Why Nuclear Energy Is Not the Solution to the Climate Crisis

2 comments

1. “Nuclear energy is one of the most expensive ways to generate electricity. Investing in cheaper low-carbon sources of energy will provide more emission reductions per dollar. Second, it takes about a decade to build a nuclear plant. If you add the time needed for environmental clearances, community consent and raising the huge amounts of funding necessary, you’re looking at 15-20 years before a nuclear project can even start producing electricity. This timeline is incompatible with the urgent demands of climate science.”

2. The real issue is that the current uranium fueled plants require water as a coolant. As the temperature rises, it will cause more and more downtime. Costs would be secondary if we only consider CO2 emissions. Should have gone the thorium route but back in the 40s the priority was the plutonium that one can’t get from the thorium cycle. One has to admit that in that time alloy technology was not that advanced so containing molten salt was a bit of a challenge