Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

The Subsidy Tango of Bill Gates and Joe Manchin. The West Virginia Senator and the billionaire investor score a windfall in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Wall Street Journal ^ | December 22, 2022 | WSJ Editorial Board

Posted on 12/25/2022 4:50:54 PM PST by karpov

Bill Gates sold West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on this year’s Democratic climate spending blowout as a way to put unemployed coal workers to work building advanced nuclear reactors. Now we learn, belatedly, that these projects depend on Russia for fuel and will cost taxpayers more than advertised.

The Energy Department last year awarded up to $2 billion for an advanced nuclear reactor “demonstration” project in Wyoming being developed by TerraPower, a company Mr. Gates founded. These advanced reactors have been promoted because they take up significantly less space than conventional reactors and could theoretically use reprocessed nuclear fuel.

TerraPower’s reactors will also supposedly be able to ramp up and down to balance intermittent solar and wind power on the grid. But the technology currently requires enormous government subsidies to be commercially viable. Reactors also require many more years to build than renewable and fossil-fuel plants owing to stricter licensing requirements and environmental reviews.

TerraPower planned to complete the Wyoming generator by 2028 assuming no hang-ups. There always are. So it wasn’t surprising when TerraPower disclosed this month that completion will be delayed by at least two years. But the reason was alarming: TerraPower was counting on Russia to supply it with high-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel.

“In February 2022, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the only commercial source of HALEU fuel to no longer be a viable part of the supply chain for TerraPower, as well as for others in our industry,” CEO Chris Levesque said, adding “it has become clear that domestic and allied HALEU manufacturing options will not reach commercial capacity in time.”

Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso followed with a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm asking why she hadn’t moved to “accelerate the availability of commercially enriched HALEU.”

(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Government; US: West Virginia; US: Wyoming
KEYWORDS: billgates; gates; manchin; nuclear; terrapower
full article
1 posted on 12/25/2022 4:50:54 PM PST by karpov
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: karpov

Wyoming GOP Sen. John Barrasso followed with a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm asking why she hadn’t moved to “accelerate the availability of commercially enriched HALEU.” (and so she laughed).


2 posted on 12/25/2022 5:02:37 PM PST by Segovia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov
But the technology currently requires enormous government subsidies to be commercially viable.

Then it's a bad idea. I am in favor of nuclear but I see no reason for subsidizing a technology that is not economically viable, e.g. wind and solar.

3 posted on 12/25/2022 5:28:33 PM PST by lasereye ( )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: lasereye

making energy expensive and scarce gives govt absolute control over the masses


4 posted on 12/25/2022 5:45:21 PM PST by joshua c (to disrupt the system, we must disrupt our lives, cut the cable tv)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: karpov

Maybe hildabeast can open some doors to accelerate uranium supply at rosatom


5 posted on 12/25/2022 6:04:48 PM PST by thinden (buckle up ....)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov

They are wasting money on brand new never tested tech.

This is a boondoggle, if ever there was one.


6 posted on 12/25/2022 6:06:17 PM PST by Bayard
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov

“Bill Gates sold West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin on this year’s Democratic climate spending blowout as a way to put unemployed coal workers to work building advanced nuclear reactors.”

One little problem with that — coal miners can not build nuclear reactors, much less advanced nuclear reactors. That is a extremely specialized field.

If this true, then Manchin is the stupidest person in West Virginia.


7 posted on 12/25/2022 6:22:36 PM PST by odawg
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: odawg
"If this is true, then Manchin is the stupidest person in West Virginia."

Well, he didn't (& doesn't) have to be IQ > 35 to be able to snooker the feckless GOP surrender monkeys in the Senate...

8 posted on 12/25/2022 6:35:03 PM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is the next Sam Adams when we so desperatly need him)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: karpov

requires enormous government subsidies to be commercially viable

/\

For cripes sake,,

If it requires subsidies

it’s NOT commercially viable.

Anyone else sick and tired of morons blowing snobby smoke up our butts ?

Spit.

( at least media finally picked up on my corruption tango analogy )


9 posted on 12/25/2022 6:46:25 PM PST by cuz1961 (USCGR Veteran )
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov

How ignorant of economics do you have to be to think the gov’t can spend its way out of inflation. Even worse, how dumb are we to let it happen when the people WE HIRED don’t even take the time to read the bill.


10 posted on 12/25/2022 6:55:31 PM PST by econjack
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: karpov

The uniparty is looting the treasury and bankrupting our nation.


11 posted on 12/26/2022 4:54:44 AM PST by joma89 (Buy weapons and ammo, folks, and have the will to use them.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson