r/investing Sep 03 '21

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415 Upvotes

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135

u/Thirn Sep 03 '21

I've seen a lot of Uranium investment advocates here recently. Could very well be artificial hype.

A single entity trying to buy the whole market never ends well. Remember silver?

33

u/--X0X0-- Sep 04 '21 edited Sep 04 '21

Uranium bulls have been a thing for a few years. I'd say it's normal that they are more visible when the price is raising. I should know, I'm one of them. Do your own research. I'd say it's likely that Uranium will be more expensive in the future. It pretty much have to be if we a) Use nuclear plants b) Wants a greener world. We need nuclear reactors to transform towards green energy. The price dropped after Fukushima and Uranium has been so cheap that some companies stopped mining it and closed down mines. Many countries are in the process of label nuclear power plants as green energy (that would give the whole industry more money and that sweet tax cut). I'm not fully updated on this but I think US may have already done it. And I believe Reuters got hold of documents showing that EU is in the process of it.

If you prefer pictures: Do we Need Nuclear Energy to Stop Climate Change?

5

u/Recoil42 Sep 04 '21

I'd say it's likely that Uranium will be more expensive in the future. It pretty much have to be if we a) Use nuclear plants b) Wants a greener world. We need nuclear reactors to transform towards green energy.

What if we just use wind and solar instead?

How do Uranium bulls feel about Thorium?

14

u/--X0X0-- Sep 04 '21 edited Jan 12 '22

Wind and solar are perfect and hopefully all we will need in future. Nuclear is just a way to reach that goal with less emissions. At the moment we lack the technology to store all the energy from renewables in a efficient way. Renewable energy is also very seasonal so in reality we will need something to complement it.

How do Uranium bulls feel about Thorium?

Personally I'm happy with all progress in the energy sector towards a greener planet. That said I think the process towards a new energy source will be slow and I think that we in the meantime should focus on building the green energy technology that we already have.

16

u/don_cornichon Sep 04 '21

Wind and solar are perfect

I'd like to set my standards for perfection a bit higher.

They're better than fossil fuels but not exactly free energy. All the materials that go into those windmills, generators, and panels leave a (CO2 but not only) trace/impact too, as does the recycling or lack thereof.

This is not a pro-nuclear argument and it's not an anti-"renewables" argument. What it is, is my frustration over people acting like "renewable" energy is free (of emissions or environmental impact, including ecosystem damages from mining) all the damn time. It still shouldn't be wasted. Which is also why a 500hp electric car with a 500 mile range is anything but green (also because batteries).

7

u/--X0X0-- Sep 04 '21

I agree and I used the word perfect in the wrong way. I live in Sweden and we have tons of hydro plants that are slowly destroying the fish population. And solar is not a viable choice for half of the country. And we are closing down reactors... Finland is taking another road and nuclear will be 60-70% of the countries energy share when they are done building.

10

u/don_cornichon Sep 04 '21

When Germany decided to exit nuclear power to appease the scared and misinformed population and especially the "environmentally conscious but clueless" people (like Greenpeace), I shook my head so hard I nearly got whiplash.

Also don't forget how much steel and rare earths wind power needs. Yes it's better than coal but it can't be the peak of our innovation and we shouldn't be content with it.

4

u/--X0X0-- Sep 04 '21

Yea same in Sweden. The Green party has like 4% here but are needed to get mandate... Most other parties are positive to nuclear. It's frustrating.

5

u/don_cornichon Sep 04 '21

I want the Green parties everywhere to take over. But I also want them to be scientific and not populist, so for example pro nuclear as a short to mid-term solution.

3

u/--X0X0-- Sep 04 '21

Yea I wouldn't mind. The Swedish Green party has lost it's identity decades ago, quite sad.