• @zigmus64@lemmy.world
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    227 months ago

    In what universe do those other power generation methods even come close to nuclear power?

    It would take about 800 wind turbines or 8.5 million solar panels to replace the power output of one nuclear reactor.

    And the fissile material can be reprocessed after it’s been spent. Like 90% of the spent fuel can be reprocessed and reused, but the Carter administration banned nuclear waste recycling in the US for fears it would hasten nuclear proliferation.

    https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/nuclear-fuel-cycle/fuel-recycling/processing-of-used-nuclear-fuel

    Wind, hydro, solar, and geothermal are all great. Anything is better than coal or gas power generation. But to say these green power generation methods come close to nuclear… not a chance.

    • @Hexadecimalkink@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      I can set up 20 GW of solar panels to match the capacity of a 4 GW nuclear power plant. And I can set up 20 GW of PV in a year. China installs about 30 GW of solar capacity in a quarter.

      It takes about 8-10 years to build a nuclear power plant. In 8 years, I could have installed the equivalent of 8 nuclear power plants using Solar PV that it would take me to build one nuclear power plant.

      • Xavienth
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        47 months ago

        But then you don’t have power at night. Cost comparisons of renewables vs nuclear very often neglect storage. It is not a trivial cost. Nuclear doesn’t perfectly match demand either, but it can provide a baseload.

        It’s not renewables or nuclear, it’s renewables and nuclear.

    • Zloubida
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      67 months ago

      The performance of nuclear power must be calculated in relation to its cost and risk. And here renewable energy is more than competitive.

    • Diplomjodler
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      57 months ago

      Those 800 wind turbines can be built in a month. Building a nuclear plant takes decades. And nuclear fuel reprocessing had never been economical by a long shot. Your pipe dreams will always regain just that and that’s before we even start talking about proliferation and nuclear waste.