How China became the world’s new nuclear energy superstar
How China became the world’s new nuclear energy superstar
China is on a clear course to become the world’s first “electrostate" — and is likely to eclipse the U.S. in atomic power in the next decade.
Summary
China is rapidly surpassing the U.S. in nuclear energy, building more reactors at a faster pace and developing advanced technologies like small modular reactors and high-temperature gas-cooled units.
The U.S. struggles with costly, delayed projects, while China benefits from state-backed financing and streamlined construction.
This shift could make China the leading nuclear power producer within a decade, impacting global energy and geopolitical influence.
Meanwhile, the U.S. seeks to revive its nuclear industry, but trade restrictions and outdated infrastructure hinder progress.
if you want the United States to be more like this, you can always elect someone who- yeah you know what fuck it
by building nuclear energy plants
Who knew it was that simple
God please if there's one pissing match the Orange Terror gets into it better be nuclear energy.
I could see Trump jumping on this if the right rich friend is invested in the right nuclear energy company. It feels like it's within the realm of possibility.
Nuclear energy has a long tail of recent and less recent horrors. These horrors affect the globe in their consequences and should give great pause, despite the passive meltdown aversion systems being implemented in modern reactors. Being slow to implement nuclear energy plants is a feature, not a bug.
An important aside, humans generally have a problem with funding regulatory structures involved in keeping the public safe, constant vigilance gets an ax when budgets are manic. I certainly do not trust the US government to maintain regulatory pressure on nuclear power to keep the public safe from grave harm. Until the manic bipolarity of the current political climate subsides, this will be the case at the very least.
FWIW, if it is not clear, I see absolutely no reason to trust China on nuclear energy regulation either.
It does have some attraction over certain death of fossil fuels.
Nuclear apologists love defending this expensive, hazardous industry. In Texas, mining the uranium for these plants is ruining the water table just like fracking does.
Meanwhile solar, wind, and geothermal are cheaper and cleaner.
https://www.wired.com/story/a-uranium-mining-boom-is-sweeping-through-texas-nuclear-energy/
In St. Louis, nuclear waste in a landfill has caused cancer in north county black and brown neighborhoods for decades.
It is generally those who have not witnessed the ramifications of nuclear waste and/or disaster that are its proponents. Something that takes tens of thousands of years to decay, considering climate change, climate change catastrophe, movements in human population, and geologic change, we are full of hubris to consider it a green power option. But all the rose-tinted know-it-all tech bro will vote me down. Idgaf.
actually the US is developing small sized power plants. You saw in Ukraine what can happen if you rely on large plants.
None of the US based SMRs have been successful, even with hundreds of millions of funding and regulatory approval from the DOE.
What can happen? The plant is pretty much working and is the only reliable point of Ukrainian power generation since it can't be targeted. Also, when is the US going to get into a land war on its own soil, and how will smaller nuclear reactors help?
The smaller reactors are fail safe so if they get blasted you'll end up with free aluminum parts on your backyard. And if you got one near every home that means you gotta spend a lot of firepower to get them all. And if they produced as much power as needed and are safe to repair and quick to build then good luck taking them all out. Right?
But at what cost 😔😔😔
why the clickbait title if the original huffpost isn't?
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