Posted on 06/14/2025 6:46:26 AM PDT by daniel1212
Over 80 years after scientists of the ‘Manhattan Project’ harnessed the power of the atom to end World War II, the top-secret worksite has a new mission to help dominate AI before China does.
The first phase of the United States' latest uranium enrichment facility opened in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in May. ... The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported 99% of U.S. nuclear fuel is imported from other countries. In 2023, most of America's uranium products came from Russia, Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. The U.S. banned the import of uranium products from Russia in May 2024, but companies can still apply for waivers until 2028.
"America is staring down the barrel of an energy crisis," Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said. "We can't lose the AI war to China. We can't lose the energy war to Russia. In order to do that, we have to win the nuclear energy renaissance war in America."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
There is little more ominous than their established a two-tiered electrical system, with the people no doubt having the less reliable one.
“Trump’s nuclear strategy takes shape as former Manhattan Project site powers up for AI race against China U.S. must build nuclear reactors faster as data centers expected to consume 12% of national energy by 2028.”
We’ll be LUCKY to increase electricity by 12% by 2035. Nuclear plants take a LONG TIME to build and get operational, even if government is out of the way - 7 years average for China, for example.
If you want power QUICKLY, then it’s natural gas.
We should have been doing this for the last 50 years.
Leftists have been demonstrating against and stopping nuclear power for that long.
The reason was always to give advantages to the Soviet Union and China.
I do not like AI. But I fear that it has become unstoppable.
On the other hand, I do support a strong policy favoring Fission and/or Fusion. A huge increase in power generation would be a good thing. But robots killing us would be a bad thing.
The new nucs will not take so long and will not be encumbered by the anti nuclear crapola. They will come on line quickly
Not quite. The reason was to increase the market share of petrochemical energy. From recycling to fuel oxygenates, to burning VOCs from bread bakeries, to "solar"... virtually EVERY "environmental" program I have seen since then has increased dependence upon fossil fuels simply because the OWNERS of those fossil fuel companies are the biggest private funders of green groups.
BTW, it was Jimmy Carter’s ban on nuclear fuel reprocessing that really did in the reactor business.
I remember the 1970s expression:
“More people were killed in Teddy Kennedy’s Oldsmobile than all the years of nuclear electricity production”
Department of Energy https://www.energy.gov › ne › articles › nrc-certifies-first-us-small-modular-reactor-design
Ai can do better than any search engine” https://peacebyjesuscom.blogspot.com/2025/04/a-logical-unbiased-conclusion-of-one-ai.html
If our elected politicians actually loved this country, they would provide disincentives for any corporate support of anti-energy (Green) groups and, further, they would provide incentives for big petrochemical companies to expand into nuclear energy. Have the fossil fuel companies support nuclear energy, not green groups.
But not on separate grids!
Setting up a nuke site in the US is impossible. Too many embedded anti-nuke arseholes in positions of power. Imagine all the judges who will assert authority. I worked 25 years in the US nuke business, this cannot be done like it was in the 60’s.
The only way to do anything like this is to manufacture portable nukes somewhere and then truck them in to a prepared site with established grid connection. No demonstrations. No hearings. Just up and running — come stop it and turn off the neighbor’s lights!
why did the world abandon coal for natural gas in electricity production.
No, not particularly climate wackoism. Stink. Pollution. China and India both have coal but nearly no natgas. Their cities were (and are) smog enclosed. Ours never got that bad, but any smog from power plants was avoidable via natgas — and so we moved to natgas.
US natgas reserves about 17 trillion cubic meters. A bit less. (meters, not feet) US natgas production (combo of consumption + export) is 1.1 trillion cubic meters/year.
Little secret about gas and oil is when you are producing some X amount per year, and the reservoirs approach empty, you can’t maintain X. You don’t do X right up until some meter says empty and then X instantly becomes zero. It doesn’t work that way. Pressures in the rock fall as they go empty and less flow happens.
(Oh and before the comments arrive about perpetual formation deep underground, here is the rule. You’re not allowed to make such a comment unless you go out into an oil field and find one of the 1000s of cap&abandon wells — march over to the land owner’s house and make an offer to buy that empty well. You’ll get an excellent price, have no doubt. And then you’ll never earn any money from the empty well that you were just sure was refilling all the time.)
Yeah, it won’t be there in 2035 for all these data centers.
I favor Mr. Covfefe.
Recycling made easy.
The article didn’t mention these (SMR’s) at all interestingly. From my limited understanding they sound good on paper but economic viability isn’t there yet. Nonetheless, there will be design advancements along the way and this industry could flourish.
In case you’re interested...
https://c3newsmag.com/five-of-the-worlds-leading-small-modular-reactor-companies/
“In 2023, most of America’s uranium products came from Russia, Canada, Australia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan.”
That is another dire stupidity of American politicians that can never be explained.
Hey, I know how to solve the problem — let’s allow China to just go ahead and buy our military bases, rather than just the land next to them.
“That is another dire stupidity of American politicians that can never be explained.”
***********
But how do they get into office and stay there?
That’s insane. AI using up 12% and perhaps more of total energy output.
It’s time for MAIPE. Make Artificial Intelligence Power Efficient.
I’m surprised that proponents of AI have not asked it how to make AI energy efficient with less power consumption.
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