Nuclear Surplus Energy: China vs. United States

“China is building more reactors than the rest of the world has built over the past 35 years.”

Energy is Everything. It sustains all life.

Without securing reliable and affordable energy, a nation will perish.

A political economy oriented to promote universal prosperity and defend the general welfare for a more perfect union, must orient policy goals to produce surplus food, water and energy.

Dear friends, the question of our values is at hand. Show me your budget and how you allocate resources, and we’ll see what your values are in practice.

In the face of a global shortage of energy, China’s leadership understands this, as reflected in their policies increasing energy generation, transmission, and distribution.

Nuclear energy is a key pillar for China’s national security.

China is building more reactors than the rest of the world has built over the past 35 years. China is currently building 19 reactors, with 43 reactors in the permitting stage, and an additional 166 reactors in planning.

The combined capacity of these 228 reactors will produce over 245 gigawatts, which is more than the entire electricity generation capacity of Germany and is close to the 289 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity the rest of the world is planning to build.

Although nuclear power is the future of Chinese energy, coal remains the most important energy source for China today.

In 2020, China built over three times as much new coal power capacity as all other countries in the world combined – the equivalent of more than one large coal plant per week.

So what are we doing in the United States to secure reliable and affordable clean energy?

Over the past two generations, the US has canceled over 163 nuclear power plants.

The United States nuclear electricity generation capacity peaked in 2012 around 102 gigawatts when there were 104 operating nuclear reactors.

This once leading nuclear energy nation has prematurely shut down 12 nuclear power generators in the past decade alone, before their licenses expired, including the early shutdown of Michigan’s Palisades nuclear power plant in May 2022 that had a license to operate until 2031.

Ironically, on the same day as this 811-megawatt nuclear plant was shut down, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation issued a report saying the United States electric grid doesn’t have enough generation capacity and that blackouts are almost certain to occur across the country this summer.

Why are our policies increasing scarcity and austerity for our people? Where are the leaders to be found?

Our current trajectory guarantees failure for us while condemning future generations to energy insecurity and immiseration. Our collective security, prosperity, and peace is more threatened than ever before.

It is time to produce more energy, America.

Sources

• Another nuclear plant closes: Get ready for electricity shortages
• List of cancelled nuclear reactors in the United States
• China’s nuclear pipeline as big as the rest of the world’s combined
• China Dominates 2020 Coal Plant Development
• China is building more than half of the world's new coal power plants
• China starts building 33 GW of coal power in 2021, most since 2016
• China Is Planning to Build 43 New Coal-Fired Power Plants. Can It Still Keep Its Promises to Cut Emissions?
• Despite Pledges to Cut Emissions, China Goes on a Coal Spree
• How many nuclear power plants are there in the U.S.?
• Nuclear explained U.S. nuclear industry
• Biden launches $6B effort to save distressed nuclear plants
• Palisades bows out after record operation run
• Palisades nuclear power plant plans for 19 year decommissioning

B-roll

• CGTN (link) 
• Real Engineering (link) 
• Animated Stats (link)
• Wood TV8 (link) 
• Videvo (link) 

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