What’s the smart money doing with nuclear power while California is abandoning it? China is looking more and more like the new world leader, taking over from America. Smart management has seen the Chinese economy growing nonstop, decade after decade. What about their take on carbon-free nuclear power to run their mighty economy?
According to Wikipedia, China is “all in” for nuclear energy:
“As of September 2018, China has 44 nuclear reactors in operation with a capacity of 40.6 gigawatts (GW) and 13 under construction with a capacity of 14 GW. Additional reactors are planned for an additional 36 GW. China was planning to have 58 GW of capacity by 2020. Nuclear power contributed 3 percent of the total electricity production in 2015, with 170 terawatt hours (TWh), and was the fastest-growing electricity source, with 29 percent growth over 2014. Nuclear generation increased again in 2016 to 213 TWh, a 25 percent increase, and in 2017 to 246 TWh, a 15 percent increase. China ranks fourth in the world in total nuclear power capacity installed, and third by nuclear power generated.”
Meanwhile, California leaders like Gov.-elect Gavin Newsome, departing Gov. Jerry Brown, and our legislators are shutting nuclear plants in fear based on no evidence. They’re living back to the anti-nuclear cult years and bet instead on solar and wind, both requiring enormous burning of fossil fuel since they work only in daytime and blowing wind.
California will end up buying the reactor technologies of modern, forward-looking countries and suffering economically due to poor decisions of elected leadership.
This article appears in Dec 13-20, 2018.