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A comment on Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources by 2035. Parent comment

Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by Pyramus on Monday February 28, 2022 @10:48AM (#30501137)
It's not that straightforward unfortunately. Let's leave the whole waste deposal issue aside for now, it seems to be still the case that the free market considers nuclear power plants too risky. What I mean by that is that no operator can currently afford to get private insurance for their plants, which is why plants are insured publically.

Markets are not omniscient of course, and they might be ineffective, but it's something to think about when discussing nuclear energy.

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Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by leeoniya on Monday February 28, 2022 @10:55AM (#30501251)
> the free market considers nuclear power plants too risky

the free market is made up of people who primarily watch sensational evening news and follow clickbait social media. the actual statistics are still well on the side of nuclear in terms of safety and externalities (as far as i understand)

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Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by ahelwer on Monday February 28, 2022 @11:23AM (#30501604)
Nonsense. The "actual statistics" from the perspective of insurance companies are that if anything bad happens, your insurance company is going bankrupt. It doesn't matter how unlikely that's been calculated to be in some spreadsheet model, no smart insurance company will take that bet.
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Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by fsflover on Monday February 28, 2022 @11:44AM (#30501905)
CO2 tax is still not included into the energy price. If it's done, nuclear will suddenly become much more viable.
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Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by ahelwer on Monday February 28, 2022 @12:12PM (#30502223)
My point had nothing to do with energy prices and CO2 tax would not change the fundamental calculus faced by insurance companies.
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Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by treeman79 on Monday February 28, 2022 @11:54AM (#30502026)
The free market could easily build nuclear power plants. The government regulatory hurdles are what keep it from being profitable.
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Re:Germany aims to get 100% of energy from renewable sources... by isomel on Monday February 28, 2022 @12:03PM (#30502129)
Even with less regulation, the problem is that it takes a huge amount of capital, and you need a decade or more to get return on your investment. So it is really not that interesting for a private investor.
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