
After 48 Years, Democrats Endorse Nuclear Energy in Platform - amaajemyfren
https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertbryce/2020/08/23/after-48-years-democrats-endorse-nuclear-energy-in-platform/#196aff365829
======
dimator
It's far too late in the game to let the Sierra Clubs and the NIMBYs block
nuclear power. It will take immense work to overcome the stigmas associated
with nuclear power plants, however. With today's hyper-conspiracy minded
discourse, it's going to be an uphill battle to convince people of safety,
without getting drowned out by kooks.

------
newyankee
That is a good step. One thing that i have found weird is that large parts of
USA is remote and sparsely populated unlike say Japan, India or even mainland
of China. To alleviate some of the psychological concerns would it not be
possible to increase the transmission costs but site the nuclear plants in a
location far from other urban centres ?

A bunch of reactors with 200 to 400 GW capacity sited remotely without urban
area within 400 km might work i guess ? Off course they can be the latest
generation reactors with all the advancements for safety factored in. Not sure
if economies of scale can apply to nuclear like solar, but it may make sense.

------
fallingfrog
It seems like every 20 years or so nuclear starts to gain acceptance, and then
a Fukushima or a Chernobyl happens, and opinion turns against it for another
20 years. It’s hard because a nuclear accident is low probability but very
very high consequence.

------
8bitsrule
The world added 61GW of (mostly onshore) wind power in 2019, bringing the
total capacity for wind energy to 650GW. (650 1GW nuke plants were not built.)

[https://gwec.net/global-wind-report-2019/](https://gwec.net/global-wind-
report-2019/)

76GW more wind energy was planned for 2020. Considering relative cost and
time-to-build, it's far too late in the game to even consider nuclear.

~~~
pa7x1
Except that certain percentage of renewable energy has to be backed up by
something that can cover its unreliable nature. If you don't accept nuclear
into the mix then you have to do it with hydrocarbons.

