I was scrolling through hundreds of environment and energy press releases late last night, and I saw one about Walmart supporting nuclear power. Even after reading the title twice, I wasn’t sure if I understood correctly and had to open up the press release. But, yes, Walmart is backing a … [continued]
Solar and wind power plants continue to grow rapidly in the United States, and coal continues to decline — despite the current federal government so heavily putting its thumb on the side of coal. Solar and wind continue to get deployed rapidly due to their pure free-market competitiveness, while the … [continued]
In 1995, computer scientist Niklaus Wirth published the article “A Plea for Lean Software” in the magazine Computer. Its thesis seems to suggest that AI based on neural networks may be doomed to fail, not because of a lack of electrical energy, but because of software inefficiency. The experience of … [continued]
The core of the Fat Boy bomb, which leveled two square miles of Nagasak, weighed 13.6 pounds. It was about the size of a softball. Photo by Diana Polekhina, Unsplash, cropped.
I am one of those people who hates the word “utilize.” The logic of the English language would seem to be that to utilize something is to alter it to give it utility that it didn’t originally have. One example is to punch holes in the bottom of a bucket … [continued]
We’ve got a disaster underway in the Middle East following the US and Israel bombing Iran. The Straight of Hormuz remains blocked, and the global oil industry is approaching true crisis. However, things could get much worse — much, much worse. Reporting indicates a drone struck a nuclear power plant … [continued]
Chatgpt generated image of energy models weighing imagined centralized futures against real-world electrification and grid flexibility.
An Energy Research & Social Science paper crossed my screen recently that put structure around something visible to anyone who has compared nuclear forecasts with build rates. Nuclear power has been projected to grow faster, cheaper and more broadly than it actually has, not once or twice, but across decades, … [continued]
When I wrote in 2021 that small modular reactors were mostly bad policy (peer reviewed version, CleanTechnica version), the argument was not that nuclear fission could not produce useful low-carbon electricity. It was already doing so every day. The United States had about 98 GW of operating nuclear capacity, and … [continued]
ChatGPT generated infographic contrasting nuclear’s compact site footprint with its cost overruns and delays, while showing wind’s limited disturbed land and solar’s broad siting options
The claim that nuclear power uses less land than renewables is making the rounds again, usually presented as if it settles a complex debate with one clean visual. A nuclear plant fits inside a compact fenced site. Wind turbines are spread across plains and ridgelines. Solar arrays cover visible surfaces. … [continued]
Timeline of UK Hinkley nuclear reactor delays against 75% grid decarbonization with renewables by author
The latest announcement about Hinkley Point C was predictable. The first reactor at the plant in Somerset is now expected to begin generating electricity in 2030. The cost estimate has climbed again, now reaching roughly £35B in 2015 pounds or about £49B in current money according to Electricité de France. … [continued]
On February 9, 2026, Japan restarted Unit 6 of its largest nuclear power plant, the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa Nuclear Power Station in Niigata Prefecture, which was shut down following the 2011 Fukushima tsunami and nuclear accident. As the reactor returns to full operations, the resulting increase in nuclear generation is likely to … [continued]
