[Congressman Billybob]

The writer of this is not thinking outside of the box. The "excess" capacity of new, US nuclear plants would not be "wasted" at night. Instead, with just a little bit of thinking, it would be put into batteries that would be installed in cars, and would free us from Middle East Oil for the balance of our history.

That is not a negative result. It is a positive one.

Congressman Billybob

Latest article, "King George Wears a Black Robe"

[ReveBM]

We could use all the excess power to charge up batteries of electromagnetic rail guns guarding our borders. We could hit ships hundreds of miles off shore with them.

[Ben Chad]

Exactly the point I was about to make, except you said it a lot better.

[CitizenUSA]

Batteries are just one of many technological solutions. Here are others: high-mass flywheels (kinetic energy), compressed gas (internal energy), elevated fluid reservoirs (potential energy). All can be used to store excess energy from nukes during non-peak hours. These technologies are already in use, but it would take a great deal of further analysis to determine the best solution(s) for a particular energy need. Again, that is exactly why the government needs to get out of the energy business. They are only going to muck it up! The free market is best at deciding the most economical way to deliver the greatest amount of energy at the least possible cost to the greatest number of people. That’s why blanket statements like, “nuclear is bad” or “solar is good” are nonsensical.

[AndyJackson]

There are mutliple things wrong with this guys thesis and anyalysis. Even if EDF has run at a loss, that loss is more than compensated by not having to keep two battle groups on patrol in the IO for eternity. Second, EDF is a state run socialized organization and is not necesarily supposed to run at a profit. I am sure that a lot of its profitablity woes at EDF could be fixed by moving folks from the emplyment roles at EDF to the general welfare roles. Third, night time electricity is used in the US. Energy intensive industries prefer to run at times of cheap power. Fourth, the state of Illinois gets about 80% of its electrical power from nuclear plants operated by Excelon. Fifth, the guy is anti-nuke and anti-coal. He is pushing non-existent “alternatives.” Sixth: “61% of the French public favours a phase-out of nuclear energy.” there is no evidence for that. The French are laughing their heads off at the rest of the world. They are “energy independent.”