Thread by @808sandU3O8

I often hear that #nuclear power and #renewable energy can't work together.

In reality: they can, they do, and they will.

And they must.

Nuclear power is learning new tricks to adapt to electricity grids with high wind/solar fractions. Let's talk about a few:

One of the core features of nuclear power is that a reactor can run at 100% power for 12-24 months without interruption. It's baseload power.

But reactors change power level all the time - for maintenance and when the grid requires it. And the modern grid *will* require it.

The nuclear industry calls it "flexible operations." If power prices are very low a reactor can reduce its power level to minimize grid congestion.

No control room in the world wants to change power if they don't have to, but nuclear (and coal) are learning to be flexible.

However, as renewables' share of the power grid increases, so does the difficulty of balancing its inherent intermittency.

Today, we primarily rely on natural gas to counterbalance renewables, but modern nuclear power is innovating to meet the challenge.

@ConstellationEG's Nine Mile Point is one of several existing nuclear reactors building hydrogen generation to support renewable power.

We could use hydrogen gas as backup just like natural gas - except that it comes from fission and not dead dinosaurs.

constellationenergy.com/newsroom/2021/…

@TerraPower's Natrium reactor is designed to work hand in hand with solar power, with a built-in thermal reservoir to efficiently store energy for later use while solar dominates the daytime grid. [It's a reactor custom-built for California.]

nei.org/news/2020/natr….

Nuclear power is adapting to the modern grid. As we move into a critical period of energy development, existing & new reactors are ready to meet the challenge of the modern electricity grid.

But if we don't advocate for nuclear today, we can't meet global decarbonization goals.