The U.S. Is Paying Billions to Russia’s Nuclear Agency. Here’s Why.
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Nuclear power companies rely on cheap enriched uranium made in Russia. That geopolitical dilemma is intensifying as climate change underscores the need for emissions-free energy.

Not exactly breaking news (article is from June 14, 2023), but as it’s not known or discussed widely, I thought its ok to post.

I’m also adding a short commentary (that can be used as a summary) from Urs P. Gasche, published on the independent news site infosperber.ch. (Translated with GPT, left-out parts reference the nyt-article)

In the USA, electricity is consumed and wasted as if Russia were not waging war against Ukraine. Every year, American energy corporations transfer around a billion dollars to the Russian Rosatom corporation for cheap enriched uranium. […]

Rosatom belongs to the Russian state and produces low-enriched uranium for nuclear power plants and highly enriched uranium for military purposes. The USA imports about a third of the enriched uranium needed for nuclear power plants from Russia. It is cheapest there. “The US payments go to a subsidiary of Rosatom, which in turn is closely intertwined with the Russian military apparatus,” […]

In order to halve the US’s CO2 emissions, the capacity of nuclear power plants would need to be doubled, estimates the US Department of Energy. The company TerraPower, founded by Bill Gates, plans to enrich uranium one day in a decommissioned coal mine in the US state of Wyoming. A centrifuge factory is also planned in Ohio. “But years will pass and more state subsidies are needed,” […]

In the meantime, the USA could reduce their power consumption with savings programs, calls to the economy and households, and financial duties, in order not to finance the Russian war machinery as much as possible. However, such a savings policy, which is useful anyway, is not popular in the USA. As a result, Democrat Joe Manchin III, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, had to resign resignedly:

“We cannot make ourselves hostages to nations that do not share our values, but that is exactly what has happened.”

Europe, on the other hand, has taken action: most countries voluntarily forego a lot of cheap Russian oil and even completely on Russian natural gas, so that Russia receives as little foreign currency as possible. In doing so, the countries of Europe accept high prices and inflation with all its consequences.

  • redtea
    2·
    11 months ago

    I agree with you.

    I think I can see what you mean about ‘mixing passive-aggressive sarcastic hyperbole and cover[ing] it in friendliness and overall agreement’. Part of my response was attacking the general ideas rather than the author as these ideas are everywhere, although I had assumed that Gasche was repeating these ideas because they believed them.

    I could have been clearer in my final paragraph. On the one hand, I meant that these ideas are wrong. For example, my living standards would increase if I only ever had to buy one washing machine, fridge, computer, phone, etc, with infrequent repairs, and had access to high speed rail and regular buses.

    On the other hand, you’re absolutely right to insist on a class analysis, which means these ideas are still correct in the way that you point out: greening the economy is going to be so expensive that it will cost billionaires everything – because there can no longer be any billionaires (as a class) if we hope to save the planet.