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Nuclear plants take a long time to build, but decarbonization also takes a long time. The world will not be fully decarbonized by the 2030s. We're going too slo
by philipkglass 5y ago
Nuclear plants take a long time to build, but decarbonization also takes a long time. The world will not be fully decarbonized by the 2030s. We're going too slowly. That means that reactors coming online in the 2030s can still contribute to decarbonization. I wish that we were decarbonizing so fast that reactors built in the 2030s wouldn't matter, but we aren't.
You can see from my posting history that I am more bullish on renewables than nuclear but I'll take low carbon power of any kind until we've phased out all fossil fueled plants.
- a1371 5y agoTrue. As long as we agree nuclear is not a Plan A, and it is not a silver bullet. Otherwise, it may cause hesitancy towards other impactful actions.
- inter_netuser 5y agowhats the silver bullet for baseload that's renewable? batteries or pumped hydro?
- a1371 5y agoHydro has historically been doing that pretty reliably. Most grid markets have access to some of it and the capacity can be conserved during day hours thanks to renewables. Add offshore wind, insulate buildings, and make utilities hand out more LEDs, those might just get us there.
- bobthepanda 5y agoBatteries are continuing to fall in cost and improve, and batteries+solar is now competitive with fossil fuels in some markets today.