Re:A New Oil Shock Accelerates a Return to Nuclear Power
by Starman_Jones on Tuesday April 07, 2026 @09:51AM
(#47675400)
Nuclear is too expensive in ways that are effectively fixed costs. Solar is the cheapest form of power available on the market. I agree that we should have pushed nuclear 50, 40, 30, and 20 years ago, but now you’re asking the American people to pay more because something was the right call in the 90’s.
Re:A New Oil Shock Accelerates a Return to Nuclear Power
by stinkbeetle on Tuesday April 07, 2026 @03:21PM
(#47680107)
Yes yes that was exactly the same thing said 20, 30, and probably 40 and 50 years ago too. Was wrong then too.
Re:A New Oil Shock Accelerates a Return to Nuclear Power
by Starman_Jones on Tuesday April 07, 2026 @04:54PM
(#47681244)
No, it wasn’t. In 2008, I went to a lecture by a professor researching better PV cells, and it was, “here’s the benchmarks solar needs to beat to be cost competitive with nuclear, let alone oil or natural gas. As you can see, we’re nowhere close, but here’s what concepts we think can get us there.”
Meanwhile, nuclear’s appeal is that it can scale incredibly well. It’s not cost competitive with oil or gas, and certainly not with solar, but it can put out a ton of energy. With the sudden need for more and more data centers, there’s now a market for that. But solar is cheaper, safer, and is ready to go now.
Re:A New Oil Shock Accelerates a Return to Nuclear Power
by stinkbeetle on Tuesday April 07, 2026 @07:15PM
(#47682544)
Yes it was. I didn't say everybody said that, but the anti-nuclear / pro-carbon luddites sure did.
No, it's time for the anti-nuclear crowd to sit things out from now on. They've been continuously wrong for the past 50 years, the world should never have listened to any of them.