No they can't. They're radically less efficient and both cost more and kill more per unit power produced. They're also more extractive for the same reason.
At the current moment renewables are the way to go, especially since nuclear takes a while to build. But more nuclear plants a few decades back, while renewables were in their infancy, might've meant less fossil fuel related deaths.
anybody questioning this should factor in that a recent report found ~9 million deaths a year from fossil fuel air pollution
Solar and wind can be scaled up faster, cheaper, and more safely than nuclear
No they can't. They're radically less efficient and both cost more and kill more per unit power produced. They're also more extractive for the same reason.
Wind and solar get less effective as you scale them up. In the windiest places, wind is effective, but then you have to go to places with less wind.
Nuclear power is completely independent of weather. Flexible in location. High, consistent yield.
and even in those windy places, turbines have to shut off when it gets too windy or else they break
At the current moment renewables are the way to go, especially since nuclear takes a while to build. But more nuclear plants a few decades back, while renewables were in their infancy, might've meant less fossil fuel related deaths.