Reply #23: Comments by interested parties

[kristopher]

Germany could face widespread winter blackouts following Angela Merkel's "knee-jerk" decision to decommission the country's nuclear power stations, according to German power grid operators. ... "largely exhausted" ... "large-scale supply disruptions" ... "safe supply ...could be severely compromised,"

- Grid operators make money by transmitting power. Their business model is dependent on centralized large scale generation of electricity. The distributed grid that goes along with a renewable energy based energy infrastructure ultimately slashes public dependence on large-scale transfers of power relative to what the current model requires. Yes we still need to ship electricity around, but the quantity that will need to be shipped becomes a small fraction of what will be generated at the local level.




The industry group German Atomic Forum cautioned against abandoning nuclear power without careful consideration. "A quick and rash exit from German nuclear power would raise costs for the whole economy, make us miss climate goals, raise our reliance on fossil fuels and make our power supply less secure, meaning more power imports and problems with network stability," said president Ralf Gueldner. "It would also spark intense debate in the European Union," he added.

- Self explanatory.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/may/23/germany-nuclear-shutdown-winter-blackouts

Be afraid, be very, very afraid....