The Case For Renewables

This planet is saying to us we have to produce base power without carbon and do it now!!! There is a way. Use natural flows. We have the know-how and technology to provide all our energy needs using solar and wind with integrated storage of the energy. In the case of solar using photo voltaic cells, storage can done by using flow batteries, and in the case of solar thermal it can be done thermo chemically, and in the case of wind also flow battery storage can be used. Base power for industry can be achieved 24/7 this way. Wind and photo voltaic cells also have the advantage of distribution so distribution of these adds to the capacity factor and or can allow for less storage requirement. In some countries geothermal energy can provide large amounts of power 24/7 and tidal and wave flows are possible in many countries. Combinations of all of these could provide for an extremely reliable power supply. Doing anything else e.g. building nuclear power stations or developing “clean coal” or CO2 geosequestration is wasting time and will in the long run result in more CO2 in the atmosphere and in the case of nuclear, is only continuing what should be wound down as a dangerous technology, not only because of it’s inherent safety requirements but because the world will never have a safe nuclear industry because the world is entrenched in crazy ideologies. And it can’t provide power without carbon because of the progression of the fuel from mining through to refining transport and disposal. The biggest uranium mine in the world Olympic Dam will be expanded to become the deepest and largest hole in the world emitting carbon on a grand scale! And carbon will be produced in construction and decommissioning. There is only one way to go to satisfy zero carbon now; it’s by using natural flows of renewable energy. For any success for renewable energy in the commercial world to happen it has to provide base power for industry 24/7. Storage of the sun’s energy together with competitive prices to the consumer is the key to this. We are at the crossroads of this happening now with employment of cheap construction materials, zero input energy cost and the utilization of already mature technologies and large-scale setups enabling solar power to enter the commercialization stage. See http://www.ausra.com/ and http://www.trec-uk.org.uk/index.htm but no nuclear or fossil fuel power will be able to provide cheap clean and safe power in time to address the impending crisis in global warming caused by the human species. Only renewable energy from natural flows will do that. Lets get on with it!!