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In a First, Wind and Solar Generated More Power Than Coal in U.S. (www.scientificamerican.com)
submitted 3 years ago* by to c/science@beehaw.org
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"Wind and solar produced more U.S. power than coal during the first five months of this year, as several coal plants closed and gas prices dropped"

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[–] 1 point 3 years ago (1 child)

How hydrogen is transforming these tiny Scottish islands

Scotland’s Orkney Islands produce more clean energy than their inhabitants can use. Their next step? Hydrogen.

Hydrogen is not free of problems: it degrades metal, leaks above a very low level have the potential to negate the environmental benefits, and it's not particularly efficient because of the cost of compression. And Green hydrogen (which is more like a battery than a fuel) risks providing Big Carbon with a new excuse to pollute with their multi-coloured array of non-Green hydrogens (which are filthy fuels, nothing like a battery).

But I'm not at all convinced about nuclear providing better answers than renewables. It takes decades for a new nuclear plant to come online, the same money invested in renewables starts yielding benefits immediately. And the problem of disposing of nuclear waste is not yet solved.

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  • [–] 2 points 3 years ago

    Idk that it's better than renewables, I'd say they're complimentary. And I'm not sure we'd need new big multi-million new ones, newer models can be much smaller, cheaper, and modular. But places like Germany shutting down perfectly functional nuclear plants drives me nuts, just ups the coal and gas usage.

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