Post B7UhJnZLGY0rVsv3CK by bascule@mas.to
 (DIR) More posts by bascule@mas.to
 (DIR) Post #B7UhJnZLGY0rVsv3CK by bascule@mas.to
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       Spain’s renewables revolution is paying off: Electricity bills are lower despite energy crisisThe country has long had some of the lowest wholesale electricity prices in Europe (including significant periods of negative prices) but households often saw higher bills due to marginal costs like grid balancing with gas.Those costs have improved as others have seen costs rise, and Spain now has household electricity rates lower than the EU average, as well as their neighbor Francehttps://www.euronews.com/2026/06/16/spains-renewables-revolution-is-paying-off-electricity-bills-are-lower-despite-energy-cris#RenewableEnergy
       
 (DIR) Post #B7UhJoXxdAVCXtHSgS by bascule@mas.to
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       Spain's grid still has a lot of problems, of course. They need more investment in BESS to transform curtailment and negative wholesale prices into a replacement for some of that gas balancing.They have early adopter syndrome in that much of their generation lacks grid-forming power electronics. Too much, it seems. But that fixes itself as new grid-forming generation capacity is deployed.They're also an excellent candidate for enhanced geothermal which can both help lower marginal costs with firm, flexible, dispatchable electricity as well as seasonal thermal energy storage.https://europeangeothermalcongress.eu/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/30-SPAIN-EGC-2025-country-update.pdf#RenewableEnergy
       
 (DIR) Post #B7UhNPgA1wZ2ZtpevQ by Sylvhem@eldritch.cafe
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       @bascule Sadly, in France’s case, it’s not thanks to solar or wind energy, but to nuclear power.
       
 (DIR) Post #B7VA3Zm3gVWelaU46C by bascule@mas.to
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       @Sylvhem France gets about 2/3rds of their electric power from nuclear but the vast majority of new capacity they’ve deployed recently has come from renewables.The only notable new nuclear addition in recent history in France was Flamanville 3 which was 15 years late and 720% overbudget from an initial €3.3 billion to a final €24 billion
       
 (DIR) Post #B7WKpYV8uhOFQ135IO by Sylvhem@eldritch.cafe
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       @bascule I know, I live there 😁.The Governement and most of the political class are still pushing for the development of nuclear energy tho. Wind and solar are clearly seen as a second class solution.
       
 (DIR) Post #B7WKwXZ0nWlYXPBmwS by janl@narrativ.es
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       @bascule @Sylvhem and during summer they have to shut off half the fleet for lack of cooling water.
       
 (DIR) Post #B7WKwXki627j7gf8Ay by Sylvhem@eldritch.cafe
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       @janl Might happen earlier this year, with the terrible heatwaves we are having despite still it being spring.@bascule
       
 (DIR) Post #B7WnehFgw3Ea2mzo1Y by bascule@mas.to
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       @Sylvhem yeah, I know France recently switched gears and doubled down on nuclear, but it won't change the fact almost all the new capacity they're deploying is coming from renewables.At least they recognize that any new nuclear plants they construct aren't likely to start delivering power to the grid until at least the 2040s.Meanwhile France is lagging behind their decarbonization goals: while their grid is admirably 95% low-carbon electricity it accounts for less than half of the country's total energy use, which is over half from unelectrified fossil-driven sources.https://analysesetdonnees.rte-france.com/en/annual-review-2025/keyfindings
       
 (DIR) Post #B7Z1H1COuPWOdHyp3g by bascule@mas.to
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       @janl @Sylvhem water cooling is an increasingly bad idea in an increasingly hotter, more arid world with increasing water scarcity
       
 (DIR) Post #B7Z1H1OSBbA9EfcRqS by Sylvhem@eldritch.cafe
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       @bascule That’s one of the many weakness of nuclear energy.@janl