Solar now being the cheapest energy source made its rounds on Lemmy some weeks ago, if I remember correctly. I just found this graphic and felt it was worth sharing independently.
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2023
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This is always a weird take to me because it always ignores the fact that nuclear has been screwed continuously for decades. If any other tecbology, renewable energy or not, had the same public and private blockers did it would also have no future.
On the contrary: I'd say it implicitly relies on that fact, which is why the argument that it takes 15 years to build is valid. Because nuclear has been screwed, there's no pipeline of under-construction plants coming online any sooner than that.
It may not be fair that nuclear's been screwed, but that doesn't change history. The only thing that matters is what's better when construction is starting in 2023.
While I don't think it relies on that fact, you are correct with the rest.
My dude have you even followed any public discourse regarding renewable energy? There are literally very vocal people trying to push that wind turbines are putting cancer into children and that birds will go extinct because of them. There was discourse for many years that solar power was a waste of money and energy and it still gets pushed aside as being a household solution with no larger merit. Get out your selfmiserable bubble that only poor nuclear energy has heavy opposition and find a solution what to do with nuclear waste lmao.
Right cause a few crackpots on Twitter are comparable to multi generational governmental and NGO propaganda campaigns.
My brother in Christ that fact you think there aren't solutions to nuclear waste when there very clearly are simply proves my point.
Your crackpots on Twitter are literally fossil fuel and nuclear lobbied conservative politicians on all levels around the globe. But my poor nuclear is getting a bad rep :(
Ima be honest with you. I dont care thst much what you make of a punchline followed by a "lmao". The way you read discourse and think this is some sort of conspiracy about all innocent nuclear getting the stick. Go read your rightwing thinktank's paper and save the World or something idk.
Oh there we go. Clearly I'm right wing cause I disagree with you. Good lord you Americans are insufferable.
:D
You know its always the same with you Scotts :D
Nuclear waste already has a solution.
Most power plants, after exhausting the SOLID material for some time, deposit it in big cylindrical cement coffins ON SITE, so It can decay until harmlessness.
Nuclear waste is, if not 100%, all accounted for and taken care of.
Kyle Hill has a nice video about It if you want to learn more.**
Those are vocal minorities, not majority. Solar and wind didn't have several nuclear catastrophes to shift most public opinion into the gutter. Plants were poorly managed, cut corners, and ignored obvious warnings that could have prevented disaster. https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/22-011-nuclear-engineering-science-systems-and-society-spring-2020/dfc5cc5e7a23d03bc1674e9423eeaece_MIT22_011S20_NuclearEnergy.pdf
Here's a link to an opinion piece on the matter, compiled with some sources. Nuclear is a viable option and focus on nuclear waste is shortsighted. Fossil fuels already produce waste in the form of greenhouse gas emissions and it's doing more damage to the planet than a comparablely tiny amount of nuclear waste.
Nuclear has been screwed by its own track record.
Why do you think its had such a wide coalition of public and private opponents?
Well that's simply false. Its been screwed by ignorance propaganda and fear mongering.
"I've ignored and circumvented every known safety measure, and everything went wrong" - Whoever the fuck said that, 2023
Making up straw men to defeat?
We have extensively documented history supporting exactly what you're trying to argue against
if you cite chernobyl that's exactly what you're saying. it'll never happen again because no one's that dumb
Fukushima happened in “smart” Japan because it was cheaper to put the backup generators in the basement than to build a concrete podium taller than the tsunamis that previously hit the site.
Capitalism will always choose cost over safety. Even then nuclear ends up going way over budget.
Then we shouldn't leave energy security and the climate in the hands of capital. Energy should be nationalised.
indeed. also chernobyl and fukushima aren't comparable, really. I'd support a law that all new power reactors need to have passive cooling relying on the laws of physics, not relying on external power, but that's not a high bar and many designs already have it. remember that most currently operating reactors were built all at once in the mid 20th century and even then their safety record has been great. we can do better with new construction
https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/current-and-future-generation/plans-for-new-reactors-worldwide.aspx
"Today there are about 440 nuclear power reactors operating in 32 countries plus Taiwan, with a combined capacity of about 390 GWe. In 2022 these provided 2545 TWh, about 10% of the world's electricity."
https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/safety-and-security/safety-of-plants/safety-of-nuclear-power-reactors.aspx
There have been two major reactor accidents in the history of civil nuclear power – Chernobyl and Fukushima Daiichi. Chernobyl involved an intense fire without provision for containment, and Fukushima Daiichi severely tested the containment, allowing some release of radioactivity.
Yes- a track record of one plant failing due to Soviet incompetence and political blunders; and the second failing due to checks notes a 9.0 magnitude almost direct earthquake and ensuing 133 ft tsunami.
the earthquake didn't even damage the plant, they thought of that. the tsunami knocked out the power lines and bad generator placement led to loss of power for cooling. build reactors to passively cool themselves (which should just be a mandatory safety feature on new reactors tbh, it's not a big ask and improves safety a lot) and fukushima type accidents become impossible. that plant was so old that the original operating license was going to expire a week after the quake and the only guy who died had a heart attack. fukushima-sized death tolls happen in the rooftop solar installation industry every year, totally unreported.
Has there been a scenario where the technology itself is to blame? The contamination aspect of nuclear waste is well known and preventable, if costs are being cut on radioactive waste disposal (or in the case of a certain Japanese power company, ignoring warnings from the government on how to reduce ocean contamination in the event of an earthquake) a nuclear installation's fate is sealed...
As far as I can see, the only downsides with nuclear IMO is that it takes multiple decades to decommission a single plant, the environmental impact on that plant's land in the interim, and the initial cost to build the plant.
In comparison to Solar it sounds awful, but before solar, nuclear honestly would have made a lot of sense. I think it may even still be worth it in places that have a high demand for constant power generation, since Solar only generates while the sun's about, and then you're looking at overnight energy storage with lithium-based batteries, which have their own environmental and humanitarian challenges
Uranium powered fission technology, not all nuclear. Look into Thorium
yeah you can do throium, and there are some compelling reasons to, but uranium is fine enough. anti-nuke isn't about actual technical enlargements. the anti nukes hate nuclear fusion too
you mean the part where it generated a shit ton of carbon free reliable power while killing fewer people per watt-hour what any other method? with outdated 60's technology too? yeah sure sounds like a failure