Summary

Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA, called Germany’s decision to fully phase out nuclear power “illogical,” noting it is the only country to have done so.

Despite the completed phase-out in 2023, there is renewed debate in Germany about reviving nuclear energy due to its low greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking at COP29, Grossi described reconsidering nuclear as a “rational” choice, especially given global interest in nuclear for emissions reduction.

Germany’s phase-out, driven by environmental concerns and past nuclear disasters, has been criticized for increasing reliance on Russian gas and missing carbon reduction opportunities.

  • einkorn@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    8
    arrow-down
    2
    ·
    14 hours ago

    Unless you’re ready to fill the country with a thousand battery farms,

    Oh I am totally ready to do that. A third of these batteries will be actually farms, a third will be sitting stationary in everybodies cellars and sheds and the other half will be rolling on the streets in form of electric vehicles.

    Top off your own batteries and EV with surpluses during excess production and drain them during dry situations. Most people seem to forget that EVs can work both ways.

    • TimeSquirrel@kbin.melroy.org
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      5
      ·
      14 hours ago

      There is literally not enough minable lithium on this planet for that to be a viable option worldwide. Somewhere, somebody is going to have to use an alternate source.

      • nublug@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        7
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        13 hours ago

        sodium. gravity. carbon capacitors. lead acid. molten salt. air pressure. flywheel.

        there’s alllll kinds of battery storage solutions, and for grid storage just about anything other than lithium can be used because lithium is really only useful for power density applications where weight and size of the battery matters like cars and planes.

        nuclear fission is dead. fusion is the only nuclear worth talking about and that’s still years, probably decades away from being actually useful.

        so then: solar, wind, wave, hydro, geothermal, and all kinds of batteries is what we have now and can do cheaply and do everywhere and do it now.

      • einkorn@feddit.org
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        13 hours ago

        Not all batteries in the world have to be made of lithium. Depending on the use case other materials cab be even superior.