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Even if we completely ignore most of the risks and hidden costs, nuclear power is still unattractive in its centralized form - large, expensive power plants tha
by lazyjones 11y ago
Even if we completely ignore most of the risks and hidden costs, nuclear power is still unattractive in its centralized form - large, expensive power plants that require safety measures, usually a lot of water and huge overhead power lines and need to keep operating or millions will be without electricity. On top of that, the consumer is affected by (international) market price fluctuations all the time.
I much prefer being self-sufficient with solar panels on my roof and some far away plant as backup. Once nuclear power is safe, I'll happily put a small reactor in my basement as backup too.
- kilroy123 11y agoI agree the water usage is a huge concern. However, don't modern designs not require massive amounts of water for cooling? I honestly don't know. To be fair, I think the cost would go down if we started constructing a large number of plants again. We can not go 100% renewable without nuclear. Here's a great talk on the reality of going 100% renewable: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mackay_a_reality_check_on_renewables?language=en https://www.ted.com/talks/david_mackay_a_reality_check_on_re...
- matheweis 11y agoThanks for linking that - really terrific back of the envelope estimates. If anything, I found it to be quite encouraging. If we could just get people behind some of those...