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I don't think much thought has been given to the cost structure of nuclear peak plants. A nuclear facility which only generated power part of the time should h
by lumost 6y ago
I don't think much thought has been given to the cost structure of nuclear peak plants. A nuclear facility which only generated power part of the time should have a longer service life and generate less waste per unit time. Meaning the high capex decommissioning process may be pushed back decades or more.
- deleted 6y ago[deleted]
- p1mrx 6y agoIt makes sense that a nuclear peaker plant could last longer, but it's probably a challenge to sell an investment where the payoff comes after the investors are dead. In the short to medium term, that unused capacity is lost profit. Maybe with a carbon tax, this could work... otherwise natural gas peakers will take all the money off the table.
- makomk 6y agoOne of the things limiting the life of nuclear power plants is damage from thermal cycling. So a nuclear facility which only generates power part of the time can have a shorter service life in terms of calendar time (and will almost certainly have a shorter life in terms of time spent operating or power produced).