Brian Gitt
@BrianGitt
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I tweet about energy, investing, and decision-making. Alum @ycombinator S16
San Francisco, CA
Joined June 2015
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I used to think solar was the best way to make electricity, but I was wrong. 🧵
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Cold weather reduces electric vehicle (EV) range & increases charging times.
Range drops by 54% at 5℉.
And it can take 3X longer to charge the car.
Fear of getting stranded in cold weather is a real concern for EV buyers.
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People think electric cars will reduce oil demand, but they won’t.
If every car in the US were electric tomorrow, oil demand would likely increase.
Here’s why:🧵
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I used to support wind power and vilify natural gas. I was so wrong.
Here's the truth. ⬇️
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An electric car requires 6X more minerals than a conventional car.
A typical 1,000 lb electric car battery contains:
190 lbs of graphite
130 lbs of nickel
90 lbs of copper
60 lbs of cobalt
30 lbs of lithium
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Toyota's sober strategy on full electric cars is correct.
Plugin hybrids use less minerals & can reduce more emissions than full electric vehicles.
Toyota can produce eight 40-mile plug-in hybrids for every one 320-mile EV & save up to 8X the emissions.
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Amazon Web Services (AWS) goes all-in on nuclear power.
AWS plans massive 960 MW nuclear powered data center campus in Pennsylvania.
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Modern society can't exist without 4 ingredients:
1. Ammonia (fertilizer)
2. Plastics (computers, health care products)
3. Steel (skyscrapers, bridges, cars, scalpels)
4. Cement (buildings, roads, dams, runways)
They all require fossil fuels.
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Humans mined 700 million tons of copper over the last 5,000 years.
The same 700 million tons will need to be mined over the next 22 years to meet energy transition targets using wind, solar, & electric vehicles.
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Solar panels aren’t renewable.
Calling solar panels “renewable” is like calling fat free cookies “healthy.”
Look at the ingredient list:
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EU energy policy is truly insane.
An EU commission is pressuring France to raise its renewable energy target to at least 44%.
~70% of France's electricity is produced by nuclear power.
A shift to solar & wind would increase emissions.
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Feeling like you’re doing the right thing doesn’t mean you are. For years, I felt like I was protecting the environment. I was wrong! But I couldn’t admit it. My sense of identity was tied to false beliefs about energy–myths that blinded me to what *does* help the planet:
🧵👇
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France gets sober.
It scraps renewable energy targets & prioritizes nuclear in new energy bill.
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Nuclear power is 30X better than wind & solar.
For every unit of energy put into wind & solar, you get 3.5 units of energy out.
For every unit of energy put into nuclear, you get 100 units out.
Energy Return On Energy Invested:
Chart by
@pwrhungry
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An offshore wind farm requires 13X more critical minerals than a natural gas power plant.
This doesn't include bulk materials.
1 Wind Turbine Requires:
900 tons of steel
2,500 tons of concrete
45 tons of non-recyclable plastic
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The hypocrisy is mind boggling.
The US gov't kills a proposed copper-nickel mining project in Minnesota to protect the environment.
A few days earlier, the Gov't signs an MOU to expand mining in the Congo & Zambia known for destroying the environment.
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There are not enough metals available to replace fossil fuels with wind turbines, solar panels, & battery tech.
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Nuclear waste isn't a problem.
Its never harmed anyone.
Its a tiny amount.
Its 100% safely contained.
Its radioactivity falls by 99% after ~40 yrs.
After 500 yrs, you'd have to eat it to cause harm.
Listen to
@MadiHilly
&
@Dr_Keefer
on this podcast:
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MYTH: Wind & solar are the cheapest sources of power.
Fact: Wind & solar are EXPENSIVE, wasteful add-ons to existing power sources. 🧵👇
Chart:
@MNThinkTank
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40,000 children mining for cobalt in the Congo is the natural consequence of NIMBYism.
Many of the environmental activists who block US mining projects are the same people pushing for electric vehicle mandates reliant on mining for battery minerals.
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A brother & sister had to stop 6 times in a 1 day to charge their rented Tesla.
The battery would drain faster than it would charge.
They paid between $25 and $30 each time they stopped to recharge.
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Germany pushed the snooze button on the global warming alarm clock.
It's burning 13% more coal since last year.
Coal is making a comeback & shows why spending nearly $500 billion on unreliable wind & solar power was a bad investment.
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The solar industry will sink under the weight of its own trash.
Most solar panels won't get recycled because it's too expensive.
Solar panel waste is estimated to reach 78 million tons by 2050–the equivalent of throwing away 60 million Honda Civic cars.
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If wind & solar are so cheap, then why does Denmark have the most expensive electricity in the world?
74% of its electricity comes from renewables.
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2/ Nuclear power is safe!
People falsely believe it’s dangerous–like they falsely believe airplanes are more dangerous than cars.
They’re swayed by emotion & don’t consider the evidence.
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I used to believe nuclear energy was dangerous & nuclear waste was a big problem.
It took me years to realize I was wrong. My ignorance & ideology stood in the way.
Here’s the truth: nuclear is the SAFEST, most powerful & reliable way to generate low-emission electricity.🧵👇
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A solar farm needs 240 times more land than a small modular nuclear reactor to produce the same amount of electricity according to Dominion Energy.
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The wind industry is teetering on the verge of collapse.
Orsted, the global leader in offshore wind, said US projects no longer make financial sense.
US & UK wind leases attracted almost no interest from developers.
Vattenfall stopped work on UK project, citing rising costs.
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Italy considers reversing ‘anti-nuclear’ policy as electricity prices explode.
It phased out nuclear power & became the world's 2nd largest net importer of electricity.
Now Italians pay more than other European countries for energy.
.
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France passed a new bill to accelerate the construction of new nuclear power plants.
In addition, a 50% cap on nuclear power’s share of France’s electricity mix was removed.
h/t
@IERenergy
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Renewable energy won't replace fossil fuels.
Germany spent nearly $500 BILLION on wind & solar power over the last 20 years.
Germany's dependence on fossil fuels declined from 86% to 79%.
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Trillions of dollars have been invested in solar power on the assumption it has a low carbon footprint.
New evidence reveals most solar panels may emit 4X more lifecycle CO2 emissions than reported.
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China successfully installed a small modular nuclear reactor.
It will generate clean electricity to meet the needs of 526,000 households.
-No emissions
-Runs 24/7
-Uses a small amount of land
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Pollution from tire wear on electric vehicles (EVs) can be 400X worse than tailpipe emissions.
The 1000lb battery in EVs places more strain on the tires causing higher particulate emissions.
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The wind industry is a colossal failure.
Wind turbine manufactures benefit from massive subsidies but still don't make money.
GE Renewable Energy posted $2.3 billion in losses.
Siemens Gamesa had a profit margin of minus 4%.
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Solar & wind produce only 3% of global energy, after $2.7 TRILLION invested over the last decade.
The world’s dependence on fossil fuels declined from 87% to 84%.
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Wind power requires 370X more land than natural gas.
A 200-megawatt wind farm takes up 13 square miles.
A natural-gas power plant with that same generating capacity could fit onto a single city block.
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The UK plans to build 8 new nuclear reactors.
The gov't wants to "lead the world once again" in nuclear power, reversing what it describes as "decades of underinvestment".
h/t
@KenEvan27924845
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Humans mined 700 million tons of copper over the last 5,000 years.
The same 700 million tons will need to be mined over the next 22 years to meet energy transition targets using wind, solar, & electric vehicles.
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Japan's restarting the world's largest nuclear power plant.
The plant can power over 6 million homes.
🇯🇵 Exciting news!!
The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, among the world's largest nuclear power facilities housing 7 BWRs, is gearing up for restart after a decade offline.
Japan's push to revive more nuclear plants aims to curb dependence on imported fossil fuels like LNG,…
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People think wind & solar are the best way to make electricity.
I used to think that too. But I was wrong.
In my new book, I explain why.
I evaluate US power sources using 12 criteria.
🧵Why nuclear wins:
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Wind turbine blades are over 50 meters long & made from toxic materials that can’t be recycled.
Tens of thousands of these blades will eventually get dumped in landfills.
By 2050, used wind turbine blades will exceed 43 million tons of waste EVERY year.
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Congo produces ~70% of the cobalt production used to make batteries in electric vehicles (EVs).
Of the 255,000 Congolese mining for cobalt, 40,000 are children, some as young as 6 yrs old.
A typical 1,000 lb EV battery contains 60 lbs of cobalt.
Watch:
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Solar power harms both the environment & people—especially people with lower incomes.
I say this as someone who championed solar for over two decades. I thought I was helping to protect the environment, but I was wrong.
Some more reasoning behind this picture 🧵👇
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3/ Nuclear power plants have up to 20X less cancer risk than solar plants.
UN report:
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The nuclear age is just beginning.
50 years from now people likely won't understand why we wasted decades pursuing unreliable wind & solar power AFTER we already figured out how to generate nuclear—the safest & cheapest way to generate 24/7 clean power.
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Nuclear energy is superior.
It generates 285 times more energy per acre than solar.
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The wind industry is dying.
Vestas loses 8% every time they sell a turbine.
GE's renewable energy unit likely to record $2 billion in losses this year.
Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy reported an annual loss of nearly 1 billion euros.
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US taxpayers to spend $1.2 billion on facilities to pull carbon from air.
CO2 is only .04% of the air.
Using machines to suck CO2 out of the air makes about as much sense as using a straw to suck salt out of the ocean.
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4/ Only ~200 people have died as a result of radiation from a nuclear accident in 60+ yrs.
Yet millions die every year from the effects of coal.
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Germany spent nearly $500 BILLION on wind & solar power.
It isn't working.
Germany's dependence on fossil fuels declined from 85% to 79% over the last 20 years.
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If wind & solar are so cheap, then why do utilities charge more for renewable energy?
The higher the share of wind & solar, the higher the cost of electricity in Europe.
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Over 3 BILLION people would starve to death without fertilizer made from natural gas.
Anti-natural gas = Pro-starvation
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How long a 100 Watt light bulb could run from using 1 kg of various fuels:
Wood = 1.2 days
Coal = 3.8 days
Oil = 4.8 days
Uranium* = 25,700 years
*using a breeder reactor
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Nuclear energy is cleaner than solar & wind. It’s also low-cost, reliable, & safe.
So what’s the problem?
Public perception. People believe myths about nuclear.
It's time to set the record straight. 🧵
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180 new mines are required to hit 2030 climate goals using solar, wind, & electric vehicles.
30 cobalt mines
70 lithium & nickel mines
80 copper mines
Cost = up to $450 billion
Opening a new mine takes on average 17 years according to
@IEA
.
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Modern society can't exist without 4 ingredients:
1. Ammonia (fertilizer)
2. Plastics (computers, health care products)
3. Steel (skyscrapers, bridges, cars, scalpels)
4. Cement (buildings, roads, dams, runways)
They all require fossil fuels.
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5/ Nuclear power promotes energy security & autonomy.
Europe’s dependence on Russian gas has compromised their security.
Contrast Germany, which depends on Russian gas, with France, which gets 70% of its electricity from nuclear & even exports surplus electricity.
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6/ Similarly, most countries don’t want their energy to depend on China.
Yet China has a chokehold on 99% of the core ingredients for making solar panels.
By contrast, a country can store decades of cheap nuclear fuel within its own borders.
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Nuclear power requires 75X less land than solar.
Who thinks blanketing 10,590 acres of wildlife habitat with solar panels is a good idea?
Solar farm on the mountaintop of Northern China's Shanxi, stretching 80 kilometers and covering more than 10,590 acres
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Japanese utilities applied to restart 25 nuclear reactors.
9 reactors will likely be operating by this winter.
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California pulls the plug on rooftop solar.
Solar installations drop 80% in 6 months after cutting incentive payments to households with solar panels.
Without subsidies, rooftop solar doesn't make sense.
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Westinghouse launches new small modular reactor.
Nuclear energy is the future.
It’s the only 24/7 zero-emission energy source & the only practical choice for long-term energy security.
Today Westinghouse launched the AP300™ Small Modular Reactor, the only
#SMR
based on an operating and advanced nuclear plant, our AP1000® reactor. A 300-MWe PWR, the AP300 SMR is an industry game-changer. Learn more:
#SMR2023
#AP300
#nuclearenergy
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7/ Nuclear power uses 30X less energy to generate a usable unit of power.
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Large solar power plants emit 4X more lifecycle CO2 emissions than a nuclear plant on average.
But solar panels made in China can emit up to 25X more lifecycle CO2 emissions than a nuclear plant.
~75% of solar panels are made in China.
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People think renewable energy costs will continue to drop, but they're not.
The cost of a wind turbine increased by 38% in 2 years.
The increase wiped out all cost reductions over the last decade.
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Belgium gets 50% of its electricity from nuclear.
It plans to shut down all remaining nuclear power plants by 2025.
Its misguided energy policies guarantee high energy prices, increasing emissions, & reliance on energy imports.
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If wind & solar are so cheap, then why are China & India building so many new coal power plants?
700 million tons/yr of new coal consumption in China & India wipe out 15 yrs of CO2 reductions achieved in the U.S.
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The tide is turning.
76% of the US public favors nuclear energy in 2023 compared with 49% in the 1983.
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Feeling like you’re doing the right thing doesn’t mean you are.
For years, I felt like I was protecting the environment. I was wrong!
My sense of identity was tied to false beliefs about energy–myths that blinded me to what *does* help the planet.
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This is what nuclear fuel looks like.
10 uranium pellets can power the average US household for a year.
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Poland to switch from coal to nuclear power.
It plans to build 6 reactors to power ~8 million homes.
Countries around the world are waking up to the reality that nuclear power is the only practical choice for long-term energy security.
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A typical 1,000 lb electric car battery contains:
190 lbs of graphite
130 lbs of nickel
90 lbs of copper
60 lbs of cobalt
30 lbs of lithium
This video can’t be shared enough.
The numbers behind EV batteries are impossible to defend, this is why subsidization needs to be indefinite and ever-increasing.
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The debate is over.
Sweden will build new nuclear power plants.
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World: We MUST reduce emissions blah blah blah...
Poland: Approved construction of 24 nuclear reactors at 6 power plant sites.
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Global solar panel waste is estimated to reach 78 million metric tons by 2050–the equivalent of throwing away nearly 60 million Honda Civic cars.
People think solar panels protect the environment but they require 300+ times as much land as conventional energy sources and now the Los Angeles Times has discovered that they could "contaminate groundwater with toxic heavy metals such as lead, selenium and cadmium."
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Electric vehicles shift emissions from the tailpipe to the power plant.
If the power source is dirty, so is the EV.
EVs in China of the same vehicle weight class emit up to 31% more CO2 emissions than gas cars.
Over 50% of EV sales are in China.
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The US is the world's largest producer of nuclear power.
93 reactors produce 19% of total US electricity.
100 million Americans live or work within 50 miles of a nuclear power plant.
It's time to build more.
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It's time to pull the plug on wind power.
Wind power has become so expensive a developer is paying $48 million to terminate its own project.
Other wind developers are expected to pay ~$60 million penalties to exit contracts with utilities.
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If wind & solar are so cheap, then why are China & India building so many new coal power plants?
700 million tons/yr of new coal consumption in China & India wipe out 15 yrs of CO2 reductions achieved in the U.S.
@pwrhungry
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Japan turns to nuclear power to secure its future.
In 2021, nuclear power accounted for 3.9% of Japan's power mix.
Yesterday, the gov't approved a new policy that aims to boost it to 22% by 2030.
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The higher the share of renewable energy, the higher the cost of electricity in the UK.
Advocates who claim renewable energy is cheap are wrong.
Renewable energy costs more than DOUBLE after including all the hidden costs.
h/t
@7Kiwi
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Shell executives warn unless solar & wind projects stop losing money they will need to scale back or kill the business line.
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Electric planes won't fly.
To supply the same amount of energy as 20 tons of jet fuel would require 500 tons of lithium-ion batteries.
That's 25X heavier!
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The collapse of carbon credits will be worse than Enron.
The world’s leading seller of carbon offsets is facing allegations that it claimed 30X more carbon credits than it deserved around its forest-protection projects.
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19/ Germany shows the ill effects of shutting down nuclear & overbuilding solar & wind power.
"By 2025 it will have spent $550 billion to make its electricity nearly 2X as expensive & 10X more carbon-intensive than France’s."
-
@ShellenbergerMD
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The price of a new Ford 150 electric truck increased 40% since launch.
Costs have more than DOUBLED for battery minerals such as cobalt, nickel & lithium.
The battery accounts for ~30% of the total cost of an electric vehicle.
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Coal is good.
Natural gas is better.
Nuclear is best.
We must climb the ladder of energy density to improve people's lives & minimize environmental harm.
Energy Return On Energy Invested:
Chart by
@pwrhungry
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6/ An electric car requires 6X more minerals than a gas car.
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Solar power requires 14X more materials than a nuclear power plant.
Wind power requires 18X more materials than a natural gas plant.
Environmental harm gets compounded for every additional ton of material required to mine, manufacture, transport, & dispose of the material.
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11/ Nuclear power requires 75X less land than solar.
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Nuclear power will now provide 30% of Finland’s electricity.
Yesterday, it turned on the first new reactor in the Nordic countries since the mid-1980s delivering a boost to the region’s energy independence from Russia.
Better late than never.
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15/ Solar panels are made from toxic materials & they normally are too expensive to recycle.
It’s estimated that global solar panel waste will reach around 78 million metric tons by 2050—the equivalent of throwing away 60M Honda Civic cars.
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We have the tech. We lack the will.
Japan built a nuclear power reactor in a little over 3 yrs.
France built over 50 in 15 yrs.
The US built 75 in 10 yrs.
Irrational fear, excessive regulations, & financing hurdles block progress.
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Contrary to headlines we're NOT rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels.
83% of the world's energy comes from fossil fuels.
That's down 3% from 20 yrs ago.
The world will consume more fossil fuels in 2050 than today based on projected growth in the developing world.
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Want to make the world a better place?
Burn more coal, oil, & natural gas.
That’s the premise of
@AlexEpstein
's new book Fossil Future.
Sound crazy?
Before judging—hear the moral case for fossil fuels.🧵
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8/ Nuclear power is 3.5X more reliable than solar.
The capacity factor is a measure of reliability.
A plant with a capacity factor of 100% is producing maximum power 100% of the time.
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Why do politicians lie about wind & solar getting cheaper?
The truth, it turns out, is exactly the opposite.
US wind & solar prices increased 100% in the last 4 years.
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