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> The world is currently in the process of reevaluating its past rejection of nuclear power and is increasingly starting to view it as a reliable source of powe

> The world is currently in the process of reevaluating its past rejection of nuclear power and is increasingly starting to view it as a reliable source of power that allows for greater energy security. I would love to see a source on that since the statistics don't show that [0]. Production actually fell by 4% [1] and even China, THE country with the most ambitious plans for nuclear, rather goes for renewables[2]. [0] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewables-nuclear-line https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/electricity-fossil-renewa... [1] https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/World-Report-Shows-Nuclear-Energy-Production-Fell-by-4-Last-Year.html https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/World-Rep... https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nuclears-share-world-power-output-multi-decade-low-report-2023-12-06/ https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/nuclears-share-world... [2] https://cleantechnica.com/2023/02/06/renewables-in-china-trend-upward-while-nuclear-trends-flat/ https://cleantechnica.com/2023/02/06/renewables-in-china-tre...

fsflover 3y ago
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26673987 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26673987 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26603464 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26603464
- Krasnol 3y ago
  How is this supposed to be related? The only thing this policy does is to guarantee EU taxpayer money for rotting fleets. Especially in France where national taxpayer money has to jump in where former Governments failed to establish a diversified energy infrastructure.
loeg 3y ago
You can see how "starting to view" and "actual construction dollars" are different claims, right?
- Krasnol 3y ago
  Sure. One is an implication in the lack of evidence and the other one are actually related facts.
mpweiher 3y ago
How would you "statistically show" a reevaluation that is in process? You obviously can't evaluate by the outcomes, because the reevaluation is still in process, and in this particular case outcomes in terms of power to grid take at least 3 years after you have finished evaluating and started building. And sometimes a bit longer. And of course you do have plants reaching their end of life during that time, so you might not see a net positive total for a bit. On the other hand, 22 countries just pledged to triple nuclear output by 2050 at COP28, so just a little over a month ago. That's a significant departure and includes countries that were getting out of nuclear power altogether, like Japan. It also includes all of the G7 except Germany and Italy. https://www.energy.gov/articles/cop28-countries-launch-declaration-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050-recognizing-key https://www.energy.gov/articles/cop28-countries-launch-decla... Speaking of Italy, they aren't there yet, but have just made getting back into nuclear official government policy. https://www.montelnews.com/news/1498405/italian-parliament-backs-meloni-plan-to-reactivate-nuclear https://www.montelnews.com/news/1498405/italian-parliament-b... Germany, of course, remains a basket case, even though a majority of its citizens now oppose the "Atomausstieg". The UK government just announced a massive (to 4x) nuclear expansion this month (January 2024). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-expansion-of-nuclear-power-for-70-years-to-create-jobs-reduce-bills-and-strengthen-britains-energy-security https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-expansion-of-nucl... Poland is getting into nuclear, having just approved construction of 24 (small) reactors at 6 locations. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/poland-approves-construction-smr-nuclear-units-six-sites-2023-12-07/ https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/poland... France removed its legal requirement to reduce nuclear to less than 50% last year, and just committed to building 14 new reactors (up from only 6 just 2 months ago). Unlike what some people think, France was not very pro-nuclear the last few decades, in fact nuclear was being actively sabotaged. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ePZUamAzNA4IzdR1dlkE2wtlCZjgzsbRCzfZYY3EQbs/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ePZUamAzNA4IzdR1dlkE2wtl... That has changed. A lot has changed since the Ukraine war revealed the dirty little secret of Germany's "Energiewende", also known nowadays as the Gazprom-Wende. Yes, China is going for renewables. That's because China goes for everything. Including more coal. Yes, they are building out renewables, but that's because they have little to none at present, so they are still at a stage where adding more renewables won't destabilize the grid. They are also massively expanding their nuclear fleet, with no fewer than 20 (twenty!) reactors currently under construction and another 70 currently being planned. That's a tripling of what they have now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_China They are also building all sorts of next generation reactors. A thorium pebble-bed reactor was connected to the grid in 2023, a thorium molten salt reactor got its operating license last year and is supposedly close to completion. India is also planning (and on track) to triple their nuclear generating capacity, though not by 2050, but by 2031. https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/india-plans-to-triple-nuclear-power-generation-capacity-to-22480-mw-by-2031/106199000 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/india... Ukraine is in talks with Rolls Royce to upgrade existing coal-fired power stations with nuclear reactors. The ones Rolls Royce is planning to build in a factory. https://www.business-live.co.uk/technology/rolls-royce-offers-help-ukraine-26588249 https://www.business-live.co.uk/technology/rolls-royce-offer... I always wondered where Rolls Royce was going to place so many nuclear reactors that producing them in factory would make sense. Old coal-powered power stations is a pretty good market, there are hundreds if not thousands of those waiting to be converted.

fsflover 3y ago

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26673987 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26673987 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26603464 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26603464

Krasnol 3y ago
How is this supposed to be related? The only thing this policy does is to guarantee EU taxpayer money for rotting fleets. Especially in France where national taxpayer money has to jump in where former Governments failed to establish a diversified energy infrastructure.

loeg 3y ago

You can see how "starting to view" and "actual construction dollars" are different claims, right?

Krasnol 3y ago
Sure. One is an implication in the lack of evidence and the other one are actually related facts.

mpweiher 3y ago

How would you "statistically show" a reevaluation that is in process? You obviously can't evaluate by the outcomes, because the reevaluation is still in process, and in this particular case outcomes in terms of power to grid take at least 3 years after you have finished evaluating and started building. And sometimes a bit longer. And of course you do have plants reaching their end of life during that time, so you might not see a net positive total for a bit. On the other hand, 22 countries just pledged to triple nuclear output by 2050 at COP28, so just a little over a month ago. That's a significant departure and includes countries that were getting out of nuclear power altogether, like Japan. It also includes all of the G7 except Germany and Italy. https://www.energy.gov/articles/cop28-countries-launch-declaration-triple-nuclear-energy-capacity-2050-recognizing-key https://www.energy.gov/articles/cop28-countries-launch-decla... Speaking of Italy, they aren't there yet, but have just made getting back into nuclear official government policy. https://www.montelnews.com/news/1498405/italian-parliament-backs-meloni-plan-to-reactivate-nuclear https://www.montelnews.com/news/1498405/italian-parliament-b... Germany, of course, remains a basket case, even though a majority of its citizens now oppose the "Atomausstieg". The UK government just announced a massive (to 4x) nuclear expansion this month (January 2024). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-expansion-of-nuclear-power-for-70-years-to-create-jobs-reduce-bills-and-strengthen-britains-energy-security https://www.gov.uk/government/news/biggest-expansion-of-nucl... Poland is getting into nuclear, having just approved construction of 24 (small) reactors at 6 locations. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/poland-approves-construction-smr-nuclear-units-six-sites-2023-12-07/ https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/poland... France removed its legal requirement to reduce nuclear to less than 50% last year, and just committed to building 14 new reactors (up from only 6 just 2 months ago). Unlike what some people think, France was not very pro-nuclear the last few decades, in fact nuclear was being actively sabotaged. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ePZUamAzNA4IzdR1dlkE2wtlCZjgzsbRCzfZYY3EQbs/ https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ePZUamAzNA4IzdR1dlkE2wtl... That has changed. A lot has changed since the Ukraine war revealed the dirty little secret of Germany's "Energiewende", also known nowadays as the Gazprom-Wende. Yes, China is going for renewables. That's because China goes for everything. Including more coal. Yes, they are building out renewables, but that's because they have little to none at present, so they are still at a stage where adding more renewables won't destabilize the grid. They are also massively expanding their nuclear fleet, with no fewer than 20 (twenty!) reactors currently under construction and another 70 currently being planned. That's a tripling of what they have now. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_in_China They are also building all sorts of next generation reactors. A thorium pebble-bed reactor was connected to the grid in 2023, a thorium molten salt reactor got its operating license last year and is supposedly close to completion. India is also planning (and on track) to triple their nuclear generating capacity, though not by 2050, but by 2031. https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/india-plans-to-triple-nuclear-power-generation-capacity-to-22480-mw-by-2031/106199000 https://energy.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/power/india... Ukraine is in talks with Rolls Royce to upgrade existing coal-fired power stations with nuclear reactors. The ones Rolls Royce is planning to build in a factory. https://www.business-live.co.uk/technology/rolls-royce-offers-help-ukraine-26588249 https://www.business-live.co.uk/technology/rolls-royce-offer... I always wondered where Rolls Royce was going to place so many nuclear reactors that producing them in factory would make sense. Old coal-powered power stations is a pretty good market, there are hundreds if not thousands of those waiting to be converted.