[ RadSafe ] Rational Thought

[franz.schoenhofer at chello.at]

James,

Interesting to see you appear on RADSAFE again. Your banning has not been arbitrarily, but had severe reasons. As long as you do not repeat the situation long ago I cannot see any reason why to deny you access. This funny guy Chris Busby is allowed to post, why not you? 





---- James Salsman <jsalsman at gmail.com> schrieb:
> Franz Schoenhofer wrote:
> 
> > What has "nuclear" and "rational thought" to do with each other?
> >
> > In my home country Austria, there is legislation underway to forbid
> > import of "nuclear electricity" and even more, electricity generation
> > from non-renewable sources should be abandoned at the latest until 2050.
> >...
> > I am not joking, this is the idea of our parliament, initiated by the very
> > small minority of greens.

The cost for wind power published is changed "every day". Austria is in a very good position concerning hydroelectric power. Most of our electricity comes from hydroelectric power plants. 

I do not want to go into more details about the complicated story of European Power Grids, which is of course of much influence on Austrian  electricity prizes. The most important influence on power prize is the federal subsidies. Electricity fed into the grid by private enterprizes like small and mini hydroelectric power plants and from wind generated power is subsidized with unbelievable high sums. As far as I know photovoltaic electricity is not yet included - but I would not be surprised if it were. 

There are   severe objections in some parts of Austria, which were selected as promising areas for wind turbines, because the population there does not want them!!!!! It seems that the times when the population appreciated those huge windturbines as being an attraction to the area are gone for ever. Now they regard the turbines rather as a disfigurement of the sites. (Just my own opinion after having seen such "windfarms" in France, Austria, Spain, not to talk about the one on the south tip of Hawaii!

Best regards,

Fran z





> 
> Could this be because wind power has become two cents per kilowatt
> hour less expensive than coal-fired generation over the past year?  Also
> Fischer-Tropsch carbon neutral methane and other fuel synthesis has
> become far more efficient in the past three or four years due to a new
> ruthenium iron alloy which can be plated on to electrolysis anodes.
> Given that sufficient wind to address daytime eeds produces a huge
> nighttime surplus, the effective cost of fuel synthesis for transportation
> and storage (for intermittent wind leveling) is lower than fossil cost, too.
> 
> At least in the US, this year wind turbine production and orders have
> exceeded the extrapolation of its exponential curve, which would now
> predict that virtually 100% of US power will be from wind before 2030.
> Even without any subsidies, it is foolish for any farm in even low wind
> regions to forgo installing turbines, banks are on board, and in windy
> regions they pay for themselves in eight months without subsidies.
> 
> But I agree with the sentiment:  When the pendulum swings, it often
> swings too far.  Most everyone is going to be as surprised as I am to
> find me on the other side of the debate as we struggle to hold on to
> enough research reactors to produce medical isotopes and plutonium
> for the space program.
> 
> Sincerely,
> James Salsman
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--
Franz Schoenhofer, PhD, MinRat
Habicherg. 31/7
A-1160 Vienna
Austria
mobile: ++43 699 1706 1227