Wind, water and solar energy aren’t enough; California needs nuclear options

Thanks for your guest perspective, Mr. Rodberg, and your pragmatic approach to addressing California’s energy needs. Unfortunately, you have a Sisyphean task in convincing the powers-that-be who are slaves to “greenie” nonsense and impracticality, even though nuclear is the cleanest form of energy. We know “greenies” won’t receive as much “free” green money for advocating for nuclear, so…

A few years ago, Edward Ring penned an article providing his take on Mark Jacobson’s simulation report (https://californiaglobe.com/articles/examining-californias-renewable-energy-plan/). In that article, he concluded that although we may be able to cover 1000 square miles with solar panels on existing roofs, I’m not sure Californians want 10,000 square miles of land covered with windmills and 15,000 square miles of ocean covered with windmills to provide energy usage to meet demands, back then. As you’ve noted, what happens if the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine? And let’s not get started with what happens to the hazardous waste when solar panels end their useful life.

Regardless, keep on fighting the good fight. We can only hope California’s so-called leaders come to their senses and embrace nuclear. Perhaps we can name one of the plants, the Leonard Rodberg Nuclear Facility. Or maybe convince folks to refer to the name of the control rod assembly as a “rodberg” – a large floating mass of control rods?

Californians should really form action groups to combat this greenie pipedream. I was told that the residents of Atlanta, a beautiful pollution-free city, pay 9 cents per kilowatt hour. My PG&E bill averages $.50/kWh. We now have a lame politician who wants to import more expensive carbon-free energy from out of state. The viable solution is building more nuclear plants, reopen and upgrading the SCE and SMUD units. Cancel all of the overpriced and subsidized solar and wind contracts as well.

It may have escaped the woke news, but the much heralded Ivanpah thermal solar plant in the desert, which like Solyndra, was financed by Obama's green deal cronies, was recently shut down after only 15 years. $2.2 Billion of ratepayer and taxpayer money down the drain. Its peak capacity, which it never attained, was almost 400 mega watts. Just one unit of PG&E's Diablo Canyon cranks out 1100 mega watts, 24/7, rain or shine. For once, Californians need to stand up to this lunacy and be forced to pay for these pet projects of pandering politicians. Yes, we can and we should.

I understand that there is a garage sale on solar mirrors, first come, first serve, for 173,500 units.

Mr. Rodberg deserves much credit for is research documenting what our future energy needs will require. Nuclear fission power is the only way to produce sufficient power to tide us over until we have clean fusion nuclear power. Solar and wind will have a place but can never come close to meeting our future needs without nuclear power.

Nothing is ever going to change. The energy policies here in the USA are not about making anything more efficient. Its about control of movement and by proxy control of growth - because they can fleece the people with Draconian energy rates by having a monopoly over the industry and its "regulations". There is technology out there for unlimited energy - Nikola Tesla was not fiction - they just killed him and suppressed his works. We have things like CERN that can rip holes in the space time continuum - look into the past and future - and quantum compute things betwen dimensions - and we are to believe there is no technology for something as simple as unlimited electricity? All sides of the Energy Debate are giant grifts - the green side as well as the oil side - one side uses the false altruism of the "Climate Change" hoax to steal money/land and our rights to liberty - and the other side uses the specter of lowering prices that ultimately never come into fruition because of something "the other side" does or blaming some contrived international conflict which is essentially a different side of the same coin. Our government is run like a Corporation - not a Democratic Republic. The only people who don't admit this inconvenient truth are those that benefit from the grift in one way or another.