Nuclear power plants won’t help solve the climate crisis.
They take too long to build.
While the risk of a catastrophic failure is very low, its effects are so bad they can’t be included in any sensible risk assessment.
They prolong the dependence on energy companies that are too big to fail and can therefore blackmail the government.
They depend on enormous amounts of water for cooling, at a time when rivers frequently get too warm for that due to climate change.
They run on a non-renewable fuel source that is imported from politically instable countries.
And when you include the cost of building them, insuring them, dismantling them and dealing with their waste, they’re simply not economical.
The only way to run them is with massive subsidies and unconditional securities from the state. I.e. tax money being funnelled to big corporations.
How long from “design concept” till enough are tested, certified and built to help combat climate change? We have about 20 years left to transform our energy sector if you’re optimistic. Building one with the old proven design takes about 15 years.
Honestly if the UK can spend a couple of decades with half a hiroshimas worth of high explosives sitting unguarded within sight of London I think a nuclear facility with actual security will be fine.
Nuclear power plants won’t help solve the climate crisis.
They take too long to build.
While the risk of a catastrophic failure is very low, its effects are so bad they can’t be included in any sensible risk assessment.
They prolong the dependence on energy companies that are too big to fail and can therefore blackmail the government.
They depend on enormous amounts of water for cooling, at a time when rivers frequently get too warm for that due to climate change.
They run on a non-renewable fuel source that is imported from politically instable countries.
And when you include the cost of building them, insuring them, dismantling them and dealing with their waste, they’re simply not economical.
The only way to run them is with massive subsidies and unconditional securities from the state. I.e. tax money being funnelled to big corporations.
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How long from “design concept” till enough are tested, certified and built to help combat climate change? We have about 20 years left to transform our energy sector if you’re optimistic. Building one with the old proven design takes about 15 years.
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But there are solutions that simply require building more small units of something that’s been built in large numbers for the past decade.
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I’m talking about solar panels and wind turbines.
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Source? I’d say the median is closer to 8, 15 years is more like the worst 5-15% percentile.
nuclear power plants are way too vulnerable and dangerous of a terrorist target.
Honestly if the UK can spend a couple of decades with half a hiroshimas worth of high explosives sitting unguarded within sight of London I think a nuclear facility with actual security will be fine.
This highlights issues with using capitalism and some human mindsets