Nuclear power now

To understand how the US escaped a bullet, it is necessary to go back to 2010 in Germany. The economy was growing and utility cost were low. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, herself a nuclear chemist, proposed an expansion of nuclear power as a stop gap measure while Germany expanded wind and solar. Then in March 2011 the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan was swamped by a Tsunami and Merkel succumbed to pressure by green groups and she shut down 8 nuke plants immediately and planned to shut down the remaining plants by 2022. This was an emotional reaction and over the next ten years Germany spent $500 billion on wind and solar and their carbon emissions barely moved. They had to use coal to replace the nuclear power because the time lag for wind and solar could not keep pace with demand. The plan was to rely on Russian natural gas to replace the nuclear power but that took time they didn’t have. Then in Feb 2022 the Ukraine War started and Germany lost their supply of natural gas which led to higher energy prices. German industries like steel, chemicals and autos watched energy prices increase fourfold and industries began to shut down and/or move outside the country to places like the US and China where energy cost were low. Germany, the once industrial powerhouse of Europe, is now in the process of deindustrializing. The US realized the pitfalls of green energy and avoided shutting down nuclear plants. Instead, they increased fossil fuel production and started the ground work to expand nuclear. The US understood that energy independence is needed for national security. Trump is actively pushing for a major expansion of nuclear calling for a nuclear energy renaissance. To promote nuclear, Trump is streamlining regulations, investing in new construction and securing the fuel supply chain. This includes an $80 billion dollar partnership for new reactors including SMR’s.