Some are saying the US fracking boom has peaked and domestic oil production will decline from now on regardless of effort. Trump's 'drill baby drill' exhortation is thus futile. Additionally the Biden administration wants to cap LNG exports as gas reserves should be conserved. Wind, solar, batteries, EVs and synfuel won't be enough to replace oil and gas. Nuclear can't be built fast enough. Therefore we'll hang on to coal baseload and we'll have to drive our fuel cars less.

Outside Europe offshore wind is not proving a panacea. In Australia none of the mooted offshore wind farms seems to be going ahead same goes for 'hydrogen power stations'. Yet the current Australian government thinks we can have a renewable energy nirvana the same time as record population growth.

Hi Taswegian,

"Nuclear can't be built fast enough."

Remember the Liberty ship? First one took about 240 days to build and was launched in late 1941. The construction time dropped to about forty days. The construction record was just over four and a half days.

Why the assumption that nuclear construction times will be determined by anti-nuclear protestors and regulatory red tape?

Fester I think most of the current nuclear obstructionists would have to pull their heads in. Maybe blackouts could hasten that. Given the delays and cost overruns with big reactors like the AP1000 and EPR1600 that points to SMRs. Google 'SMR supply contraints' for a range of opinions on timelines. In the UK Rolls Royce says it will have its first unit grid connected in 2029. If it or others go OK I think we'll sign up for several units so we're probably talking 2035 at the earliest for Australia. By then diesel for farm machinery could cost $4/L so our grocery bills will be exorbitant. Things will get worse before they can get better.