Nuclear power could solve US electricity needs. But at what cost? | As Three Mile Island and a Michigan reactor aim to restart, critics question whether the cost of nuclear power makes sense.

8 comments

1. It makes sense if people make it make sense.

   The reason fossil fuel plants are cheaper is because of government subsidies.

   We could analyze the regulatory processes involving nuclear and assuredly find areas where streamlining is possible.

   275k highly skilled workers? Sounds like we need to make higher education cheaper and easier.

   This problem boils down to politics and funding.

2. Closed loop deep well geothermal is now proven tech and can replace nuclear at 1/8 the cost and 1/4 the building time. Time to step into the future of clean unlimited energy.

   Nuclear was a good idea 20 -30 years ago but today it’s old tech

3. Nuclear is too expensive and will take too long and there is too much political resistance against it.

4. It does. Nuclear is the future. Fission then eventually fusion.

5. This actually seems like a simple problem. Are the impacts of a nuclear meltdown worse than the impacts of current power sources? If they are, don’t do it. If they aren’t, do it.

   What’s the huhu?

6. Here’s the real question we should ask when we are considering nuclear—are the governments of the future going to be conservative governments? Because conservative governments—whatever else they are/do, typically do not believe in preventative maintenance. They believe in minimizing costs and dealing with problems when they arise. Or in this case, fallout. Or are these going to be privately owned? In which case, is preventative maintenance profit effective? Because, again, if it is not, then, similarly to catastrophic vehicular defects, a recall only happens when the balance sheet says that it is more cost-effective to repair something than it is to deal with the consequences.

   The issue with nuclear isn’t whether or not it is safe today. It’s whether or not we are going to be careful stewards of it tomorrow. Maybe the trick is to make it so that nuclear reactors can only built next to state and federal capital buildings. Maybe at least then they’d get the kind of care and attention they require. Otherwise, it’s worth remembering that when there is catastrophic windmill or solar panel failures, it can usually be cleaned up by a handful of dudes with a truck.

7. We already have a natural nuclear reactor that generates way more than we need – use it ! go solar !

8. Nuclear power is unfairly maligned.