I mean it is clean to operate. I think there’s an argument for it being a clean energy source. It’s not so clean to decommission.
And it’s unclear we can build and operate nuclear power plants in a safe and cost effective way.
They cost billions, take decades to build, create perverse incentives to operate longer and leaner than is safe and leave a clean-up nightmare.
Perhaps we should prioritize incentives for rooftop solar + batteries. That is a distributed investment, pays dividends instantly, leaves no terrible cleanup, increases grid stability.
Once we reach a point of diminishing returns there perhaps we could explore small nuclear power plants to generate remaining baseline loads.
And it’s unclear we can build and operate nuclear power plants in a safe and cost effective way. They cost billions, take decades to build, create perverse incentives to operate longer and leaner than is safe and leave a clean-up nightmare.
Perhaps we should prioritize incentives for rooftop solar + batteries. That is a distributed investment, pays dividends instantly, leaves no terrible cleanup, increases grid stability.
Once we reach a point of diminishing returns there perhaps we could explore small nuclear power plants to generate remaining baseline loads.