Small Reactors, Big Problems: the Nuclear Mirage Behind Ai's Energy Hype

This article is extremely derogatory. Firstly, the author dismisses anyone who argues for nuclear energy as “a mentally ill person who hates renewables”, and declares that nuclear energy doesn’t work because it “cannot compete with renewables today”.

I really hate this narrative, it presumes that somehow we can’t improve technological solutions. If we apply that logic we should all go back to driving cars with leaded gasoline because it was too hard to think of something new.

This is reaffirmed by the author again stating SMRs are only buzzing because of state subsidies. Ah, yes, compared to renewables, the unsubsidized energy source that never needed any government money in the past!

There are many kinds of nuclear reactors that could be built, and there are countries, and organizations that are investing in them with new material science we didn’t have in the past. Breeder reactors that don’t rely on a water based coolant, or gas based designs are being tested, there is plenty of room to do new things.

Can we please drop the narrative that somehow investing in nuclear is dumb because we have renewables, we need to explore all options that might help us solve the climate crisis. Some of them might work out, some of them not, but if we don’t try crazy shit like fusion, we’ll never realize any of the potential.