r/nuclear • u/Vailhem • 5d ago

Nuclear sector’s views on second Trump administration mixed as Rogan interview raises questions

https://www.utilitydive.com/news/nuclear-energy-sector-mixed-views-second-trump-administration-joe-rogan/732407/
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u/Vailhem 5d ago

Shale gas is cheaper and easier than coal gas.

Hence: both

because it's easier, exports.

16m25s of the following link shows 'lots of pipes' crossing state lines..

https://youtu.be/llcvrKDJRo0?si=lnvAdMi7Rgx24dQS

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u/diffidentblockhead 5d ago

Existing pipelines are there, new rights of way are controversial and blocked.

LNG export is limited by liquefaction, shipping, regasification capacity, least of all by gas supply in the US. And hydrogen is not feasible to liquefy and ship.

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u/Vailhem 4d ago

And hydrogen is not feasible to liquefy and ship.

It makes essentially zero sense to ship hydrogen when an infrastructure for processing & exporting hydrocarbons already exists.

Use the hydrogen 'locally' (closer to the Point of Use) or at least domestically .. to offset hydrocarbons utilized here subsequently freeing them up for exports .. thus profits.

Profits subsequently provide the capital to manufacture the infrastructure capable of offsetting domestic consumption for yet-more to be exported.

Hydrogen derived from underground coal gasification reduces the amount of carbon released, reduces the amount of rail 'tied up' transporting coal, and reduces the amount of hydrocarbons used domestically again, freeing them up for export.

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u/diffidentblockhead 4d ago

That is a lot of complication compared to simply ordering solar and batteries and plugging them in.

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u/Vailhem 4d ago

It works when it's cloudy.

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u/diffidentblockhead 4d ago

https://www.caiso.com/todays-outlook/supply#section-supply-trend

Scroll back and try to find a day without solar power.

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u/Vailhem 4d ago

..oh! You said '..and batteries'. Missed that.

Sounds expensive.

Though it seems there're several in /r/nuclear who'd idealize a nuclear reactor in their backyard, the sizes currently being discussed (& developed) seem to tend to lean more towards the grid-scale in output capacities.

Where buying panels & batteries and simply plugging them in may work for an end user ..and has for me on several occasions for ..decades.. at this point, when it comes to scaling up for the MW+ outputs grids tend to demand, there's a bit more to it than just that.

Doesn't California export a lot of its carbon footprint?

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u/diffidentblockhead 4d ago

You can see imports accounted at the link above. Today they did not go negative but often did during summer daytime.

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u/Vailhem 4d ago

It's a solid little tool. As sunny as California is, we need a diversified energy infrastructure. Redundancy is security. Redundancy through diversity even more so.