What’s stopping people from building offshore solar fields? I mean it’s not like people grow stuff on the seas, as long as they are not a navigation hazard.
I agree that geothermal could be a major baseload provider so long as the aboriginal tribes are willing to accept it and take the job opportunities it would provide. Do you know how the idea is accepted politically among them?
It’s been doin it forever.
There are offshore solar fields out there. Here’s the thing though, some people seem to be under the “illusion” that it’s just a matter of switching one energy source for another and voila, we can continue our way of life. There’s nothing further than the truth. The important measure here is energy density which is defined as the amount of energy stored in a given system, substance, or region of space per unit volume. Unconventional energy sources like wind, solar etc have MUCH, MUCH lower energy density than oil, in fact solar’s energy density is pretty much zero when compared to oil. For some numbers, take a look at Table 1 on page 4 of the following document: https://drexel.edu/~/media/Files/greatworks/pdf_sum10/WK8_Layton_EnergyDensities.ashx
The future looks bleak … There is simply no way we can maintain our way of life.
While nuclear’s energy density is just insane compared to pretty much everything else out there, yet we won’t use it because politics…
No way renewables would ever compete with fossil fuels, and nuclear pretty much makes them a non-issue.
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The Japanese will restart their nuclear reactors before the decade is out.
Once the population understands that there’s simply NO OTHER WAY, they’ll be marching down to the closest Tepco offices to demand that the later restart those reactors ASAP.
Every other nation (except France, because 70.6% of energy in France already comes from nuclear) will either start constructing nuclear reactors, or their population will demand the extraction of fossil fuels, climate crisis nonwithstanding. 7USD Gasoline vs the Environment is never a valid question.
It’s not just politics, there’s also greed. The US did some very serious work on practical nuclear fusion back in the 1970s, but that work eventually got killed by the oil industry. The Chinese has picked up that work though and I think they may get a working fusion reactor in 10 years time. A small scale version that is. Not enough to save the world or its population, but hei China will still be around in a couple hundred years time.
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How about reducing levels of consumption? My first target would be to stop subsidizing energy hogging and highly polluting industries in Taiwan (plastics, peterochemicals, etc) that have for years made a go of it with heavily subsidized energy costs, cheap land, cheap labour. Let them pay the real costs and see how long they can make it.
Guy
As always, there are other ways. There are thousands of alternatives connected to reducing our use of energy while also pushing for the expansion of alternative energy sources.
Guy
It’s amazing how energy prices remain completely stable in Taiwan despite importing them all. See how expensive gas is in other countries.
It isn’t amazing. The government here subsidizes all of the energy here. Taipower loses money on every bit of electricity you consume. CPC loses money on every drop of fuel you put in your scooter. The government here has offset any pain. We’ve got it really good.
Which brings up the question of why other countries are not doing this. If Taiwan can handle this other countries certainly can as well. Instead they just leave it and let oil and gas price through the roof.
Reducing our use of energy eventually means having negative economic growth. Japan in particular faces a very stark crisis. Its debt to GDP is north of 350%, meaning it’s pretty much bankrupt and the country will not be able to afford this so called “expansion of alternative energy sources”. Right now it’s trying to starve off bankruptcy through soft default i.e. currency devaluation. The Yen has rapidly (weeks) dropped from 110 to 135. This means that imports including energy (and materials required to build new energy sources) will get more and more expensive. When (not if) the Yen drops to 200, the nuclear reactors will be restarted.
I’ve already said that relying on alternative energy sources other than nuclear isn’t really viable (see energy density). That’s not my opinion, it’s just math. From the article that I posted: “Gasoline is ten quadrillion times more energy-dense than solar radiation, one
billion times more energy-dense than wind and water power, and ten million times more
energy-dense than human power.” And as someone else has posted, nuclear energy is the densest of them all.
That will NEVER happen. The lowest it would drop to is 140-150. Japan is not Russia. Japan has the second largest forex reserves. When yen is too weak they will just release some of it to support the currency.
That is immaterial. Their public debt is almost all domestically-owned. They are on decline but they will be fine.
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Yes. You don’t have growing GDP without growing use of energy.
Politics is why energy is so cheap for consumers here.
Taiwan did have long term, fixed amount contracts for energy imports at one time. Not sure of the situation now.
Taiwan has such enormous Treasury reserves in the USA et al they can keep the prices here low for a long long time. CPC has drilling/extraction/exploiting investments in different places.
To be energy free Taiwan needs nuclear or oil taps that they own and control. No other way is feasible.
Doesn’t that just get made up again in taxes?
Do you pay your Taiwan taxes in USD?
The LDP in Japan is basically the KMT, they support nuclear power and will only back down when public sentiment forces them to do so.
Many of the other points of comparison with Japan may not really fit as currency devaluation is not a thing in Taiwan now at all.
Guy
This arrangement means we are supporting the energy hogs, and not incentivizing industry to reduce their use of power.
I don’t think this is a “really good” arrangement at all. 
Guy
Well Guy, shut off your AC, water heater, computers, refrigerator, and start walking. That will show them !!!