The Great Missed Opportunity of Nuclear Power

For anyone with a scientific background to not acknowledge that all materials have thresholds below which they are harmless is intellectually dishonest.

 

Yes, The “World’s Dumbest Energy Policy” Is In Fact Getting A Whole Lot Dumber
By P Gosselin on 10. September 2023

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The “world’s dumbest energy policy” is getting a lot dumber: German power production plummets 11.4% in first half of 2023

Since Germany shut down its remaining nuclear power plants earlier this year, it’s no surprise the country’s electricity generation has slumped and is now more heavily dependent on foreign imports.

Tichy’s Einblick here reports that in the first half of 2023, Germany generated 233.9 billion kilowatt hours of electricity. “Sounds like a lot, but it’s not: In fact, it’s 11.4% less than in the first half of 2022.”

Exports fall 18%

In the first six months of 2023, German exports of electric power fell 18.1%. “By contrast, our electricity imports have virtually exploded, by almost a third (+ 30.8%),” Tichy’s Einblick adds.

Keep in mind that Germany shut down its nuclear fleet of plants because of safety issues, in the wake of the Fukushima disaster, yet the country has no problems importing the same type of energy from neighboring countries like France.

Citing Germany’s Federal Statistics Office, destatis: “This import surplus of 7.1 billion kilowatt hours corresponds roughly to the amount of electricity that was still fed in by the three nuclear power plants in Q2 2022 (7.3 billion kilowatt hours).”

French nuclear power comes up the big winner

Currently, “French nuclear power plants there are running smoothly and at full speed again. Our electricity imports from France promptly increased more than from any other country: by a whopping 147.8%. In France alone, we bought 4.4 billion kWh in the first half of 2023,” reports Tichy’s Einblick. “We shut down our nuclear power plants. France generates well over two-thirds of its electricity from its nuclear power plants. What does all this tell us?”

It tell us that Germany’s energy policy is purely ideological and completely detached from economic sense and technical practicality. The only thing that matters is that only green energy gets produced in the country, no matter what the costs are.

But the worst is yet to come as gas imports are restricted and coal power plants are shutting down – all during a time when the demand for electricity is rising because of the electrification of mobility and the heating of homes with heat pumps, which in the future will be mandatory.

 

Does it occur to any of these German progressive brainiacs to address the question that if wind and solar energy is “free” then why is electricity so expensive in Germany??

 

Russia is far ahead of the rest of the world in the issue of nuclear energy! Now we are building closed-cycle nuclear power plants that do not produce radioactive waste.

Currently, there are only two high—power fast neutron power reactors operating in the world - BN-600 and BN-800. Both work at the Beloyarsk NPP in the Sverdlovsk region. The capital costs for their construction are about one and a half times more than for thermal reactors of similar capacity. But scientists are sure that they are the future.

The essence of the idea is that in fast neutron reactors, the reproduction coefficient of fissile material is more than one. "In other words, if a fuel consisting of uranium-238, which by itself does not support a chain reaction, and plutonium, which plays the role of a catalyst, is put into a "fast" reactor, then there will be more plutonium in the spent fuel than in the original one. As a result of processing, fission products and excess plutonium are removed from it, and natural (or waste) uranium is added in their place. The resulting new fuel is collected in the fuel assembly and put back into the reactor. And this can be repeated, if not indefinitely, then for quite a long time."

To solve the problem of closing the nuclear cycle, two things are needed. The first is a reactor that does not run on enriched uranium, but on MOX or any other fuel, where the main fissile material is plutonium. The second is the well—established production of the fuel itself. Before that, no one had been able to implement a closed nuclear cycle with a fast reactor on an industrial scale, although there were attempts. And this is a great victory for Russian science

 

Nuclear Go-Round: NuScale, Vogtle, Palisades
Guest Blogger
From MasterResource By Kennedy Maize — October 17, 2023 Ed. note: Nuclear Power is a much talked about technology in the current climate debate. Electricity veteran Ken Maize of Quad Report provides an update…

 

Sooner or later even the slowest will get the answer right.
A Nuclear Renaissance Is the Best Path Forward
Guest Blogger
It’s time we recognize nuclear energy’s vital role and champion it as a force for good in our world. . . .

 

A new hope:

Business·POWER Magazine
Westinghouse Secures First Customer for eVinci Nuclear Microreactor

 

Several Kw to few Mw. Not bad.

 

The rest of the world has figured out a better answer.
While America pursues renewables, worldwide expansion is underway for nuclear generated electricity
Guest Blogger
Sweden, China, India, Russia, and others are changing from occasional electricity from renewables to fossil-free electricity from nuclear that is continuous and uninterruptible. . . . .

 

A sign of life in the US nuclear sector:
‘Huge Milestone’: Biden Admin Green Lights Nuke Reactor Using Tech Not Utilized In Decades
Guest Blogger
This accomplishment is a testament to the collaborative work among Kairos, the NRC, DOE and all stakeholders involved in the project. . . .

 

Possible good news.
Has Australia’s Nuclear Debate Killed Renewable Energy Investment?
Eric Worrall
Expectations that the next Aussie administration will back nuclear over renewables appears to have wrecked attempts to attract private renewable investment. . . . .

 

Slowly, the fog is lifting.
British PM Nuclear Push: “Nuclear is the perfect antidote to the energy challenges facing Britain”
Eric Worrall
Following French moves to downgrade renewables, Britain now also seems to be jumping on board the nuclear bandwagon. . . .

 

On of the raw logical comments I've seen coming out of England in decades.

 

Is a nuclear renaissance in the offing?
Senate Passes Major Pro-Nuclear Bill, Sends To Biden’s Desk
Nick Pope
The Senate passed a major piece of pro-nuclear energy legislation on Tuesday, sending the bill to President Joe Biden’s desk. . . .

 

Hopefully yes. But a great part of the unwritten progressive agenda is Malthusian. They don’t want abundant 24/7 clean inexpensive energy. Too many people. What of course they fail to understand due to their lack of critical thinking is that as developing countries raise their standards of living enabled by inexpensive abundant energy birth rates go way down.

Book recommendation: The Case for Nukes by Robert Zubrin.

 

Germans may have retrace their steps.
Germany Urgently Advised To Return To Nuclear Power As Energy Supply Remains In Dire Situation
By P Gosselin on 23. November 2024

Germany’s online Blackout News here reports how the country, now facing a dire energy supply situation, urgently needs to return to nuclear energy.



Symbol image. Photo: U.S. Department of Energy

Germany phased out its entire fleet of nuclear reactors over the past years and hoped to rely on renewable energies, claiming they were cheaper and cleaner. However, the transition has not gone smoothly as grid revamping has not kept up and prices for wind and solar power have made German electricity among the most expensive worldwide.

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has warned that “Germany can no longer turn its back on nuclear power and that a reorientation of energy policy is necessary. The government must reopen the debate on nuclear power.”

“Countries that have nuclear energy want more of it. And many that don’t have any want it,” said Grossi.

“The timing of his comments is no coincidence. Germany’s economy is suffering from energy problems, while the government is consumed with internal disputes,” comments Blackout News. “The political focus has recently been on the disputes within the coalition government, while the electricity market has continued to show new weaknesses.”

Blackout News describes how the prices of electricity “exploded” in early November during a period of calm winds and no sunshine. This forced Germany to fall back on gas and coal (energy sources that the government is currently working to phase out as well). “Fossil fuels supplied 71% of Germany’s electricity at the beginning of November – a figure that has not been reached for over a decade.”

Read entire article here (German).

 

It’s hard to believe that the German people known for engineering could allow this fiasco of policy to happen.

 

Nuclear power's comeback is gaining momentum.
Why Nuclear Power Is So Hot Right Now
Emily Chung, CBC

 

Nuclear energy is the future.
A New Nuclear Age
Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

 

I never expected Germany to be this stupid.



'Southern Sweden has record-high energy prices today due to having send electricity to Germany via undersea power cables today.'

Sounds like Germany is damn lucky that Sweden is willing to sacrifice in order to cover Germany's poor decisions.

'Cold weather coupled with no wind has driven up the demand in Germany from other sources than wind. EU regulations force Sweden to send that electricity to Germany, driving up prices in southern Sweden today to be nearly 200 times higher than they are in northern Sweden.'

Gee, trying to run a 21st Century economy on 16th century technology, Windmills, is a problem if it gets cold and and it's not windy? Who could have foreseen that?

'A 10-minute shower in southern Sweden costs around USD $5 during today’s price spike."

'Ebba Busch added that Germany’s decision to dismantle its nuclear power plants has also other detrimental effects for Europe:'

“I’m furious with the Germans. They have made a decision for their country, which they have the right to make; it’s their right to decide. But it has had very serious consequences, also for the EU’s competitiveness because we see that German competitiveness has dropped significantly.”

'She said that Germany’s actions have also reduced its ability to help Ukraine.'

– “After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, they still chose to dismantle their nuclear power plants… I respect that people can have different opinions about nuclear power plants, but we could have kept it. They are important because they are baseload power plants.'

'Having access to such baseload power plants would have increased the transmission capacity from Germany to other electricity price areas in Europe, driving down prices for all of us.”

That wasn't as important as appearing virtuous to the Climate Cultists.

'Sweden — and the rest of Europe — need to understand that Germany is no longer a reliable partner. Build more nukes.'

We realized Germany was becoming unreliable when they refused to meet their own NATO commitments.

 

I never expected the western democracies to be so stupid.

 

Hopefully it will turn around, very very quickly.