MahaloMax1 t1_j0uvx51 wrote on December 19, 2022 at 4:33 PM

Reply to comment by DrunkenOnzo in Fusion energy by [deleted]

Unfortunately renewable sources are also not currently feasible without fossil fuels to supplement during peak demand.

DrunkenOnzo t1_j0uzno1 wrote on December 19, 2022 at 4:58 PM

>Unfortunately renewable sources are also not currently feasible without fossil fuels to supplement during peak demand.

I think you'll be pleased to know that isn't true anymore! Energy storage and solar/wind yields have come a long way since the early 2000s. The barriers here are infrastructure, where the barriers of fusion is missing technology.

MahaloMax1 t1_j0v2k1t wrote on December 19, 2022 at 5:17 PM

Not today, maybe with a big breakthrough in storage tech but currently it is not scalable at the national or global level due to supply chain issues, take lithium as just one example. We will still rely on natural gas peakers to keep the power on for quite a bit of time to come. IMO small modular reactors with current technology would be a great solution to supplement renewables and move away from fossil fuels. That said there are a multitude of issues that would have to be worked out on the world scale which seems improbable. Dig a little deeper. The fossil fuel inevitably is here until we find an on demand alternative. Peak energy demand can not be powered by renewables alone. This is not a political stance but unfortunately it's the reality.