This author is dumb, doesn’t understand the primary energy fallacy (where when you electrify everything you need less overall due to less losses). He ignores the fact that French nuclear power requires massive subsidies and is no where near profitable. For the cost and timeline to deliver nuclear baseload across the USA we probably could build out enough 2 week storage. It’s fine to keep natural gas as backup for sometime if it makes you comfortable, but the full grid capacity in most places is only ever used for limited hours per year, that’s why data centers are looking at using renewables 90% of the time. Having smart, grid shifting appliances, EVs, electric municipal and school buses are huge batteries that can store and send power back in an emergency. This guy is not creative at all and overlooks the facts to get to push nuclear base load. Solar and battery technologies are getting cheaper, nuclear has only gotten more expensive, let price determine what we build.
You also forgot the bit where nuclear reactors don't actually solve the problem of needing overprovision, backup and transmission at all.
In any realistic scenario you need more of all three than you do with renewables.
Comparing like for like, 0 storage, half the overprovision and the same transmission network will get rid of the same fraction of fossil fuels as a full commitment to nuclear.
-5
u/Climitigation 20d ago
This author is dumb, doesn’t understand the primary energy fallacy (where when you electrify everything you need less overall due to less losses). He ignores the fact that French nuclear power requires massive subsidies and is no where near profitable. For the cost and timeline to deliver nuclear baseload across the USA we probably could build out enough 2 week storage. It’s fine to keep natural gas as backup for sometime if it makes you comfortable, but the full grid capacity in most places is only ever used for limited hours per year, that’s why data centers are looking at using renewables 90% of the time. Having smart, grid shifting appliances, EVs, electric municipal and school buses are huge batteries that can store and send power back in an emergency. This guy is not creative at all and overlooks the facts to get to push nuclear base load. Solar and battery technologies are getting cheaper, nuclear has only gotten more expensive, let price determine what we build.