I despair that Canadian first nations might put equity into unconventional nuclear. They are being poorly advised.
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“It’s not going to happen twice. So, we demand to be a part of the small modular reactors opportunity. We see tremendous opportunity and growth with this new technology.”
— Jim Ward, general manager, North Shore Mi’kmaq Tribal Council
To get a sense why unconventional nuclear is a bad investment...
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This ‘diseconomy of scale’ was demonstrated by the now-terminated proposal to build six NuScale Power SMRs (77 megawatts each) in Idaho in the United States.
The final cost estimate of the project per megawatt was around 250 percent more than the initial per megawatt cost for the 2,200 megawatts Vogtle nuclear power plant being built in Georgia, US.
"#Batteries the biggest player again as renewable records smashed in #California, reach 156 pct of load
Last week battery storage became, for the first time, the largest supply source in the evening peak of what is one of the world’s largest grids. On Tuesday, it discharged more than 6 GW for the first time, providing up to a 25 per cent share of supply, and was the biggest provider on the grid for two hours."
We are probably underestimating the potential for battery storage.
The assumption that it is not the appropriate technology for longer term storage was I think based on cost but the cost reduction with Na-ion batteries suggests that a whole lot more battery storage can be built.
Hydro initially expected net income of $450 million for this fiscal year. That changed when widespread drought led to low water on Lake Winnipeg, which drains into the Nelson River, where Hydro's largest generating stations are situated.
Hydro says this low water "significantly reduced net export revenues" and is expected to drive down power production this fiscal year by nearly a quarter of what was predicted.
Wrote about the World Meteorological Organizations "State of Global Water Resources Report" that came out last Fall and from a Canadian context highlighted the extensive amount of abnormally dry or in drought land in Canada at the end of December, and the deluges that were seen in New England, Quebec and the Maritimes last summer.
“Every seed company is facing these problems, but they probably wouldn’t want to tell you that,” said Alan Sparks, an industry veteran who consults for Baker Creek Seeds. “‘We’ve got everything in control! Everything’s gonna be OK!’ But it’s not OK.” https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/16/seed-farmers-climate-change
How a potential drought would affect highly-coveted water in Alberta's south
'We can't just rely on hope,' says professor emeritus at University of Lethbridge
Stefan Kienzle, a professor emeritus of the department of geography and environment at the University of Lethbridge.
"The consequence of all this is, sadly, that in many areas in southern Alberta, dryland farming is becoming not economically viable anymore." https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-drought-rebecca-schulz-stefan-kienzle-irrigation-1.7074092
I have long been a fan of Hannah Ritchie of Our World in Data, and I was eager to read her new book, "Not the End of the World." Sometimes, I think she is a bit too sunny and borderline Panglossian, but in times like these, we can use a little optimism. My review: https://lloydalter.substack.com/p/sorry-doomers-hannah-ritchie-says
The sunny happy climate VIPs seem more and more inclined to apply a binary to those paying attention to climate. If you aren’t in agreement with them you are a doomer.
With 81% of Canada’s agricultural land in drought one should be greatly concerned.
Mastodon is a little easier to get into when you already kinda understand how and why it works, so yeah, folks with an IT background are keener to adopt.
My uncle moved into town, Stratford, Ontario, after my Aunt passed.
He’s not a grumpy guy but he definitely depended on his mini-van to get around. He bought an electric bike out of curiousity and found it to be a pleasant way to get around town. I think he is on his third electric bike now.