“There’s no way to get there without a breakthrough,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, arguing that AI will soon need even more energy.

  • @[email protected]
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    511 months ago

    Massively subsidized

    Nuclear energy is four times cheaper than renewables when externalities like baseline generation are imputed: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0360544222018035?via%3Dihub

    where do you put all the nuclear waste?

    While more dangerous, the quantity of waste generated compared to all other forms of energy generation is very small. Storage is a solved problem, but you have probably read articles about a lack of storage in the U.S. This is entirely due to politicians’ failure to agree on where to store waste. Despite the relative safety, no one wants nuclear waste stored in their “back yard.”

    And before you say it: no, nuclear energy is not green.

    Nuclear energy generates zero CO2. Surely we can agree that this is the most pressing consideration in terms of climate change. If your concern is the nuclear waste, then I direct you to the growing problem of disposing of solar cells and wind turbines. Newer turbine blades, for example, are 40 meters long and weigh 2.5 tons. These cannot be recycled.

    No matter how you cut the data, nuclear is an order of magnitude better than almost all other forms of energy generation. If our goal is to radically improve our environmental footprint while keeping the lights on even at night when it’s not windy, then nuclear absolutely must be part of the mix.

    • @Zeon
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      311 months ago

      This guy knows his shit

      • @[email protected]
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        -411 months ago

        Unfortunately he does only know how to misrepresent shit. This is of course all bullshit, and at best outdated information that does not take the massively falling price of renewable energy into account. Nuclear can be a transition helper, IF and only IF you already have running reactors.

    • @[email protected]
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      311 months ago

      Let’s talk about the technology instead of the dumb word “nuclear”. Thorium fission > uranium fission.

      • @[email protected]
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        711 months ago

        If we look at just Europe, Slovakia, Finland, and Belarus all brought new reactors online last year alone. There are another six reactors currently under construction, and another 33 planned. France and Sweden recently announced their strategic commitment to nuclear power for a variety of reasons.

        One major technological breakthrough is Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). These are far more cost effective, very safe (the reactor shuts down in the event of loss of power and coolant), and require a much smaller footprint. Rolls-Royce is on target to deliver the first of these in 2030.

        The example you provide is an example of poor governance, not an inherent limitation of the technology. There are also examples of poor governance regarding renewable energy all over the world.

        • @Noodle07
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          211 months ago

          Will the reactors come with the little lady at the front?

      • @afraid_of_zombies
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        311 months ago

        Oh wow a government cost overrun. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!

      • KillingTimeItself
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        111 months ago

        mostly because nobody knows how to build a reactor properly anymore… Wonder why that happened.

    • @sizzler
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      -711 months ago

      Wierd spin you put on all of that. Burn the solar panels and blades. Reclaim the energy in heat and its still way safer than nuclear waste.

      • @afraid_of_zombies
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        311 months ago

        You can’t be serious, can you? First off you would need pretty higher temperatures to burn glass. Secondly the fumes and dust it would put out would be nasty.

        • @sizzler
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          -211 months ago

          Yeah, still not radioactive nasty though. Don’t get how you are all so naive. The only reason most countries have a nuclear program is so they have nuclear weapons.

          • @afraid_of_zombies
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            311 months ago

            You are right it isn’t very radioactive and a lot harder to control, not like I designed air scrubbers for 4 years of my life or something.

            The only reason most countries have a nuclear program is so they have nuclear weapons.

            Citation needed.

            A pity decades of OPEC propaganda has worked so well.

            • @sizzler
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              -111 months ago

              Ahh you’re not naive you are biased. Anything you say is effectively propaganda. Jog on.

                • @sizzler
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                  011 months ago

                  It’s a valid point in this case and I’m not attacking your character, I have respect for engineers/designers especially when it comes to reducing pollution. Rather I am attacking your position, which is not without bias, would you not agree on that?

                  • @afraid_of_zombies
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                    311 months ago

                    If you mean that I am biased towards following evidence over feelings and like facts over propaganda then yes I am biased. Generally I am not convinced by “nuclear power bad because nukes bad and they are exactly the same according to a Jane Fonda movie I saw”.

                    Nuclear power produces very little pollution and it is of manageable types. Once built it can pretty much outlast any energy source. It is very reliable and can produce energy at the same price for long periods of time. Renewables definitely have their uses and I would be happy if they displaced all fossil fuels.

          • KillingTimeItself
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            311 months ago

            The only reason most countries have a nuclear program is so they have nuclear weapons.

            The only reason most countries have a nuclear program capable of generating plutonium products is to build nuclear weapons*

            FTFY