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Nuclear has had 70+ years and untold zillions in government research money and subsidies poured into it[1] - if the same level of investment over time had gone

Nuclear has had 70+ years and untold zillions in government research money and subsidies poured into it[1] - if the same level of investment over time had gone into renewables, imagine where they'd be now. [1] worldwide - germany, uk, canada, france, russia etc in addition to the us - everyone did build their experimental gas/molten salt/fuel recycling/pebble bed etc reactor research programs and reactors. not to mention all the free experiments and r&d experience from the military applications.

japanuspus 6y ago
First of, I think you underestimate how much money have gone into developing wind and solar through subsidies. More importantly, the way solar and wind has been funded has secured competition for lower prices and allowed parallel exploration of multiple technologies. On the other hand, nuclear has been funded like old-school space exploration: heavy on management, low on technical vision, and often with a reward system that favors inefficiency. In the case of space-exploration, companies like spaceX has come along and shown how innovation can completely change the cost: just compare the crew dragon with the SLS-circus. I believe there is ample space for the same to happen in nuclear power.
StreamBright 6y ago
And still, storing energy is not solved and renewables are not reliable. Nuclear vs renewable is apples to oranges. Look at California for an example what happens with your system (or course we ha to look at this like a system and not individual power plants).
JanSt 6y ago
Germany alone spends ~$1.2 trn (that would be ~4.8trn on a population adjusted basis for the USA) on the Energiewende, and Germany is far away from being 100% renewables. The EU now plans to invest another trillion € till 2030. A lot of money is poured into renewables.
- fulafel 6y ago
  Yep, there is a lot being done today of course and progress has picked up in recent years. But knowing what we know, it's still underfunded.
  - corty 6y ago
    And Germany has the most expensive electricity on the planet (for a firstworld nation and adjusted to cost of living). Funding is drying up because renewable subsidies make power unaffordable and thus politically unviable. Germany should be a big warning to everyone claiming renewables would be cheap or cheaper, the market here is gravely distorted by subsidies and yet, people point to Germany as an example...
- cma 6y ago
  That's $1400 per capita per year since it passed in 2010, lower than many utility bills, so it would be surprising if it was able to have already transitioned the entire nation's electricity that quickly.

japanuspus 6y ago

First of, I think you underestimate how much money have gone into developing wind and solar through subsidies. More importantly, the way solar and wind has been funded has secured competition for lower prices and allowed parallel exploration of multiple technologies. On the other hand, nuclear has been funded like old-school space exploration: heavy on management, low on technical vision, and often with a reward system that favors inefficiency. In the case of space-exploration, companies like spaceX has come along and shown how innovation can completely change the cost: just compare the crew dragon with the SLS-circus. I believe there is ample space for the same to happen in nuclear power.

StreamBright 6y ago

And still, storing energy is not solved and renewables are not reliable. Nuclear vs renewable is apples to oranges. Look at California for an example what happens with your system (or course we ha to look at this like a system and not individual power plants).

JanSt 6y ago

Germany alone spends ~$1.2 trn (that would be ~4.8trn on a population adjusted basis for the USA) on the Energiewende, and Germany is far away from being 100% renewables. The EU now plans to invest another trillion € till 2030. A lot of money is poured into renewables.

fulafel 6y ago
Yep, there is a lot being done today of course and progress has picked up in recent years. But knowing what we know, it's still underfunded.
- corty 6y ago
  And Germany has the most expensive electricity on the planet (for a firstworld nation and adjusted to cost of living). Funding is drying up because renewable subsidies make power unaffordable and thus politically unviable. Germany should be a big warning to everyone claiming renewables would be cheap or cheaper, the market here is gravely distorted by subsidies and yet, people point to Germany as an example...
cma 6y ago
That's $1400 per capita per year since it passed in 2010, lower than many utility bills, so it would be surprising if it was able to have already transitioned the entire nation's electricity that quickly.