• Pat Flood (@rebarcock) passed away 9/21/25. Pat played a huge role in encouraging the devolopmemt of this site and donated the very first dollar to get it started. Check the thread at the top of the board for the obituary and please feel free to pay your respects there. I am going to get all the content from that thread over to his family so they can see how many people really cared for Pat outside of what they ever knew. Pat loved to tell stories and always wanted everyone else to tell stories. I think a great way we can honor Pat is to tell a story in his thread (also pinned at the top of the board).

My Mom made me read How to Win Friends and Influence People in High School. This is not it per my memory...

There's really no true clean energy when you dissect the process of how it's produced and harvested. The argument is which one appears cleaner on the surface and makes you feel better about yourself.
True. You could argue that nuclear energy is the cleanest, but also has risks associated with it. Also, hydroelectric energy is quite clean, but you still have to build dams or harness the water energy in some way.
 
True. You could argue that nuclear energy is the cleanest, but also has risks associated with it. Also, hydroelectric energy is quite clean, but you still have to build dams or harness the water energy in some way.

I was thinking hydroelectric might be the cleanest but really inefficient. I don't know much about it but I did see the TVA issue an energy cutback request to the general population during this heat wave which got me curious.

The TVA has 29 hydroelectric dams throughout KY, TN, AL, GA, and NC which produce 11% of their energy portfolio and supplies enough electricity for about 1 million households a year.

I wonder if our nation's waterways are maxed out or if there's just no more interest in hydro from a cost-to-output ratio.

FYI - per TVA, their generation portfolio is 39% nuclear, 19% coal, 26% natural gas, 11% hydro, 3% wind and solar, and 1% energy efficiency programs with a total capacity of 33,727 megawatts.
 
I was thinking hydroelectric might be the cleanest but really inefficient. I don't know much about it but I did see the TVA issue an energy cutback request to the general population during this heat wave which got me curious.

The TVA has 29 hydroelectric dams throughout KY, TN, AL, GA, and NC which produce 11% of their energy portfolio and supplies enough electricity for about 1 million households a year.

I wonder if our nation's waterways are maxed out or if there's just no more interest in hydro from a cost-to-output ratio.

FYI - per TVA, their generation portfolio is 39% nuclear, 19% coal, 26% natural gas, 11% hydro, 3% wind and solar, and 1% energy efficiency programs with a total capacity of 33,727 megawatts.
The problem with wind and solar is the amount of material it takes to produce it, and their shelf life. Sure, they will generate energy, but how efficiently? Those giant carbon fiber windmill blades are turning into a big deal to dispose of. Plus, the wind doesn't always blow. And the sun doesn't always shine. With hydro and nuclear, you aren't at the whim of nature like you are with solar and wind.
 

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