1. An excellent article by Jim Green - detailing the undeniable downturn in the nuclear industry.

Added to the burden of building reactors is the usually unstated, unplanned cost of eventually decommissioning reactors for many extra $billions.

2. Before the usual devotee starts arguing about Thorium Being Australia's Answer. Australia has no experience even building standard U235 electrical energy reactors. Hence Australia is in no position to risk its economy developing and economically producing Thorium electrical energy reactors.

Dr Jim Green is, as he says, professionally committed as an anti-nuclear campaigner and has been for many years. Essentially he is gloating about his successes in damaging the progress of nuclear energy. His commentary is probably accurate with its facts (I only skimmed his predictable material as I like learning new things) but his tone is distasteful. The low-emissions energy he advocates, sun and wind, are on the balance of probabilities unlikely to be able to fulfill the world's future needs for energy (he might do something useful and figure out what the quantum of electricity an all-electric world will require. He can start with the present figure, 87 exajoules). In the mean time I suggest he hedges his bets a little. The real potential of solar and wind should become evident in around 20 years or earlier. He looks young enough to still be around then. If I am right he will have much to answer for.

Tombee
" His commentary is probably accurate .. but his tone is distasteful."
Accuracy is tasteful . Or are you saying he has distaste ?

A deepening crisis in nuclear power?

Friends of the earth would say that, wouldn't they?

My information seems to say something else And that something else is 50 new nuclear power stations being built in China currently?

Where the lead contractor is Westinghouse?

Q: Who is exposed to more annual radiation P.A?
An airline pilot or the naval lieutenant in charge of the reactor in a nuclear sub?
A: The airline pilot!

Most of the fiends of the earth probably would be amazed if they found, folks living in Denver are exposed quite routinely to similar radiation exposure as squatters squatting in downtown Chernobyl?

There is a deepening crisis for companies like Westinghouse, whose business model is built around fuel fabrication, rather than building the reactors that use them.

Fifty new Chinese reactors possibly built at cost? Have clearly tested their solvency? And may fear that they may not have a captive fabricated fuel market anymore? Their principle business model!?

And may need to seek shelter in chapter 11, if the Chinese can get their prefabricated fuel elsewhere, like say Russia?

Also the chinese are investing heavily in walk away safe molten salt thorium power! Rather than gold plated poles and wires.

Our energy prices were reasonably stable when they were our public property and the energy was cheap enough to quite massively grow our manufacturing sector. And could again if the ignorant stopped spreading their fact free fear mongering!?

Simply put there is a place for renewables, wind turbines where the wind is fairly constant and enables the turbine to pay down the CO2 created during their manufacture! And solar panels where the sun shines more days than anywhere else, like the desert regions of northern Chile.

As for 24/7 baseload power, we cannot go past, carbon free, nuclear power!

As the prototypes have demonstrated, walk away safe molten salt thorium power is very safe. The fuel abundant and cheap, and looks very likely, as being able to be produced as virtually ready to use modules.

Read Richard Martin's book, Super Fuel, sub titled, green energy.
Alan B.

In a nuclear war I think nuclear power stations would be a prime target in order to unsettle the enemy's population.

Alan
Draw a line down the middle between you and Jim Green.
world-nuclear.orgChina: Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power in China September 2017
Mainland China has 37 nuclear power reactors in operation, about 20 under construction, and more about to start construction.
70% increase of nuclear capacity to 58 GWe by 2020-21. Plans are for up to 150 GWe by 2030, and much more by 2050.

. By 2030 nuclear capacity will be 120 to 150 GWe, and nuclear will provide 8% to 10% of electricity.. . 2016 nuclear generation was 24% up on 2015. 2016 , nuclear capacity was 33.6 GWe gross, 2012 target of 58 GWe nuclear in 2020, with 30 GWe more under construction. In the 13th Five-Year Plan from 2016, six to eight nuclear reactors are to be approved each year.