>and will be solved by innovations riiight aroung the corner Yes, this is what the solar/wind people keep claiming about energy storage. >the West is unable t

>and will be solved by innovations riiight aroung the corner Yes, this is what the solar/wind people keep claiming about energy storage. >the West is unable to build them fast enough No, the West is unwilling to build them fast enough. Then it chickens out, and the institutional knowledge to build the next plants are lost (so you lose the volume discount). Regaining and retaining the institutional knowledge to build things may be more expensive in the short term, but it should be done- the fact that a country is capable of building power infrastructure on a whim is vital for its national defense. This is the hidden cost of buying Chinese solar panels (because once you can't buy from China, or once China is unwilling to sell to you, you'll be paying for your own nuclear infrastructure regardless). And no, other countries' solar panels are not cheaper than nuclear; 'not knowing how to do it ourselves' cuts both ways.