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9 votes
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Ohio just passed the worst energy bill of the 21st century
9 votes -
Texas has generated more electricity from wind than coal so far this year
11 votes -
More utilities plan to use blackouts to prevent wildfires
3 votes -
Rural Colorado electricity provider announces early coal plant closure, focus on renewables
5 votes -
Renewable energy is now the cheapest option
15 votes -
These community wind farms in Denmark and Scotland are decentralising power to the people
6 votes -
Blackout hits major sections of Manhattan
13 votes -
Puerto Rico harnesses the power of the sun for a renewable energy future
4 votes -
Are there potential downsides of going to 100% renewable energy?
4 votes -
Power has been restored to much of Argentina and Uruguay after a massive electrical failure left tens of millions of people in the dark
8 votes -
California's largest utility resorts to blackouts to prevent wildfires
10 votes -
The ticket to 100% renewable power is underneath our feet
6 votes -
How to make wind power sustainable again
6 votes -
To some solar users, power company fees are an unfair charge
5 votes -
To drive eagles away from deadly wind turbines, researchers turn to sound
4 votes -
Nuclear power is not the answer in a time of climate change
14 votes -
Going nuclear might be the best way to combat climate change
26 votes -
Oregon restricts solar development on prime farmland
5 votes -
I oversaw the US nuclear power industry. Now I think it should be banned.
12 votes -
"A big fugazi": Why fishermen still can't get behind offshore wind
8 votes -
How greed and corruption blew up South Korea’s nuclear industry
6 votes -
What happened when I bought a house with solar panels
10 votes -
Springtime, and the renewables are surging
4 votes -
Electricity grid cybersecurity will be expensive – who will pay, and how much?
3 votes -
Community solar is an excellent way to create energy equity–if it’s done right
4 votes -
Statehouses, not the sun, drive solar energy gaps
3 votes -
One in five Americans now live in places committed to 100% clean power
9 votes -
This company says the future of nuclear energy is smaller, cheaper and safer
5 votes -
Earth matters: A younger generation pushes South Africa's solar power revolution
6 votes -
How Atlanta plans to get to 100% green energy by 2035
6 votes -
The removal of fuel from Fukushima reactors begins, eight years after the disaster
8 votes -
House OKs 100 percent clean energy in Washington by 2045
15 votes -
‘Historic breakthrough’: Norway’s giant oil fund dives into renewables
7 votes -
Energy secretary Rick Perry approves deal to sell nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia
9 votes -
Puerto Rico just passed a bill to require 100% renewable electricity by 2050
13 votes -
Companies organize to make it easier to buy renewable energy
5 votes -
'Coal is on the way out': Study finds fossil fuel now pricier than solar or wind
13 votes -
A battle is raging over the largest solar farm east of the Rockies
10 votes -
Even in a warmer Europe, wind and solar could still keep the lights on
5 votes -
Where will the materials for our clean energy future come from?
7 votes -
Solar farms shine a ray of hope on bees and butterflies
5 votes -
Green New Deal doesn't include nuclear. Good? Bad? What do you think?
18 votes -
On Thorium Power (and the 'hype' thereof)
I've noticed, particularly on reddit but also elsewhere on the english-speaking internet, that thorium nuclear (MSR/LFTR) power is being hyped. And I can't help but feel suspicious. It seems too...
I've noticed, particularly on reddit but also elsewhere on the english-speaking internet, that thorium nuclear (MSR/LFTR) power is being hyped. And I can't help but feel suspicious. It seems too good to be true. "burns our nuclear waste", "infinite fuel", "Absolutely safe", "Proliferation is not an issue". Stuff like that. Not gonna provide much evidence for those claims existing here, but I'll say that you can usually find them in any big thread involving energy sources and there's a few TED talks too. Coal, conventional nuclear, renewables, any of those is apparently strictly inferior and we're complete morons for not switching already. Coal apparently causes more damage through radiation than nuclear, nuclear is dirty and renewables need something... anything.. to keep them company in case we can't get enough wind/sun. (Also, batteries and hydroelectric storage don't exist.)
German wikipedia has this to say about thorium hype: "Der MSR/LFTR als Teil einer Thoriumnutzung erhält etwa seit dem Jahr 2010 insbesondere im angelsächsischen Raum starke Unterstützung verschiedener Organisationen, während Nuklear- und Energieexperten eher zurückhaltend sind. Einige dieser Befürworter halten den LFTR sogar für die Lösung fast aller Energieprobleme.[2][3][4][5] Kritiker sprechen aus unterschiedlicher Motivation heraus vom MSR- oder Thorium-Hype[6] oder sogar von Astroturfing[7]." - https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fl%C3%BCssigsalzreaktor - paraphrased: MSR/LFTR received strong support in english-speaking areas by various orgs, while nuclear- and energy experts are mostly silent. Some supporters regard LFTR as solution to all energy problems. For various reasons, critics call thorium hyped or even astroturfed. [citations are mostly english, for the curious]
Meanwhile, there's major problems regarding practicality, we can't estimate just how secure it is (keep in mind modern reactor concepts are all "theoretically safe" as long as you keep the human out of the loop and maintain the facility properly.) Proliferation risks of thorium fueled reactors are immense due to U233 (232-contamination doesn't make the weapon less dangerous when used, just more dangerous to handle.). Also, no serious evidence for the capability to burn nuclear waste. And decommissioning a thorium plant seems, as of now, to be just as much of a shit job as a conventional nuclear plant - if not worse.
My main question with this is: How do you view thorium power / did you notice the same trends as I did? I'm just trying to form a conclusion between the hype and a maybe cynical pessimism.
18 votes -
Waste crisis looms as thousands of solar panels reach end of life
8 votes -
As US coal use drops to 1979 levels, EPA may ease rules on new coal plants
7 votes -
Lost lands? The American wilderness at risk in the Donald Trump era
11 votes -
The week in energy: Not all oil is equal
7 votes -
Britain's largest battery is actually a lake
11 votes -
'Records falling everywhere': Australian solar panel demand goes through the roof
14 votes