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Wow its so easy, can't believe all those idiots trying to build nuclear plants the past few decades have never though to simply apply "better tech". Thanks hack
by bob29 6y ago
Wow its so easy, can't believe all those idiots trying to build nuclear plants the past few decades have never though to simply apply "better tech". Thanks hacker news/silicon valley!
- thomasrognon 6y agoThe barriers, time, and cost for nuclear seem to be primarily of political origin, not technical. It's held to an unreasonable higher standard than anything else.
- bob29 6y agoSo certainly all the non US/EU countries with less strict regulations should have electricity "too cheap to meter" through nuclear, right? since there's no technical challenges here apparently.
- TeMPOraL 6y agoThere are technical challenges, but arguably the primary challenges are a) capital costs, and b) nonproliferation treaties.
- natch 6y agoNuclear is an inherently centralized technology, in contrast to solar and wind which can be controlled at a more local level, even down to the individual home owner and land owner. Even with small plants purported to be in the works, the cost scale is not in reach of an individual family like solar panels can be. That centralization of nuclear brings with it things like corruption, taxation, cost overruns, and cleanup costs that are not accounted for in the lifetime of the politicians whose buddies are benefitting from the contracts. So I wouldn't say the higher bar is unreasonable.
- imtringued 6y agoWhy is Rolls Royce trying to build small modular reactors then? If you look at what Rolls Royce is doing for example then everything that came before it appears to be a joke in terms of economics. You can't build bespoke power plants like you're an artisan and expect them to be cheap. The real challenges in nuclear power plant construction are the total lack of economies of scale. Nobody wants a bloody $30 billion plant. People want 10 plants for that price.