands of tons of noxious metals into the water -- and your seafood. When one of the massive turbine blades at Vineyard Wind fell apart last July, an intense although short-lived

www.wind-watch.org

First off. When your sources are entirely devoted to attack renewable energy and are funded by the fossil fuel industry, I will be skeptical of its validity.

Institute for Energy Research - Bias and Credibility

RIGHT BIAS These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward conservative causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may

mediabiasfactcheck.com

We rate its reporting as Mixed for factual accuracy, as it does not always align with the consensus of science by selectively presenting data that favors fossil fuels while downplaying or omitting information on climate change and renewable energy viability.

Here the omission would be that there is a difference in "nuclear waste". Ore for instance can be radioactive, and toxic but a spend fuel rod containing enriched uranium is deadly and will remain deadly for thousands of years. It's like claiming a broken pinkie and a heart attack are the same thing because they both require medical attention.

The simple fact is that whatever pollution is associated with wind power absolutely pales in comparison with the pollution and risks associated with its alternatives.

 

[JGalt]

Are you suggesting all nuclear waste can simply be recycled? Not according to AI.

However, recycling nuclear waste is complex and expensive. Some forms of radioactive waste, particularly high-level waste, remain hazardous for thousands of years and require secure long-term storage

Well there's one more reason to make Canada and Greenland our 51st and 52nd states.

 

[elektra]

And we are beginning to see more and more of these eyesores dotting the country: Most of the components are not recyclable and as the turbines wear out after 15-20 years or so, they are often just abandoned.


View attachment 1102802View attachment 1102808View attachment 1102805View attachment 1102803

They dont last 20 years. No wind turbine in your pictured are older than 7 years.

5 years is about how long they last.

 

[elektra]

Are you suggesting all nuclear waste can simply be recycled? Not according to AI.

AI? How would AI know?

 

[Foxfyre]

They dont last 20 years. No wind turbine in your pictured are older than 7 years.

5 years is about how long they last.

 

[Foxfyre]

They dont last 20 years. No wind turbine in your pictured are older than 7 years.

5 years is about how long they last.

Those I've pictured have most likely been there for decades. I know of a couple of them like that between here and the Pacific coast. There are no doubt more but I've seen two abandoned wind farms.

The average U.S. wind turbine is designed to be operational for 20 or so years but all need heavy maintenance well before that time. The average age of existing wind turbines is about seven years. So in another decade and a half the closed down and rotting wind farms could be everywhere.

How Long Do Wind Turbines Last? Average Lifespan Explained - Energy Follower

There is very little data on modern turbines reaching their life expectancy so it is largely unknown how long they will be operable.

energyfollower.com

 

[Leo123]

It is worse than you think

Trump says they cause Windmill Cancer

Biden said windshield oil caused cancer. Meh

 

[elektra]

Those I've pictured have most likely been there for decades. I know of a couple of them like that between here and the Pacific coast. There are no doubt more but I've seen two abandoned wind farms.

The average U.S. wind turbine is designed to be operational for 20 or so years but all need heavy maintenance well before that time. The average age of existing wind turbines is about seven years. So in another decade and a half the closed down and rotting wind farms could be everywhere.

How Long Do Wind Turbines Last? Average Lifespan Explained - Energy Follower

There is very little data on modern turbines reaching their life expectancy so it is largely unknown how long they will be operable.

energyfollower.com

Most everything concerning wind and solar is exagerrated to the extreme to make wind and solar sell to the public.

Wind and solqr are miserable

 

[DGS49]

The issue of spent nuclear fuel is massive and complicated. The "bottom line" is that the Federal government's WIPP facility in New Mexico is large enough to store ALL of the spent fuel that is now being stored at commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S. Unlike the manufactured fiasco at Yucca Mountain, the locals near Carlsbad, NM are cool with storing spent fuel at that site, but transporting it will be problematic, with every fucking mayor of a town along the transport route doing what small town mayors do.

As for re-using spent fuel, it can be done and it is done. I vaguely recall James Earl Carter killing a project in which private companies had built a reprocessing facility in South Carolina, but Carter thought it was a bad idea.