I used to think solar was the best way to make electricity, but I was wrong. 🧵
4/ Only ~200 people have died as a result of radiation from a nuclear accident in 60+ yrs.
Yet millions die every year from the effects of coal.
5/ Nuclear power promotes energy security & autonomy.
Europe’s dependence on Russian gas has compromised their security.
Contrast Germany, which depends on Russian gas, with France, which gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear & even exports surplus electricity.
6/ Similarly, most countries don’t want their energy to depend on China.
Yet China has a chokehold on 99% of the core ingredients for making solar panels.
By contrast, a country can store decades of cheap nuclear fuel within its own borders.
bit.ly/39mZDx9
7/ Nuclear power uses 30X less energy to generate a usable unit of power.
https://t.co/2l9TYkjlyybit.ly/3MWwpUv
8/ Nuclear power is 3.5X more reliable than solar.
The capacity factor is a measure of reliability.
A plant with a capacity factor of 100% is producing maximum power 100% of the time.
https://t.co/U4vJphthaQbit.ly/3xST2Uw
9/ Plus, US nuclear plants are getting more efficient over time.
10/ Building a nuclear plant requires 18X less material than building a solar plant.
https://t.co/uZWH1pTX9Sbit.ly/3mioZPK
11/ Nuclear power requires 75X less land than solar.
bit.ly/39ocY8B
12/ Nuclear power emits 4X less carbon than solar.
13/ Solar causes unnecessary air pollution because it relies on power plants to ramp up & down quickly.
bit.ly/3shEMSn
14/ Nuclear power produces 300X less waste than solar.
Nuclear is the only energy source that prevents waste from going into the environment.
All the nuclear fuel ever generated in the US is safely contained & can fit on a single football field stacked less than 10 yards high.
15/ Solar panels are made from toxic materials & they normally are too expensive to recycle.
It’s estimated that global solar panel waste will reach around 78 million metric tons by 2050—the equivalent of throwing away 60M Honda Civic cars.
bit.ly/3QmZUko
16/ Nuclear power plants last 3X longer than solar plants.
https://t.co/V9w1bvs2g9bit.ly/3xuRe2Y
17/ Nuclear plants can be built almost anywhere.
Over 1/3 of the US population lives or works within 50 miles of a nuclear plant.
By contrast, solar farms are located far from homes & workplaces making it expensive to move the energy where it's needed.
https://t.co/KVyqXQPDusbit.ly/3b5ENTB
18/ Nuclear power makes electricity affordable.
Nuclear plants are expensive to build but cheap to operate.
Countries that rely heavily on nuclear power have below-average retail electricity prices.
19/ Germany shows the ill effects of shutting down nuclear & overbuilding solar & wind power.
"By 2025 it will have spent $550 billion to make its electricity nearly 2X as expensive & 10X more carbon-intensive than France’s."
- @ShellenbergerMD
20/ If you enjoyed this thread, follow me @BrianGitt and subscribe on to read my articles on energy, investing, & decision making.briangitt.com
Solar power harms both the environment & people—especially people with lower incomes.
Read Solar's Dirty Secrets:
briangitt.com/solars-dirty-s…
We have enough nuclear fuel to power human civilization for 4 billion years & at that point the sun will destroy the Earth.
whatisnuclear.com/blog/2020-10-2…
I wasted 20 years of my life chasing utopian energy.
Read my article to learn the 8 principles that give us the best chance to bring about successful energy reform.
briangitt.com/chasing-utopia…
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