Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said Monday that “nuclear energy” could help the United States meet “climate goals.”
“Nuclear energy, if we do it right, will help us solve our climate goals,” Gates said to ABC News reporter Rebecca Jarvis during an interview that aired on “Good Morning America.” (RELATED: ‘It’s Not Going To Work’: ‘Shark Tank’ Star Pours Cold Water On Pentagon’s Plan For ‘All-Electric Fleet’)
Germany announced it would shut down its nuclear power plants this spring amid warnings over Europe’s long-term energy supply, despite public support for the continued use of nuclear power, according to Reuters. Two-thirds of Germans backed keeping nuclear power plants online, the Financial Times reported.
Germany faced an energy crisis after Russia invaded Ukraine, forcing the country to bring coal plants back online to offset reduced deliveries of natural gas.
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The last nuclear reactor to go online in the U.S. was the Watts Bar 2 unit, which came online in 2016, one of 93 reactors currently in operation at 55 power plants, according to the United States Energy Information Agency (EIA).
“Today’s plants are way too expensive. The economic challenge, you know, we just have to change,” Gates said. “We’ve solved all the areas where there have been safety challenges, and we have dramatically less waste. But every one of those areas you mentioned there are valid concerns that TerraPower has to show that — that we’ve solved.”
Gates serves as chairman of the Board of Directors for TerraPower, a company that is developing new technology for nuclear reactors, according to its website.
Electrical power generation is crucial in order to charge electric vehicles. The California Air Resources Board is considering an electric vehicle mandate that would include fines of $20,000 per vehicle that doesn’t meet quotas set by the state.
California officials advised electric vehicle owners to not charge their vehicles between 4 p.m. and 9 p.m. due to a heat wave that posed a risk of blackouts in August, while the state legislature voted Sept. 1 to keep the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant in operation to address energy shortages, despite Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to transition to “green” energy.
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