Quote:
Originally Posted by Eternal
Solar with storage is a proven technology and is already in operation around the globe. There are already many Australian companies with expertise in this area. As opposed to the more ignorant comments on this forum it can still provide power after the sun has gone down.
The equation is therefore quite simple -
Solar with storage = proven technology already in operation around the world + significant expertise in Australia + renewable resource = Best choice
Thorium power plant = unproven technology with no plant in operation in the world + toxic waste + non-renewable resource = FAIL!
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Well, let's looks at this. Proven renewables:
PV solar provides no power when the Sun goes down. (house-hold systems with batteries and inverters simply can't satisfy baseload demands)
Wind provides no power on calm days.
Thermal Solar. Yes it can produce base load, but so, far plant output is quite tiny (200Mw) . Baseload? Questionable.
Thorium. Unproven? Hardly!
A Molten Salt Reactor (MSR) was run in the US from 1965 to 1969. It was brilliant, they literally turned it off on the weekends and fired it up again on a Monday. Waste...again the amounts are extremely small. The vast bulk of which go back to background levels in short periods.
Non-renewable. True. Proven reserves will only last a paultry 1000 or more years.
The real rub seems to be cost. Our current coal fired plants cost around $2.20 per watt, vs $2.00 a watt for thorium.
Compared around $9.00 per watt for solar systems (!!) they are dirt cheap.
Unless renewables get a whole lot cheaper, or if you'd want to pay 5x your current electricity bill, the answer seems fairly clear cut.