I’m always amused that people can believe renewables can be built to replace all fossile energy production before we would be able to build any nuclear power plant. It’s a fallacious reasoning in many ways, but I guess if you repeat it enough it becomes truth?
My comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but also the time-value of money on constructing a new nuclear plant is a very real problem. Yes, we should be using a massive, mature, and mostly-carbon-neutral energy source. However, due to economic factors, we can build a lot of renewables capacity before the site planning is even done on a new nuclear power plant. It’s a lot easier to finance a new renewables facility that is generating revenue pretty quickly.
Site planning and finance can be as painful for renewable as it can be for nuclear. It’s an administrative process so the whole depends on political will and how easy they make it. It also depends on civil opposition, but nowadays you have as many eco fanatics against nuclear than you have stupid conservative against renewables.
I do support the argument that further complexifying essentials before the great decomplexification is a bad idea. However, burning a ton of fossil fuels to build alternative power sources is not a solution unless it is basically free energy - renewable alone is not sufficient justification. We need volitional degrowth. We won’t get it, but that’s what we need.
I’m always amused that people can believe renewables can be built to replace all fossile energy production before we would be able to build any nuclear power plant. It’s a fallacious reasoning in many ways, but I guess if you repeat it enough it becomes truth?
You must not be aware of how long it takes a single nuclear power plant to come online…
I do because that discussion is very common these days. 7.5 years is the mean construction time.
My comment was mostly tongue-in-cheek, but also the time-value of money on constructing a new nuclear plant is a very real problem. Yes, we should be using a massive, mature, and mostly-carbon-neutral energy source. However, due to economic factors, we can build a lot of renewables capacity before the site planning is even done on a new nuclear power plant. It’s a lot easier to finance a new renewables facility that is generating revenue pretty quickly.
Site planning and finance can be as painful for renewable as it can be for nuclear. It’s an administrative process so the whole depends on political will and how easy they make it. It also depends on civil opposition, but nowadays you have as many eco fanatics against nuclear than you have stupid conservative against renewables.
I do support the argument that further complexifying essentials before the great decomplexification is a bad idea. However, burning a ton of fossil fuels to build alternative power sources is not a solution unless it is basically free energy - renewable alone is not sufficient justification. We need volitional degrowth. We won’t get it, but that’s what we need.