4 ms·

> The reason no one is fighting too hard to keep nuclear around as an option is because it simply isn’t feasible without the government subsidies handed out in

> The reason no one is fighting too hard to keep nuclear around as an option is because it simply isn’t feasible without the government subsidies handed out in the 60s and 70s. I still find this argument hard to believe. The physics involved is pretty simple, immerse the rods in water, bring them together, water boils, water turns turbine. It's the polar opposite of fusion. What makes fission reactors cost money is the Government being involved from the first pen on paper, to the cutting of the ribbon and all the steps in between. Allowing private companies to design and build them, the Government to regulate, only, should reduce the price dramatically. SMRs are a thing: https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/small-modular-nuclear-reactors https://www.energy.gov/ne/nuclear-reactor-technologies/small...

jillesvangurp 6y ago
Seven decades of financials around nuclear are pretty brutal too. Even keeping existing plants running is not cheap. E.g. France imports cheap wind at times when it has nuclear surplus that is just more expensive. They are actively planning to gradually replace nuclear with other options as plants reach their end date. IMHO the potential for fusion long term is amazing but unlikely to happen first half of this century. Nuclear options short term makes sense for some niche use cases but it is a hard sell on the grid given prices for wind, solar, and battery continue to trend down from already being vastly cheaper. Anyone looking to sell nuclear probably should be planning for 1-2 order of magnitude in cost reduction just to keep up.
- orwin 6y ago
  France import "cheap wind" (free wind essentially since the price is just high enough to match green energy tax) because the european power grid needs to match production with consumption. And it also helps Germany to reduce the cost of their energy transition. There is a reason why Germans electrical engineers are so cross with Denmark and their eastern neighbors.

jillesvangurp 6y ago

Seven decades of financials around nuclear are pretty brutal too. Even keeping existing plants running is not cheap. E.g. France imports cheap wind at times when it has nuclear surplus that is just more expensive. They are actively planning to gradually replace nuclear with other options as plants reach their end date. IMHO the potential for fusion long term is amazing but unlikely to happen first half of this century. Nuclear options short term makes sense for some niche use cases but it is a hard sell on the grid given prices for wind, solar, and battery continue to trend down from already being vastly cheaper. Anyone looking to sell nuclear probably should be planning for 1-2 order of magnitude in cost reduction just to keep up.

orwin 6y ago
France import "cheap wind" (free wind essentially since the price is just high enough to match green energy tax) because the european power grid needs to match production with consumption. And it also helps Germany to reduce the cost of their energy transition. There is a reason why Germans electrical engineers are so cross with Denmark and their eastern neighbors.