• TropicalDingdong@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    there is very very very little nuclear waste.this is complete handwringing. it can be buried and forgotten.

    Bigger issue is the carbon costs and pay back periods. Nuclear (unless you’ve got sources otherwise stating) is green in it’s planning phase but not as often in execution. A shit ton of concrete is used, and the plants rarely operate at the capacity they are expected to (or have in the past). Open to revision but that’s my current understanding.

    They are a massive upfront carbon cost and only become carbon neutral or negative relative to fossil fuels 20+ years down the line.

    • LetMeEatCake@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      Do you have data on that? A modern nuclear power plant is going to be in the 500-1000+ MW range. I have a hard time imagining that even operating at half capacity that they do not offset the carbon used for concrete within a relatively short order. But if that is in fact the case I’d love to see data saying so, so that I can correct my thinking.