Blackouts and owning an electric car in Switzerland or Germany.

[MAD87]

Hollande and Les Verts are to blame for this madness. Nuclear power is clean.

[Biloute]

Comparing La France (70.6 % in 2019) and Germany also in 2019 (Kernenergie). Where the nuclear dependency went down from 12.4 % in the first 6 months of 2021 to 6 % in the first six months of 2022 ( they shut down three of the six nuclear power plants).

Not without significance for France: < Au 11 août, selon EDF, vingt-six réacteurs sur les cinquante-six que compte le parc nucléaire français étaient à l’arrêt. >

Very interesting, RA!
Strange to see that with a larger population, Germany consumes less electricity than France:
- Germany 83 million - 513 TWh
- France 68 million - 538 TWh
However, there is more industry in Germany and it is certainly colder there than in France...
I'm just wondering and I don't have the answer...

[Biloute]

Hollande and Les Verts are to blame for this madness. Nuclear power is clean.

Recall that Macron was Minister of Finance of Holland. Having become President, he could have avoided closing the 2 nuclear power plants of Fessenheim and not planning the shutdown of 14 other power plants to please the Greens! They were both great visionaries...
You are right: nuclear does not produce CO2 and their electricity is cheap. As for waste, the 4th generation reactors (fast neutrons) can reuse the unusable U238 in the old generators. These were the Superphenix and Astrid projects, stopped by Mitterand and Macron respectively. EDF has stored 300,000 tonnes of this potentially usable waste (many years of free fuel). Macron would have done better to invest in these projects rather than in intermittent energies which force us to have polluting power stations when there is no wind or sun!

[niemeyjt]

Very interesting, RA!
Strange to see that with a larger population, Germany consumes less electricity than France:
- Germany 83 million - 513 TWh
- France 68 million - 538 TWh
However, there is more industry in Germany and it is certainly colder there than in France...
I'm just wondering and I don't have the answer...

Gas. Germany uses more of that for its energy in factories and the like where France uses electricty.

[RobertArthur]

@ Biloute, perhaps electric heating and electric boilers? The electricty produced by the French nuclear reactors had to go somewhere: no problem during the traditional (day-time) working hours, but what to do at night? Heures pleines/ heures creuses as one of the answers to keep the electrons flowing.

We still have two impressive accumulateurs (4500 watt) as witnesses of this once very modern approach. And - still in use - several classic radiateurs in the sleeping rooms On the other hand: is/was this a typical French habit?

The Olsberg accumulateurs: made in Germany, visit the UK and you'll appreciate these electric solutions, especially in Scotland where even in summertime you can have four seasons in a day. The Netherlands: des enfants gâtés because of their once too easy access to the immense natural gas fields in the province of Groningen. And exporting it also, for peanuts. Norway took note of this complete policy failure. Don't invest in l'immobilier over there in this northern part of the Netherlands: too many earthquakes.

France lacking nuclear power, les Pays-Bas Dutch and Russian natural gas. Natural gas not only needed for heating purposes, but also needed for many of the power plants to produce a constant flow of electricity. It's getting cold, outside and inside.....

Question: Mr. Winter, how low can you go? Please, not this time.

[Biloute]

@Robert Arthur: Electricity consumption in France on a daily basis only varies by 15%. Indeed, all the electricity produced must actually be used. Slowing down a nuclear plant is possible but it uses almost as much fuel at idle and it clogs up more. On the other hand, our dams, which represent 20% of our fleet, stop and restart instantly and easily. They can therefore absorb the 15% daily fluctuation: this is what engineers call "cooperation". Wind turbines and photovoltaic panels produce when they can (sufficient wind and sun). They therefore only aggravate the fluctuations, making the task more difficult and uncertain for the dams. Building new power plants is possible but it takes a long time. Building new dams is almost impossible in France: few sites left and fiercely opposed populations.
To govern means to foresee: Hollande and Macron have not planned anything in the long term and we are in deep shit.
In our house, for the rooms formerly heated by central heating, I replaced the propane boiler with an electric boiler, in addition to the wood-burning fireplace. The propane calorie costs the same price as the electric calorie but electricity is 100% efficient while an old gas boiler is 70%. In the recently renovated rooms, I installed "panneaux rayonnants" (infrared radiators ?): even with a thermostat at 16°C, it's instantaneously comfortable thanks to the radiation. And, of course, I isolated seriously ! Before/after, our consumption has fallen by 31% and with better comfort.

[Biloute]

@Robert Arthur: Daily fluctuations in electricity

fluctuation-consommation-electrique-france.png

[RobertArthur]

We are helicoptering away from car batteries, comparing the energy sources of several European countries. A circle diagram as a magnifying glass for their vulnerabilites. Two others to make the picture more complete:
the UK in October this year and the misty lowlands behind dikes and dunes. Nuclear: only 3 % of the yearly electricity production.

The Netherlands currently has only one active nuclear power plant in the province of Zeeland. Not very far from Flushing. This Borssele plant has a capacity of 485 MW, a small power plant. This power plant was due to close in 2013, deadline now extended until 2033.

I

[Bayleaf]

I don't know how available this is to read:

https://www.sudouest.fr/economie/energi ... 219013.php

It depends where you live as to whether you will be impacted by possible cuts. If you have access online to your electricity account, it'll tell you about outages for the next few days.

[Biloute]

@Bayleaf: As usual we are told that a system is going to be put in place to make our lives easier. And the media inundates us with fuzzy information. I searched on ENEDIS and found nothing. A little more hope on ECOWATT
https://www.monecowatt.fr/inscription-a ... ce-coupure
I registered there... They promised me a short message to activate the alerts but I'm still waiting for it...
Apparently, we would be warned of a cut the day before around 5:00 p.m.: a little late for the parents to organize themselves to look after the children the next day if the school will be closed!
Why 2 hour breaks? If they were only 1 hour, the children could play in the yard, with warm clothes, while waiting for the electricity to be restored!
Good news for Parisians: there is always a hospital, a police station, etc... not far from your apartment and you will never be cut off!
Keep smiling!