From OilPrice, December 9:
- Nuclear power is back, in a big way.
- Silicon Valley billionaires are betting big on the clean energy tech.
- Between 2015 and 2021, investment in nuclear energy grew around 325 percent by volume and 3,642 percent by dollar value.
Once a taboo topic, nuclear power seems to be the words on everyone’s lips, as governments worldwide put power stations back on their agenda in a bid to accelerate the green transition and ensure greater energy security for the coming years. Following several notorious nuclear disasters in previous decades, governments, environmentalists, and a fearful public decided nuclear power was too dangerous an energy source to continue producing. But after a moment of pause, the re-evaluation of the high safety standards of nuclear power, and as we face global energy shortages, nuclear energy is getting a resurge in attention, particularly from tech billionaires who appear to want a piece of the nuclear pie
Despite the negative public impression of nuclear power, due to famous disasters, including Chornobyl and Fukushima, nuclear energy has actually been shown to be one of the safest power sources. According to the measure of deaths per unit of electricity produced by the various types of energy worldwide, nuclear power is way down the list. Studies show that coal is by far the most dangerous energy source, partially due to its production through mining in difficult conditions, but mainly owing to the pollution caused by burning coal, which has led to a vast array of diseases and deaths.
In addition, nuclear power offers abundant low-carbon energy, something that governments worldwide have been racing to develop to meet their climate pledges. As we face global energy shortages, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions on Russian energy, political powers are realising the importance of becoming more self-sufficient in their energy production and not simply coming to rely on fossil fuels from other foreign powers.
Now, nuclear power is getting the backing of Silicon Valley and other major tech regions, with tech giants beginning to invest in the development of nuclear energy facilities. As tech majors bring their expertise and funds to the nuclear industry, there is a significant potential for greater innovation to be seen in the development of nuclear hubs for the first time in decades....
....MUCH MORE
The day Russia invaded Ukraine one of the co-founders of a16z tweeted:
Build 1,000 new state of the art nuclear power plants in the US and Europe, right now. We won't, but we should.
— Marc Andreessen (@pmarca) February 24, 2022
Bill Gates has long been a proponent of nuclear power plants:
- "Bill Gates and China partner on world-first nuclear technology"
- Energy 2019: "Inside the lab where Bill Gates’ TerraPower is inventing the future of nuclear energy"
- "Bill Gates’ Children Mock Him With ‘Billionaire’ Song"
- Nuclear: "Bill Gates Is Beginning to Dream the Thorium Dream"
And many more, long-time readers know the drill, "search blog" box, upper left.
