testtech2522 t1_j2bdl8s wrote on December 31, 2022 at 12:19 AM

Reply to comment by ktxhopem3276 in What are some of your favorite things about living in Pittsburgh? by Sayakakunze

Steel mills & cracker plants provide steel, NG, plastics & support to the economy. Where should we put these if not Pittsburgh. I worked in Pittsburgh area steel plant. Windmills & solar don't provide base load energy.

ktxhopem3276 t1_j2bgax8 wrote on December 31, 2022 at 12:39 AM

It would be preferable to build them far from dense areas. I don’t know how far is good enough. It would also be preferable to update some of the more ancient parts of the mon valley works but that project was canceled a couple years ago. Nuclear can be used as base load source along with pumped storage hydro like the Niagara falls power plant. Windmills and solar can provide base load via batteries and hydrogen generation. Technology will continue to advance. Pittsburgh had sixty days out of epa compliance in 2000 and only about ten in 2020.

testtech2522 t1_j2closj wrote on December 31, 2022 at 6:21 AM

"It would be preferred to be put away from dense areas"? Okay who should work there then? I am familiar with the nuclear industry we can't build enough. Batteries currently cost too much.

ktxhopem3276 t1_j2d33iv wrote on December 31, 2022 at 10:04 AM

The entire mon valley operation is 3000 people. It could be out in Washington or Westmoreland county. Whether Beaver county is far enough is more an issue of being upwind from the city instead of downwind. Just because I think heavy industry should be scrutinized and held to a high environmental standard doesn’t mean I think we can live without steel and plastic. Battery cost is rapidly decreasing and if you factor in healthcare costs of poor air quality from pollution from fossil fuels, it actually can save money in the long run. Obviously industry isn’t going to change overnight and it will take another 20 years to replace fossil fuels but it does seem a lot more possible than it did 20 years ago when when nickel cadmium and lead acid batteries were the best available.