Comments by "Persona" (@ArawnOfAnnwn) on "Japan's Bet on Energy Independence - VisualPolitik EN" video.

The primary problem with clathrates (gas hydrates) is that they simply weren't as competitive or economically viable solutions - we've actually known about them for decades. Japan is choosing to eat that bitter pill in order to try to be energy independent, not discovering some miraculous new energy source that no one else had thought of before.
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Nuclear is dying not because of environmentalists, but because of investors. The payback period and profitability of nuclear energy is simply not as competitive as its alternatives, hence the industry continues to languish. The only possibility to revive it is to switch to small more modern reactors, but here one of nuclears' advantages turns into a disadvantage - reactors last a LONG time. But that means you're asking companies and govts. to essentially write off working facilities - a bitter pill to swallow.
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There are relatively few places where geothermal is an economically viable energy solution (note that economic viability is NOT the same as technological capability), Iceland being the most well-known example. Japan may have a few spots where it's practical, but not up to the task of taking care of the whole nation. Indeed the primary problem with clathrates (gas hydrates) is also that they simply weren't as competitive solutions - we've actually known about them for decades.
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I mean, that strat has worked for doomsday predictors for ages...
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Doesn't matter. Nuclear is dying not because of environmentalists, but because of investors. The payback period and profitability of nuclear energy is simply not as competitive as its alternatives, hence the industry continues to languish. The only possibility to revive it is to switch to small more modern reactors, but here one of nuclears' advantages turns into a disadvantage - reactors last a LONG time. But that means you're asking companies and govts. to essentially write off working facilities - a bitter pill to swallow.
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This isn't being ahead of anyone. The primary problem with clathrates (gas hydrates) is that they simply weren't as competitive or economically viable solutions - we've actually known about them for decades. Japan is choosing to eat that bitter pill in order to try to be energy independent, not discovering some miraculous new energy source that no one else had thought of before.
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The primary problem with clathrates (gas hydrates) is that they simply weren't as competitive or economically viable solutions - we've actually known about them for decades. Japan is choosing to eat that bitter pill in order to try to be energy independent, not discovering some miraculous new energy source that no one else had thought of before.
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This isn't renewable at all. Clathrates (gas hydrates) are just yet another fossil fuel, albeit one of which there is a huge abundance, but has so far not proven economically viable. It's yet another hydrocarbon, so another source of greenhouse gases. It'll have roughly the same carbon footprint as natural gas, cos that's effectively what it is.
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Also the environmental impact doesn't just come from the drilling. These are still hydrocarbon fuels, effectively just another source of natural gas, and hence release carbon dioxide when burned. And the methane itself, if you upset the shelf and cause it to bubble to the surface, is a greenhouse gas over 30 times as strong as carbon dioxide.
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@UberMick 'Cept you're not simply making new reactors, you're replacing old ones that still work and provide part of the power supply. So you have to make up for that loss first, before any real expansion of the power grid and/or profit on your investments (old + new) can be realized. That's why developing countries are more willing to go for it - they don't have old infrastructure that they'd be consigning to the dustbin, they're actually building out their power grids with every plant.
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@somethinglikethat2176 "should short-term profitability be our number one priority"? - Tell that to govts, since the state is the institution that takes risks with and invests into long term projects. Private investors don't care - profitability is everything to them. This is also why most fundamental research is funded by govts.
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This isn't new at all. The primary problem with clathrates (gas hydrates) is that they simply weren't as competitive or economically viable solutions - we've actually known about them for decades. Japan is choosing to eat that bitter pill in order to try to be energy independent, not discovering some miraculous new energy source that no one else had thought of before.
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Clathrate deposits are generally close to coastlines - the biologically richest parts of the ocean.
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Also the environmental impact doesn't just come from the drilling. These are still hydrocarbon fuels, effectively just another source of natural gas, and hence release carbon dioxide when burned. And the methane itself, if you upset the shelf and cause it to bubble to the surface, is a greenhouse gas over 30 times as strong as carbon dioxide.
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That's an unfair criticism. Waving your hand and saying, "tech will fix things" is about as useful as waving your hands and saying, "magic will fix things". It only makes sense in hindsight. You make predictions with the information you have at the time, not speculative sci-fi. The only way the tech critique works is if you can describe in detail exactly what that solution is and how it works - at which point you might as well just be the scientist or engineer who invents it.
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@aweslayne They are following logic tho, at least insofar as their interests are concerned. You're asking them to write off billions of dollars and then also spend billions more on new facilities. On an investment that has a long payback period, and that even when it does pay back (if it does - a lot of things can change in a decade or two), doesn't offer particularly higher returns than any of the other options. Hence, logically, they decide there's better alternatives for them to put their money into. Nuclear is just not as enticing an investment anymore.
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