James Hansen and Pushker Kharecha - The Acid Test: Global Temperature in 2025

[OKIsItJustMe]

2. I'm not "antinuke."

I am pro-renewable.

You express an irrational support for nuclear power to the exclusion of renewables. That is not Hansen’s position.


https://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/Documents/Hansen.2022.Commentary.NuclearPowerNewYork.AlbanyTimesUnion.pdf

Albany Times Union
Commentary: Nuclear power must be part of New York’s energy solution
James E. Hansen April 11, 2022

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Tackling the climate crisis requires policies based on facts, not prejudice. Wind and solar power help with early decarbonization, where they can replace fossil fuels without need for large storage and transmission upgrades. However, systems overly dependent on intermittent, low-energy-density renewables — as California and Germany have proven — lead to skyrocketing electric rates, grid instability, and continued dependence on fossil fuels. Cost-optimized energy modeling reveals that nuclear power must ramp up for emissions to approach zero. In fact, the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change finds that nuclear generation in 2050 grows by two to six times 2010 levels for all four illustrative pathways consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Today’s policies need to reflect this awareness and initiate multi-decadal plans to achieve reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy systems.

Significantly, many governments are beginning to understand that nuclear power is part of the answer. France, which decarbonized its grid with nuclear years ago, has announced support for a new generation of reactors. So have the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Canada. In our country, several states have taken steps to preserve their existing plants, while others like Wyoming are developing passively safe advanced nuclear technology for the future. Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle are on board, too. Highlighting federal enthusiasm, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm recently said, “We are very bullish on advanced nuclear reactors. ... Nuclear is dispatchable, clean baseload power, so we want to be able to bring more on.”

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I recently cited Hansen’s position to a “climate advocate" who opposed Governor Hochul’s climate plan, simply because it includes “nuclear energy.” For decades, New York State has had nuclear power as a large portion of its electrical generating capacity. I believe it would be foolhardy to eliminate it. (Doing so, in my opinion, would almost certainly lead to expanded use of Natural Gas plants.) I strongly support Hochul’s plan:

https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-hochul-commits-more-1-billion-tackle-climate-crisis-single-largest-climate-investment

JANUARY 14, 2025
Albany, NY
Governor Hochul Commits More Than $1 Billion to Tackle the Climate Crisis – the Single Largest Climate Investment in New York’s History

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Advanced Nuclear Master Plan and Blueprint

Governor Hochul’s 2025 State of the State includes the creation of a Master Plan for Responsible Advanced Nuclear Development in New York (Master Plan). To guide next steps in the Master Plan process, NYSERDA published a Blueprint for Consideration of Advanced Nuclear Energy Technologies. The Blueprint considers feedback from public comments on a draft released at the Future Energy Economy Summit in September 2024 to ensure it provides a comprehensive overview of issues to be considered throughout the Master Plan process.

New York State will also co-lead a multi-state initiative facilitated by the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Nuclear Energy Gateway for Accelerated Innovation in Nuclear (GAIN) on advanced nuclear energy, anticipated to launch in February 2025, and support Constellation in pursuing federal planning grant funding that supports the exploration of the addition of one or more new advanced nuclear reactors at its Nine Mile Point site in Oswego County.

In November, NYSERDA released a Request for Information (RFI) to gauge communities' interest in activities to develop advanced nuclear energy technologies in New York State. The request focuses on communities within the New York Independent System Operator Control Area Load Zones A-F, which encompasses the area of New York State north and west of the Lower Hudson Valley.

Additional information can be found on NYSERDA’s website.

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(Please note that NYSERDA’s “advanced nuclear energy" includes nuclear fusion as well as nuclear fission.)

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory calls for an expansion of both renewable energy and nuclear energy in pursuit of 100% Clean Electricity by 2035. The International Energy Agency also calls for a mix of Renewable Energy and Nuclear Energy.

We need to eliminate the use of fossil fuels, as part of the larger effort to combat climate change. Both nuclear energy and renewables have roles to play moving forward. Nuclear energy is expensive compared to renewables, but (mostly) constant (reactors do need to be taken “off-line” occasionally.) Renewables can be deployed relatively quickly, while nuclear projects have a long history of running behind schedule and over budget. (Each have their advantages and disadvantages.) — Ironically, both “nuclear energy” and “renewable anergy” face NIMBY opposition.


I, like Hansen, NREL, IEA (and Hochul) support a balanced approach. Excluding either nuclear energy or renewable energy is irrational. Kindly stop mis-representing my position (and Hansen’s.)


❝Tackling the climate crisis requires policies based on facts, not prejudice.❞ — James E. Hansen