this post was submitted on 23 Jun 2025
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United States | News & Politics

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 23 hours ago

Building a nuclear reactor in the current day is a massive waste of money. Instead get solar and wind energy which directly work and have about the same cost.

Nuclear used to have a big performance to price advantage over solar and wind, but not anymore. It only takes 10 years longer before it can actually do something.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (3 children)

I endorse nuclear power and am enjoying the second look it is getting now but as a geologist I ask where the nuclear waste will go. No one ever wants to talk about it and there is really easy solution, the deep subsurface (miles below the ground). It’s safe, cheap, and Finland has shown how it’s done.

This is part of a broader issue in preparing our next generations for jobs of the future. To build out this infrastructure you need smart technical people to make it work and ask the tough questions, but I know this administration doesn’t care about that.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago

Nuclear waste is not and has never been an issue worth discussing. It's almost exclusively invoked by antinuclear advocates.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

The solutions exist and the USA has been aware of those solutions since they invented nuclear power in the 50's. Unfortunately Capitalism doesn't allow long-term planning so almost every time a long-term storage solution has been proposed, or ever funded, a few elections later it get's defunded to the praised of misguided environmentalists and the green-washing fossil fuel lobby.

The one I know about the most was Yucca Mountain which got defunded. But at least WiPP is back open. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_Isolation_Pilot_Plant

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Yea Yucca mountain is a sad tale. A lack of community engagement and politics ruined what was other wise a geotechnically sound design. Having a national repository for a nation as large as the US might be impractical in retrospect especially involving interstate rail transport. I think local containment of waste is key to reduce shipping costs and trailing the waste through developed areas. That requires planning a nuclear site near a geological repository which might not be part of design plans.

Also that NM repository I haven’t heard of, will be reading more

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

Look I hear you, the way the US does nuclear power has a lot of issues, it's really an industry that requires strong state backing like what China and Russia have going on.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 days ago (2 children)

So Iran can’t but the US can? Is this plant going to be an acceptable target now that the US has entered the war?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago (1 children)

There is only one side here that is obsessed with terror attacks on civilian nuclear facilities and it's not Iran

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 days ago

that’s right. how ironic is it that Iran can’t but US can.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 days ago (1 children)

Have you considered the following:

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

this is what american fascists do, yeah. it’s deplorable.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 days ago (4 children)

Is it all for an AI computer?

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Yeah isn't this the reactivation of Three Mile Island and it's specifically being pushed for by meta for their AI

Looks like it was Microsoft https://www.npr.org/2024/09/20/nx-s1-5120581/three-mile-island-nuclear-power-plant-microsoft-ai

But this seems actually different.

Seems like the governor just wants to push forward with new nuclear planets since the last one was shutdown only a few years ago. Apparently this severally effected the energy prices in NY.

Its still probably being pushed by AI companies but we (the us) don't really produce enough power for everything thats up and coming like electric cars.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Of course that's how to make economy 🙂

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

It's for the Micron fab being built there.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

For TMI, yes. You could say that it's all computer!

[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 days ago (3 children)

Can...can we build it after Trump leaves? I'd rather not have a target here.

[–] [email protected] 12 points 3 days ago (2 children)

Trump reduced the “red tape” to build this so it might just be dangerous on its own

Assuming it comes online in less than a decade and not drastically over budget

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Eh, the newest generation of reactors are actually really safe. It's been a while since I've read up on them, but I believe that it's impossible for some of them to meltdown.

The red tape for building nuclear plants was based on the first few gen reactors, and needed to be reduced.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 2 days ago

Thoughtfully reduced and changed. I don't trust that the red tape reduction in this case was thoughtful, though I will admit I haven't looked myself. With all the shit being thrown at the wall it's impossible to keep up, even though nuclear power generation is one of my areas of interest.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 days ago

A grift for the technocrats.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 days ago (1 children)

building nuclear power plants take so long that he probably will be dead when it is done

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

Burkina Faso will have gone nuclear by the time they finish this shit

[–] [email protected] 2 points 3 days ago

You realize all power plants are a "target" right?