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A comment on First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in operation. Parent comment

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by thelastgallon on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:07PM (#38788432)
40 million acres are used to grow corn for ethanol. This is 162,000 square kilometers. This can produce 3.24 exajoules of energy.

Also, solar panels don't need any land. There are so many places we can install solar without 'consuming' land. They can be roofs, floating on tops of lakes and reservoirs with the added benefit of preventing evaporation, agrivoltaics combined with farmland, vertical panels, superfund sites, deserts, along the highways, etc.

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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by rainsford on Wednesday December 27, 2023 @07:24PM (#38788537)
For all the concern about land use for renewables, it really feels like subsidized ethanol has got to be the most wasteful use of energy investment dollars in terms of farmland used and every other possible metric. It's very interesting to think about using that money and land for other energy generation uses.
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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by rcxdude on Thursday December 28, 2023 @05:32AM (#38792043)
yes, biofuel is a colossally bad idea and it should have been obvious to everyone involved right from the start.
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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by mlrtime on Thursday December 28, 2023 @09:20AM (#38793703)
One counter point is that these fields can easily be turned into crops to feed the citizens of the country in an emergency. Solar panels not so much. Also, there was already infrastructure in place to easily maintain this energy source.

Not saying this is a reason to keep the subsidies, but I'm sure it made sense at the time.

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