Nuclear vs Solar/Wind

The cluster debates the limitations of intermittent solar and wind power for baseload needs, advocating for nuclear as a reliable clean backup or complement to renewables over fossil fuels.

📉 Falling 0.3x Science
3,762
Comments
20
Years Active
5
Top Authors
#4334
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Keywords

e.g US youtu.be CO2 IV AND NOT KNOW solar solar wind wind nuclear coal wind solar fossil power fossil fuels batteries

Sample Comments

otikik Aug 1, 2022 View on HN

Solar and Wind need a backup. Solar only works for 1/3 of the day, at most. It needs a backup. At the moment our backup is burning fossil fuels. Solar and Wind are only clean if their backup is clean, too. Otherwise they are an incomplete solution. Nuclear a better, greener backup.

reedjosh Feb 21, 2021 View on HN

Solar & wind != nuclear.Solar and wind are not on demand and require storage that's not currently practical.

Mrdarknezz Aug 31, 2020 View on HN

Wind and solar can't power civilization alone. You need either Nuclear or fossil to provide the baseload.

boxed May 23, 2025 View on HN

Any? Solar and nuclear would like a word :P

nanny Jul 29, 2019 View on HN

It's too late. Solar and wind have the popularity and the momentum. They won. The base cost to solar is also much, much cheaper than nuclear, making it easier to practically implement. And solar/wind is a better long term solution anyway in that we don't have to worry about waste management, safety, maintenance, etc. It can also be extremely decentralized.

swebs Aug 7, 2018 View on HN

I'd much rather have solar/wind/nuclear than solar/wind/gas.

Reedx Apr 3, 2019 View on HN

Solar & wind are great, but no mention of nuclear? (look into Gen IV if concerned about nuclear's reputation)That's looking like what we need most of all if we want to seriously tackle the problem.If you're wondering why, Bill Gates argues a good case on why solar & wind are not enough: https://youtu.be/d1EB1zsxW0k?t=518

pmarca Apr 19, 2020 View on HN

Solar and wind are great, but they don't provide continuous power. We need them, and nuclear.

enqk Sep 19, 2019 View on HN

Why no mention of nuclear electricity generation, which requires less CO2 than Solar and even Wind? (For the same amount of available power)

macspoofing Feb 20, 2024 View on HN

Right .. Nuclear is fine. It is a perfectly viable way to power your economy. Solar/Wind/Batteries are not.