[Magus]

Thought that some of you might find this interesting. Drought could force nuke-plant shutdowns *Snip*
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'B')y MITCH WEISS, Associated Press Writer 40 minutes ago
LAKE NORMAN, N.C. - Nuclear reactors across the Southeast could be forced to throttle back or temporarily shut down later this year because drought is drying up the rivers and lakes that supply power plants with the awesome amounts of cooling water they need to operate.

Utility officials say such shutdowns probably wouldn't result in blackouts. But they could lead to shockingly higher electric bills for millions of Southerners, because the region's utilities may be forced to buy expensive replacement power from other energy companies.

Already, there has been one brief, drought-related shutdown, at a reactor in Alabama over the summer. "Water is the nuclear industry's Achilles' heel," said Jim Warren, executive director of N.C. Waste Awareness and Reduction Network, an environmental group critical of nuclear power. "You need a lot of water to operate nuclear plants." He added: "This is becoming a crisis."

[lawnchair]

Coal-fired plants have to dump waste heat in exactly the same ways at pretty much the same rate per MWh. Fewer of them have evaporative cooling towers because they're a little easier to get sited on populated rivers/lakes/oceans. But, anywhere that a drought is going to shutdown a nuke, it would equally shut down a coal plant.

[Andy]

The alternative is not necessarily more coal Lawnchair. It could be CC nat gas that dumps almost half as much heat and would thus be less affected or thinking advanced strategy, fuel cell/gas turbine hybrids that use no cooling water. We need to think outside the box here.It is not nuke, coal or nothing.

[thor]

Concentrated solar power doesn't have this problem, neither wind turbines.

[efarmer]

I was concerned until you turned your magnificent idea machine
loose on this one pstarr. Now I can go back to work on my cold
fusion problem. It's so cold today, if I fall asleep in my chair my
buns will fuse right to the cushion.

That feller biting the statue of Liberty on your avatar looks familiar,
was he with Monty Python at one time?

[Concerned]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('thor', 'C')oncentrated solar power doesn't have this problem, neither wind turbines.

[Concerned]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lawnchair', 'C')oal-fired plants have to dump waste heat in exactly the same ways at pretty much the same rate per MWh. Fewer of them have evaporative cooling towers because they're a little easier to get sited on populated rivers/lakes/oceans. But, anywhere that a drought is going to shutdown a nuke, it would equally shut down a coal plant.

[Starvid]

The anti-nuclear media strikes again. This is not a nuke problem, it's a steam plant problem, being just as big a problem for coal or biomass as for nuclear.

[Starvid]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Concerned', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('lawnchair', 'C')oal-fired plants have to dump waste heat in exactly the same ways at pretty much the same rate per MWh. Fewer of them have evaporative cooling towers because they're a little easier to get sited on populated rivers/lakes/oceans. But, anywhere that a drought is going to shutdown a nuke, it would equally shut down a coal plant.