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asmodeuslucifertoday at 6:47 PM11 repliesview on HN

I agree, I tell everyone who will listen that no country, not Russia, China, Japan, France, USA etc has ever made nuclear power profitable. And you can't blame it on the environmentalists in China and Russia.

That being said, many countries consider it a national security issue not to be held hostage to foreign oil.


Replies

Hammershafttoday at 7:58 PM

That... doesn't seem true?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cbeJIwF1pVY

Once the debt for the initial capital investment is paid off, Nuclear power can be very cheap.

nailertoday at 8:51 PM

Yes, while we’re looking at expenses, add the military to oil.

palatatoday at 7:25 PM

Profit is not everything.

> That being said, many countries consider it a national security issue not to be held hostage to foreign oil.

Spot on. That, plus... peak oil.

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ndr42today at 7:53 PM

But many nuclear power plants in europe are running on russian uranium - so I don't get the argument that you are "hostage" to foreign oil just to become "hostage" of foreign uranium.

Something like wind and solar combined with batteries would be a more sovereign form of energy generation that is (as a bonus) more decentral and less prone to attacks.

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dev_l1x_betoday at 8:08 PM

I am not sure what you mean by profitable here?

asmodeuslucifertoday at 6:52 PM

Off topic, but this guy on youtube is a knowledgeable (pro-nuke) resource.

https://www.youtube.com/@tfolsenuclear

looofooo0today at 8:05 PM

This is wrong, Germanies Konvoi where immensely profitable. The greens complained about these as money printing machines.

tremontoday at 7:01 PM

Why the myopic focus on profitability? Only one nation has succeeded in making healthcare profitable, please tell us how that has led to the best outcome for society?

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idiotsecanttoday at 7:12 PM

What exactly does it mean for a powerplan in china or russia to be profitable?

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EA-3167today at 6:52 PM

China, Russia and the USA all have massive and vested interests in fossil fuels. In the US for example we’ve been subsidizing the everloving hell out of fossil, eroding regulations that would hold them accountable for externalities…

…and then people wonder why nuclear isn’t competitive. When you hold one thing under a microscope because “radiation” scares people, we end up with millions dead per year from air and water pollution due to fossil fuels.

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bdauvergnetoday at 8:05 PM

Maybe you could give numbers because french nuclear industry is completely profitable. If you like numbers like me: there were more subsidies to wind and solar energy the last twenty years in germany than the price of the whole french nuclear program (300 billions) since its inception (250 billions since the 1974).

The reliability of french electricity benefits both France and Europe as a whole. I cannot say the same about what germany is trying to do.

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