Thorium is the way to go. But that is the easy part. The hard part is the transmission lines. They are already maxed out. They have to be careful because they get hot and droop. When that happens strands can break, reducing capacity.
Fair point. I was focused on production in writing. Transmission and storage remain big issues. However those issues apply even more to wind and often to solar, I hope you will agree.
Diffuse energy has very little value, is expensive and has a lot of drawbacks. The more concentrated the energy source, the more added value. That is one reason why gasoline outshines things like hydrogen and batteries.
Yes I am not sure anything has more "K" at the point of need than gasoline/diesel/oil. And distribution is not super-fun, but we know how to do it at this point. And storage is fairly straightforward, up to a point.
Which is why gasoline/diesel/oil are still doing well.
EDIT: My comment was not well worded. What I meant was that the K you get from these fuels vs. the price you pay + the cost/complexity of the distribution/storage you need to employ to get it ... is still the best or nearly the best math. NG would be better, if we had more filling stations for it, more vehicles that could accept it, etc.
NG is not too bad. I drove a flip a switch NG and gasoline pickup truck sometimes for work. But NG has a density issue. It takes up a lot of volume. But it is fantastic for power plants. They need several NG power plants in west Texas as they are producing more than they can handle.
Thorium is the way to go. But that is the easy part. The hard part is the transmission lines. They are already maxed out. They have to be careful because they get hot and droop. When that happens strands can break, reducing capacity.
Fair point. I was focused on production in writing. Transmission and storage remain big issues. However those issues apply even more to wind and often to solar, I hope you will agree.
When do we get our Mr. Fusions?
Diffuse energy has very little value, is expensive and has a lot of drawbacks. The more concentrated the energy source, the more added value. That is one reason why gasoline outshines things like hydrogen and batteries.
Yes I am not sure anything has more "K" at the point of need than gasoline/diesel/oil. And distribution is not super-fun, but we know how to do it at this point. And storage is fairly straightforward, up to a point.
Which is why gasoline/diesel/oil are still doing well.
EDIT: My comment was not well worded. What I meant was that the K you get from these fuels vs. the price you pay + the cost/complexity of the distribution/storage you need to employ to get it ... is still the best or nearly the best math. NG would be better, if we had more filling stations for it, more vehicles that could accept it, etc.
NG is not too bad. I drove a flip a switch NG and gasoline pickup truck sometimes for work. But NG has a density issue. It takes up a lot of volume. But it is fantastic for power plants. They need several NG power plants in west Texas as they are producing more than they can handle.