SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
Nine gigawatts of wind turbines were added last year in the US:
Earlier this year in the US, energy generation from wind, solar, and hydroelectric dams combined to top coal generation for over two months straight. This was the product of spring peaks in renewable generation and reduced electrical demand during lockdowns, but those events were layered on top of coal's continuing decline and the long-term growth of renewables. A new report from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory looks back at 2019—what is now known as the Before Times—to tally up year-end totals for the wind industry.
[...] a little over nine gigawatts of wind capacity was added last year—slightly more than in each of the four previous years. Wind accounts for about one-third of all new generation added in 2019, and it ticked up to seven percent of all electricity generated in the US.
[...] The trend toward bigger wind turbines continued, with the average capacity of a turbine built last year reaching 2.55 megawatts. The height of the tower on which the turbine sits has risen over time—now averaging 90 meters—but the bigger factor is longer blades. Average rotor diameter was 120 meters, up from closer to 80 meters a decade ago.
[...] Costs, meanwhile, continue to tick down from a 2010 peak, reaching about $850 per kilowatt for turbines and $1,400 per kilowatt on the project scale. That brings the average cost of electricity produced from wind to $36 per megawatt-hour. Wind has maintained its cost lead over natural gas electricity, although solar electricity has caught up in the last few years.
(Score: 4, Informative) by looorg on Monday August 31 2020, @01:38PM (4 children)
Trying to gather how much adding 9GW of power would be compared to the total generation and usage. I was actually expecting to see Nuclear being higher, somewhat surprised that the country still seems to be highly depending on Coal and Gas, also I was expecting a lot more hydro-electrical power. Non-hydro-electric renewable energy sources are just about 10% of the total generation. Natural gas in the top with 38% - coal 23% - nuclear 20% - renewable 17% (7% hydro, 10% all non-hydro) - petroleum 1% (2019)
https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/electricity/electricity-in-the-us-generation-capacity-and-sales.php [eia.gov]
(Score: 4, Informative) by Phoenix666 on Monday August 31 2020, @04:20PM (3 children)
Nuclear is a workhorse. NYC gets 1/3 of its power from Indian Point up the Hudson. I am not a nuclear booster per se, but they have made major strides with recycling fuel rods so it seems like it should be a greater part of the mix. Coal and gas should be phased out as quickly as possible. For residential use, solar panels and other renewables like micro-hydro and wind are what I prefer because it removes dependence on the grid, but factories and commercial usage will probably always need grid ties.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2020, @05:17PM
yes. i want a small solar+hydrogen power plant for my house that costs $5-10k.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 31 2020, @06:57PM (1 child)
Nukes generate gigawatts of electricity day in, day out, night or day, while emitting ZERO carbon dioxide.
Why hell aren't we building MORE?
The waste issue is a non-issue with fuel reprocessing.
If you truly care about global warming, nukes have to be one of the cornerstones.
(Score: 2) by RS3 on Wednesday September 02 2020, @03:19PM
Popular misconception, and a great example of why the news media bothers me- they NEVER tell the whole story. “Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.” ― Mark Twain
The Three Mile Island accident of 1979 forever changed the public's perception of nuclear power. NEVER have I seen an article about how nuclear power was made safer after that.
You know how I know? I work for a company that made safety monitoring systems and sensors. When I met him a few years ago, the company owner's comment to me was "if they had used our systems, you would never have heard of Three Mile Island."
And it isn't technology that was developed after the fact- it just wasn't required at the time.
All that said, there are many problems. These people make very good points: https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/nuclear-delusions/ [greenpeace.org]