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[mainiac]

Inefficiency in terms of amount out vs. amount in.

[Helgoland]

As I recall one of them most efficient crops at turning sunlight into burnable carbs is sugarcane, and they're only about 15% efficient. Whoever thinks biofuels are a good idea is insane.

The thing is that for some applications like flying you need fuel with a high energy density; batteries just won't cut it, you need hydrocarbons. And generating those from electricity is hella nnefficient.

Solar panels, even modern ones, aren't terribly efficient as far as energy put in for their lifespan, and they're only viable for commercial generation in a pretty limited area. The future of energy lies in nuclear power, and possibly hydrogen for cars.

Methanol economy FTW! Easy to store because it's liquid at standard temperatures and pressure, can be produced by hydrogenating CO₂, has a fairly good energy density... Couple that with fusion - ITER will go live in 2020, five years from now, and DEMO will is slated to start its operation by 2033 - and you've got a new energy economy that can piggyback on existing infrastructure.
And there's a substantial amount of resistance against nuclear - I'm afraid it won't fly politically, at least not in the dimensions that would be needed. Plus there's the issue of fuel - how long would our stock of uranium last if we generated ~70% of our heat and electricity with fission?

[10ebbor10]

And there's a substantial amount of resistance against nuclear - I'm afraid it won't fly politically, at least not in the dimensions that would be needed. Plus there's the issue of fuel - how long would our stock of uranium last if we generated ~70% of our heat and electricity with fission?

It depends on assumptions made.

http://www.iea.org/statistics/statisticssearch/report/?year=2012&country=WORLD&product=Indicators

TPES of the world is 13371 Mtoe. One tonne of oil equivalent (toe) is equal to 41.868 GJ. So we need a small 400 ExaJoules of energy. (+- 10 Exajoule). Natural uranium in a light water reactor gives us 500 GJ/kg. Meaning we need a small 800 000 tonnes of natural uranium per year. Only 14 000 tonnes if we run it through a fast neutron reactor.

http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Facts-and-Figures/Heat-values-of-various-fuels/

Now, the Red book has a list of uranium reserves. Identified resources are 7 635 200 tonnes (below 260 USD/kg) (This includes RAR and inferred). Not looking good for non breeders.

However, there's also unconventional resources. Data on these is a little bit uncertain, but the commercially exploitable reserves might be as large as 22 million tonnes.

And lastly, there's seawater extraction, with a reserve size in excess of 4 billion, continually refilled by rivers. Extraction costs of these currently resided at 660 USD/kg in lab scale situations.

Of course, there's also the other option, thorium, with major reserves accounting for about 6 million tonnes of material.

http://www.oecd-nea.org/ndd/pubs/2014/7209-uranium-2014.pdf

[MarcAFK]

Thorium is the clear winner unless fusion overtakes it. I'm confidant it will actually.

[10ebbor10]

Thorium is the clear winner unless fusion overtakes it. I'm confidant it will actually.

Uhm, not really.

Thorium reserves are smaller than uranium reserves.
Thorium reactors are still theoretical, Uranium reactors are operational.
Thorium still requires Uranium/plutonium to start the reactor.

It has it's advantages yes, but it's far from a clear winner.

[Bohandas]

... wait, which solar? I thought the reflect-y version actually did pretty good?

I'd heard that too.

[10ebbor10]

... wait, which solar? I thought the reflect-y version actually did pretty good?

I'd heard that too.

Last I heard was that the latest US plants were disappointing, burning more natural gas than expected, and having a tendency to ignite birds.

[Bohandas]

... wait, which solar? I thought the reflect-y version actually did pretty good?

I'd heard that too.

...and having a tendency to ignite birds.

That is so fucking metal

[MonkeyHead]

I say fuck the birds. Let natural selection weed out the idiots who fly at the big shiny make heat thingy.

[10ebbor10]

The problem is that the light from the tower attracts insects, which then attract birds. Every so often, one of the birds come to close and does a live performance of Icarus.

[MonkeyHead]

Clearly the solution is to up the power in some way to zap the insects in order to prevent any bird incentives for combustion related suicide.

[Frumple]

I think the actual solution is to film it and turn the flaming bird death into a reality TV series, to supplement the plant's profitability.

[Bohandas]

I'd watch it

[Graknorke]

So, to drag this back on topic, the pope is trying to justify religiously motivated violence. Not killing perhaps, but he'll at least go as far as assault.

[Dutchling]

oy vey