We Need Nuclear

AI data centers are primed to increase our energy consumption by untold amounts in the next twenty years. On top of this impending artificial energy demand, aggregate consumer energy demand is also expected to increase rapidly. Both of these problems require expedited solutions - and yet we are sleepwalking towards energy disaster.

The current state of our energy grid could be described as at best in disarray and at worst in genuine shambles. Not only is energy consumption scattered and inconsistent across the various power sources of coal/oil, natural gas, traditional renewables and nuclear, but the grid itself is divided into about five different sections only loosely connected. This means that instead of upgrading the grid all at once and connecting it, each part needs to be modernized and then connected, which is much, much harder. On top of this, our energy grid is one of the largest contributors to climate change, and the fossil fuel load is actively pushing us towards climate disaster.

The current solution being pushed is the "renewable transition." This is the idea that, with enough investment, power sources like wind and solar will power most, if not all of our grid by the year 2035…or 2050…or 2070…or someday!

Spoiler: it's not going to work - and even if our grid is "powered by renewables", fossil fuels will maintain a foothold right up until the grid is 100% renewables. Until renewables can deal with intermittency, the duck curve, and other limitations, fossil fuels will be right there to step in the gap. It's why they've spent so much money pushing renewables as the future of energy, and it's why they will continue to do so. The implications here are obvious: the continuation of the climate crisis, lack of energy, and overall collapse become more and more imminent.

Nuclear energy is the only power source that can combat fossil fuels in a way that actually replaces them (solving climate change) while still powering the entire grid (solving energy demand). We know this to be true both empirically and logically - after all, fossil fuels and nuclear energy are the only two sources of energy that provide base-load, steady and consistent power. As a result, renewables need one of the two to supplement them, and if we invest in nuclear energy, we choose the right option for a sustainable future - a 100% clean power source that is practically limitless.

However, this investment is currently both insufficient and misprioritized. Not only are nuclear plant closures happening across the US, but most of the new nuclear infrastructure being built isn't replacing them. Why? Nuclear power is now almost solely kept alive by Big Tech, which seeks to harness nuclear energy to power AI data centers, while consumers are hung out to dry.

Ultimately, this problem calls for a couple of crucial steps by the US government. First, an immediate injection of investment to stop existing plant closures across the US. Second, a secondary investment in the new technologies of the day - whether it be IFR's from Oklo or SMR's from NuScale - to meet consumer energy demand. And third and finally, improved rhetoric and tone towards nuclear energy to make the public more accepting of it, especially when the fossil fuel industry spent millions making sure that the public feared nuclear through extensive propaganda campaigns.

The solution is staring us in the face. It's time to follow through.