No. Assuming it's using steam generators like most powerplants (gas, nuclear, and coal), then the only heat released to the atmosphere would be the inevitable entropic losses. This is the same amount of heat lost by nuclear powerplants (although you could argue nuke plants release decay heat that fusion plants wouldn't but that's negligible). Gas and coal plants release that heat as well, but then also release greenhouse gases that heat things up further
The author wasn’t asking about production entropic losses, but whether using massive amount of energy will heat up the planet, and it definitely will. This is why it’s a technosignature. Heat dissipation is the ultimate limit on growth on a planet, but we’re talking about trillions of people living in luxury.
Yes, but the direct heating effect is quite small compared to the effect of greenhouse gases. The world primary energy consumption is around 19 TW, whereas radiative forcing (difference to pre-industrial values) is estimated to be around 1 PW.
No. Whatever amount of waste heat is released into the atmosphere would be so small compared to insolation that it would be impossible to measure.
If it displaced all remaining coal and natural gas burning, temperatures would stabilize.
No. Assuming it's using steam generators like most powerplants (gas, nuclear, and coal), then the only heat released to the atmosphere would be the inevitable entropic losses. This is the same amount of heat lost by nuclear powerplants (although you could argue nuke plants release decay heat that fusion plants wouldn't but that's negligible). Gas and coal plants release that heat as well, but then also release greenhouse gases that heat things up further
The author wasn’t asking about production entropic losses, but whether using massive amount of energy will heat up the planet, and it definitely will. This is why it’s a technosignature. Heat dissipation is the ultimate limit on growth on a planet, but we’re talking about trillions of people living in luxury.
Yes, but the direct heating effect is quite small compared to the effect of greenhouse gases. The world primary energy consumption is around 19 TW, whereas radiative forcing (difference to pre-industrial values) is estimated to be around 1 PW.
Ah that’s helpful. Numbers give a sense of scale. Thanks
Also note that 19TW is not even mostly heat but useful work: turning motors, pumping fluids or gases, generating light and sound, etc.
This is incorrect. Almost all primary energy is turned into heat eventually. Only a microscopic fraction is turned into light that escapes into space.
The stored potential energy of a concrete block on the 15th floor of a building takes a very long time to turn back into heat.