The Economist magazine just held a webinar on energy. I thought it was very reasonable, not wishful thinking about a carbon free environment. It touched on most of the important technologies, including nuclear and hydrogen. It did not mention the difficulty of rebuilding the electrical grid to handle the new sources of energy — solar and wind — that do not fit well in the current grid, which was built to distribute energy produced by huge fissile fuel plants in industrial areas.
It took a very reasonable view of nuclear energy. Besides the largely irrational fear of nuclear power, particularly felt by environmentalists, the biggest problem is the cost of building nuclear power plants. The speaker pointed out that unlike other power technologies, nuclear has not become cheaper. Each new power plant is unique and hugely expensive, which today’s higher interest rate environment makes even more dauting.
I highly recommend this webinar if you can find a recording of it.