WIND WAS BETTER THAN NUCLEAR EVEN BEFORE THE MELTDOWN

German Wind more Stable Year-to-Year than Fukushima Reactors
Paul Gipe, April 14, 2011 (Wind-Works)

"Critics of wind energy often charge that wind energy is too "unreliable" to generate a large portion of a nation's electricity and suggest that base load needs "reliable" sources of generation such as nuclear power.

"While wind is a "variable" resource…[it] is far more reliable than the critics charge…[and] is fairly predictable on long time horizons…[like] one year to the next…In contrast, nuclear power is "reliable" until it isn't…[but the] nuclear disaster still unfolding in Japan isn't the first time the Fukushima plants have been in the news…Several of the reactors were shut down from 2002 to 2005 for safety inspections as a result of [Tokyo Elecric Power (TEPCO)] falsification of inspection and repair reports."

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"The Fukushima 1 plants generated, on average, 30 TWh per year…[but, despite] nuclear power's reputation as reliable base load generation…[they] were anything but reliable over the four decades that the plants were in operation. Annual generation was surprisingly erratic or "lumpy" in the jargon of the trade…In 2004 generation [from Unit 6, the most modern unit,] dropped from 4.6 TWh in 2003 to 1.1 TWh, and both were…[far from the 1997generation] of more than 9 TWh. That's a lot of generation offline for even…[the 1,000 TWh per year Japan] system…Unit 5's generation fell from 6.2 TWh in 1999 to 1.6 TWh in 2000.

"…Combined generation from Fukushima 1 also fluctuated from one year to the next. The safety shutdown at Fukushima 1 cut generation by two-thirds or nearly 20 TWh from 2002 to 2003. Generation didn't return to normal levels until as late as 2007."

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"German wind energy generation, on the other hand, has been far more stable from one year to the next…Throughout the last two decades more and more wind generation has been added…Today, German wind turbines generate as much electricity as the entire Fukushima 1 complex at its peak…[and the] loss of one wind farm with tens or even hundreds of turbines will…have little effect on overall wind generation in Germany…[which] is expected to continue growing for the next decade at least.

"Unfortunately, all six reactors at Fukushima 1 are down permanently with a loss of 30 TWh per year of generation or nearly 3% of Japan's supply. The loss of generation from the reactors is not the only cost of the disaster. TEPCO's stock has lost 80% of its value since the multi-reactor meltdowns and it is unlikely to survive without a government rescue…[but it accounts] for nearly one-third of the Japanese electricity market…[I] t would be hard to imagine any Japanese electric utility ‘betting the company’ on building new nuclear reactors…[but] what should be built for the long-term to avoid such dependence on "lumpy" generating resources as nuclear."