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The biggest problem is that a new power plant takes 10 years to build. So even if everyone agreed on the need, we’d have to wait a long time before it solves the problems we have today.


Yeah ok but at least in 10 years we’ll still need more energy. It’s not like our energy use is going down anytime soon.


Energy consumption has been surprisingly stable in "the west" over the past decades. See the US for example:

2002: 2,256 MTOE

2012: 2,152 MTOE

2022: 2,182 MTOE

(MTOE = Tonne of oil equivalent)

Source: https://yearbook.enerdata.net/total-energy/world-consumption...


Energy use is predicted to go down, while electricity usage is predicted to double or triple in western nations.

The dramatic comparative inefficiency of non-electric transport and heating makes this apparent paradox possible.




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