I was just thinking this afternoon about the fact that the San Onofre nuclear power plant suffered an automatic shutdown to both its reactors yesterday, following what operators described as a “grid disturbance.”
Opponents of renewable energy often make fun of wind and solar, saying: “The sun doesn’t always shine, and the wind doesn’t always blow.” This seems to imply that nuclear reactors are always reliable.
Unless there’s a disturbance in the grid….
Or if the weather is too hot or too cold….
Or if there’s a thunderstorm….
Or if someone pushes the wrong button….
Or if there’s a sudden influx of jellyfish in the intake channel….
All of these things have taken down nuclear power plants in the last couple of years.
I don’t know why this reminds me of The Simpsons, except that almost everything does. Mr. Burns was talking about the failure of The Plywood Pelican, his World War II-era wooden aircraft. Burns is describing the initial flight tests, but notes: “Then we discovered that rain makes it catch fire.”
Okay, that’s out of my system. Back to straightforward reporting….
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