Realistically though you should compare the waste it produces to the waste from coal plants, which produce about half a billion tons of fly ash per year. I’d argue this is order of magnitude more harmful than nuclear waste. New (read: worked out in the 1960s and then forgotten) nuclear tech also uses the waste to produce more energy. The waste also doesn’t fly into the air like coal waste.
Most countries of the global south, when faced with the option coal vs nuclear, will err toward coal due to the far lower cost and weaker infrastructure. Nuclear is simply not that attractive an option if you’re a poor country.
What else would it imply to state that Nuclear is actively competing against coal? If they’re not ramping up, then it’s not an argument because they’re not currently choosing new coal over nuclear.
Yes, coal plants are much easier to build than nuclear.
Which is why nuclear is not really competing against coal in the global south…
![[Discussion] Are you pro or anti nuclear energy? Why?](https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/pictrs/image/f1dcd9bc-51f8-4d82-ba04-9c34a26ea389.webp){kind=link}
Realistically though you should compare the waste it produces to the waste from coal plants, which produce about half a billion tons of fly ash per year. I’d argue this is order of magnitude more harmful than nuclear waste. New (read: worked out in the 1960s and then forgotten) nuclear tech also uses the waste to produce more energy. The waste also doesn’t fly into the air like coal waste.
Why? Nuclear is not competing against coal, it’s competing against renewables
It is in developing economies. India and China are still building coal plants in addition to renewables.
Not quite. China is planning less coal capacity but existing contracts are still being built. They’re not ramping up construction afaik. https://globalenergymonitor.org/research/china-hits-brakes-coal-power-permits-constructions-remain-robust
Most countries of the global south, when faced with the option coal vs nuclear, will err toward coal due to the far lower cost and weaker infrastructure. Nuclear is simply not that attractive an option if you’re a poor country.
And who said they were ramping up? I don’t get what you’re arguing here or why. Yes, coal plants are much easier to build than nuclear.
What else would it imply to state that Nuclear is actively competing against coal? If they’re not ramping up, then it’s not an argument because they’re not currently choosing new coal over nuclear.
Which is why nuclear is not really competing against coal in the global south…