Re:Solar and Wind Power So Cheap They’re Outgrowing Subsidies
by dnadler on Thursday September 19, 2019 @03:55PM
(#21020032)
That's not really the whole picture. Nuclear power doesn't produce CO2, but does produce radioactive waste which must be stored somewhere.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Solar and Wind Power So Cheap They’re Outgrowing Subsidies
by Robotbeat on Thursday September 19, 2019 @04:13PM
(#21020242)
The volume of nuclear waste that must be stored is vastly smaller (by orders of magnitude) than the amount of emissions (and often ashes) from fossil fuels. About the same size as the radioactive tailings from mining rare earths for wind turbines (depending on the design).
And a big difference is that nuclear waste IS stored. In engineered containers. With the price paid by the nuclear power provider. Unlike CO2 emissions from fossil fuel power plants.
So I'd say, given the orders of magnitude difference, it is pretty much the full story. Except to note the waste issue for nuclear is vastly exaggerated.