IngloriousTom t1_jec0q6k wrote on March 30, 2023 at 10:24 PM

Reply to comment by Scytle in The European Union to nearly double the share of renewables in the 27-nation bloc's energy consumption by 2030 amid efforts to become carbon neutral and ditch Russian fossil fuels. by chrisdh79

Did you even read your own source...

> to ensure the water used to cool the plants will not harm wildlife when it is released back into the rivers.

This is a legal requirement, not a technical one.

The water won't ever be too hot to cool down the reactors. How hot do you think the nuclear reactors are, 40°?

Rondaru t1_jedpixw wrote on March 31, 2023 at 7:24 AM

"Legal" requirement sounds like you don't really care if you'd kill thousands if not millions of fish by giving them a heat stroke.

Power plants need to cool down their hot cooling water to harmless levels before releasing it back into the lakes or rivers. That is what those giant cooling towers are for. But on hot summer days, their efficiency is greatly reduced and that limits the plant's thermal waste output and thus production capacity. And that is why they should be paired with solar energy to fill the gap on such hot days.

IngloriousTom t1_jedt7ew wrote on March 31, 2023 at 8:18 AM

> "Legal" requirement sounds like you don't really care if you'd kill thousands if not millions of fish by giving them a heat stroke.

Given that this law has been repealed this summer during the worst drought of recent history without any consequences, it's fair to say this piece of legislation was unnecessarily cautious.

In any cases that's not related to what OP said about water being too hot to cool down the reactors, with a lot of confidence.

Scytle t1_jec4vwa wrote on March 30, 2023 at 10:54 PM

you can't just boil a river...what are you talking about? You can't just destroy every river that a nuclear plant is on, the fact that the water is too hot to return to the river...means its too hot.

Inphearian t1_jec9xvh wrote on March 30, 2023 at 11:30 PM

Really jumping around on points here

IngloriousTom t1_jedfmuq wrote on March 31, 2023 at 5:18 AM

Dude, I won't let you move goalposts. You literally said that:

> the temp difference in the water source you are using to cool the plant will not be enough to keep the plant running.

> Can't cool your reactor if your "coolant" water comes in too hot.

Stop making excuses and be grateful you learnt basic thermodynamics today.

And stop parroting this shit anymore.