John Bitonti, II’s Post

The nuke nuts are back, and this time on a Latitude Media podcast called Political Climate. See here [Political Climate] Making sense of nuclear’s resurgence #politicalClimate https://lnkd.in/gqHSYJzu via @PodcastAddict  They trot out too many zombie ideas to list. Some of the best were 3 Mile Island was "where some radioactive gases and I think Iodine were released into the atmosphere". This cost $2 b (2023 dollars) to cleanup which took over 14 years, and then $1.2 b to decommission. Or the description of nuclear as being "flexible". I have never heard of nuclear power being able to ramp up and ramp down? Or "clean", clean in what sense? Still no solution for nuclear waste material, which has to be stored forever on site. Or "safe". So safe that congress passed the Price Anderson Act not once but repeatedly, which basically says the nuclear power industry is on the hook for the first $15 b in liability in the event of a nuclear disaster, and socializes the rest, meaning, the tax payer is on the hook for everything above $15 b in losses. Fukushima cost $500 b in economic losses. From one disaster $500 billion. Think about how much solar, plus storage, plus wind, plus transmission could be built for $500 billion. We have Twenty Three (23) Fukushima style reactors in the US, out of our fleet of 94. If not for the Price Anderson Act, the nuclear power industry would not exist, full stop. And today, relative to wind, solar + storage, nuclear is far, far more expensive in terms of LCOE. We would be far better off investing in advanced geothermal rather than nuclear. We need to get to a zero carbon world sooner rather than later, and based on the development timelines for nuclear, they can't be built in time or at scale to make a hill of beans difference. But don't take my word for it. Listen to Chris Nelder interview two global experts in episodes 209 and 219 on the Energy Transition Show. In Episode 209 Stephanie Cooke the author of In Mortal Hands, A Cautionary History of the Nuclear Age is interviewed and then in Episode 219 Jim Green of Friends of the Earth Australia. If you are interested in understanding the nuclear industry in the US, these two shows are a must. Hopefully for once and for all the nuke nuts and their zombie ideas will be put to rest. [The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder (Full Episodes)] [Episode #209] – End of the Nuclear Age #theEnergyTransitionShowWithChrisNelderFullEpisodes https://lnkd.in/g6SQKAUn via @PodcastAddict [The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder (Full Episodes)] [Episode #219] – Nuclear Illusions #theEnergyTransitionShowWithChrisNelderFullEpisodes https://lnkd.in/gn-NDZcD via @PodcastAddict 

Recent Views about The Future have been quite distorted by AI Trends and buzzwords Reading "The Case for Nukes" has realigned my views on what the Future should actually be A must read for everyone bogged down by too much cynicism about what Technologies can do for Human Evolution Creativity/Ingenuity is an Infinite Resource and we shouldn't hand it over to people who see human progress as a Survior rather than a Liberator Nuclear power is so less talked about in perspective to the changes that it can bring to the world Please do read if you can https://lnkd.in/gVZSrR-x

“The crazy thing about technology is that once you have it and know it, it takes on a life of its own. And it could scale way faster than we thought. ... when Henry Ford was building the Model T, and cars existed before the Model T, I'm sure there were doubters like, oh, that's going to grow at like 20%. I mean, the Model T production grew at 100% year over year for 10 years. ... if you did that in climate and any of the climate technologies, not only do you solve climate in 10 years, but you basically lead to an entirely different civilization, right?” Not some modern day Pangloss, but Bob Mumgaard, CEO of Commonwealth Fusion Systems, who is building the world's first commercial fusion reactor, to start operation in 2030. Taken from Akshat Rathi's excellent podcast, Zero: The Climate Race: Inside the race to open the world’s first nuclear fusion power plant, 26 Sep 2024 (link below) I love the ambition and optimism in this interview. Net Zero - we can do this! https://lnkd.in/eeG3xarA #CFS #ZeroTheClimateRace #NuclearFusion #NetZero Akshat Rathi Bob Mumgaard

This week on A Positive Climate, we're thrilled to have Simon Holmes à Court dive deep on one of Australia's hot button topics: nuclear energy. We covered ALL the key issues you wanted tackled: ▶️ The current global nuclear energy landscape ▶️ Safety, waste and water ▶️ Build costs and timelines ▶️ The generation profile and economics of nuclear power ▶️ How nuclear would integrate into a solar and wind dominated grid ▶️ If Australia already had a nuclear energy fleet, would we now be building more? It was great to have the time (although never enough!) to pick Simon's brain about all these questions, in a long form discussion! 🎧Listen now wherever you get your podcasts 🎧 A Positive Climate Simon Holmes à Court Nick Zeltzer #nuclear #climate #solar

New FET article: How I changed my mind on nuclear energy Changing your mind is a skill. It is hard to learn. And having a tribe makes it harder. https://lnkd.in/g7wNYB8k

Advanced Nuclear Technology is transforming the energy landscape, driving economic growth, enhancing safety, and preserving the environment. 🌎 🔗 In our latest blog, we delve into the multifaceted benefits of this innovation and its potential to shape a sustainable future. 💡 👉🏻 Read now to explore the possibilities! #PMOGlobal #PoweredByPassion #NuclearInnovation #EconomicGrowth #Safety #Environment #Sustainability #SustainableFuture #Blog

It would have been more realistic and not such a narrow narrative if they had included Nuclear Fusion, which is advancing internationally except in Australia and will be commercially on the grid overseas before 2030. If Australia activates its Fusion energy Industry to build and do the same as Fusion Energy Generation requires not laws changed or waste disposal sites and would even as first of its kind would be cheaper than nuclear.

Where does Nuclear Energy Fit in the Energy Transition?

☢️ My recent #nuclear post stirred the pot a bit more than I expected. This got me thinking about why the pro- and anti-nuclear camps often results in both sides talking past each other? In a recent podcast, Shayle Kann from Energy Impact Partners discussed the often contentious debate between pro- and anti-nuclear camps with Jessica Lovering from Good Energy Collective. They explored the reasons behind the frequent communication breakdowns in this debate, touching on factors like differing priorities, technical complexity, and risk perception. Additionally, they delved into the economics of nuclear energy, highlighting the stark contrast in construction costs for conventional nuclear reactors—around $8,000/kilowatt in the U.S. versus $2,200/kilowatt in South Korea. To make nuclear as competitive with natural gas you need to get the cost of nuclear below $2,000/kilowatt. Driving down the cost for South Korea is their excellent project management processes and doubling of learning curve. According to Loving, the actually cost of the nuclear island (reactor, etc) is about 12% of total cost. The balance of the costs come from the supporting infrastructure, legal, limited demand (economies of scale), and cost overruns. “Really what has been missing with nuclear in terms of ‘policy’ to help bring down costs is demand pull policy,” notes Loving. Where nuclear is cheapest is in countries that are building a lot of reactors in a standardized fashion. For example, South Korea has a predictable cost curve thanks to learning. China has the most new reactors under construction and building at about $2,500/kilowatt. With about 22 new reactors coming online, once completed, China will over take France as the country with largest reactor fleet (International Energy Agency (IEA)). I encourage to click into the podcast link and hear it from the experts, directly.

Influencing the Influencer: The Role of Storytelling in Nuclear Energy Perception. Storytelling can be a powerful tool to connect with your audience and influence their perception of nuclear energy. When backed by data and a solid strategy, creative storytelling can communicate emotionally compelling narratives that drive public support and lead to favorable nuclear energy policy. Please join Environics Research, Environics Analytics and Big Red Oak Inc. for a chat at the #CNA2024 communications seminar February 28, 2024 – 10:00 - 11:30 – Les Saisons Stage to hear how we can harness the power of storytelling to shape the conversation around nuclear energy and inspire positive change. #NuclearEnergy #Storytelling #PublicPerception #PositiveChange