On Sat, Mar 1, 2008 at 12:27 AM, Bob Axtell wrote: > A nuclear generation plant and a concentrated solar > generation plant have two main > differences: (1) during the night, no electricity can be generated at > the solar plant; and (2) no hazardous > waste is generated, EVER. Depends on your definition of hazardous waste. Something has to be pumped through the turbines, and it isn't going to be pure water (liquid sodium in some plants, IIRC). The mirrors will also be washed off with something strong than water. The turbines must be maintained with a variety of petrochemicals, the transformers sealed in cooling oils, etc. Even in the 'closed' systems there's filtering and maintenance that results in wastage. Environmentally friendly solutions may be found for those, and even if not they aren't quite the ecological disaster spent nuclear waste is, however it's quite a stretch to say that there is never any hazardous waste. -Adam -- http://www.piclist.com PIC/SX FAQ & list archive View/change your membership options at http://mailman.mit.edu/mailman/listinfo/piclist