From California to France to Japan and beyond, nuclear power is all the rage suddenly.

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that California Gov. Gavin Newsom was spearheading an eleventh-hour effort to pass legislation to extend a lifeline to Diablo Canyon, a 2,250-megawatt nuclear plant that supplies some 8 percent of the energy produced in the Golden State

Nuclear Is in Again

• Nuclear power is suddenly in again, and it's not hard to see why. Natural gas prices have skyrocketed globally.
• In the United States, natural gas prices recently hit a 14-year high, but that's nothing compared to Europe, where they recently hit an all-time high and are the equivalent of $600/barrel oil prices.

8% of California's Electricity Gone?

• The situation in California is different than that in Europe, but there is a clear reason the state is second-guessing its decision to shut down its single largest power station-namely, its battered energy grid.
• California grid operators last week warned of blackouts and encouraged citizens to "set thermostats to 78 degrees or higher, avoid using large appliances and charging electric vehicles, and turn off unnecessary lights."

The Lesson

• All energy production comes with tradeoffs, and proponents of so-called "green energy" have a nasty habit of overlooking these tradeoffs.
• While we should be grateful that so many politicians, environmentalists, and countries are finally recognizing the benefits of nuclear power, we should also be asking why we gave them such broad power in the first place.

https://fee.org/articles/why-nuclear-power-is-quietly-making-a-big-comeback-all-around-the-world/