Re:AI is bringing old nuclear plants out of retirement
by ZeroGravitas on Saturday December 13, 2025 @10:10AM
(#46255056)
Because most plans for it still involve attaching a giant steam boiler to turn the heat it produces into electricity and that bit alone will cost more than renewable alternatives.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:AI is bringing old nuclear plants out of retirement
by DANmode on Saturday December 13, 2025 @10:26AM
(#46255181)
Agreed.
Call me ignorant, but I’d rather we focus on stuff like increasing photovoltaic cell efficiency (and possibly cost-efficiency) by the 40%-60% we’re leaving on the table keeping them fully loaded and cooking.
Simple physics upgrades, like rotating cones, or lines of panels to swap with each other in Arizona-parking-lot conditions, can take us further, faster, and cheaper.
Nuclear is only safe after and during spending a bunch of money to keep it that way.
That makes me uncomfortable, because we’ve never had more instability in my lifetime, as far as “wildly important things not being addressed”.