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It’s worth noting that you are confusing system costs and levelized costs of electricity. Cheap wind and solar electricity is absolutely useless if it cannot b

It’s worth noting that you are confusing system costs and levelized costs of electricity. Cheap wind and solar electricity is absolutely useless if it cannot be produced on demand. Nuclear produces electricity 24/7, independent of weather with no backup required. The kWh costs 30 cents in Germany, but 15 cents in France.

jhgb 5y ago
> with no backup required. Not true. > The kWh costs 30 cents in Germany, but 15 cents in France. International comparisons are useless without comparison of pricing structure. That includes for example the tax regime, fees mandated, etc.
eecc 5y ago
> Nuclear produces electricity 24/7, independent of weather with no backup required. When the plant is not offline…
- martinflack 5y ago
  Can't a nuclear energy plant run continuously? (Genuinely asking.)
  - coryrc 5y ago
    They must be shutdown to be refueled regularly, but it can be planned for.
  - epistasis 5y ago
    Refueling usually takes a long time, minimum three weeks, and a month is common: https://www.outagecalendar.com/ https://www.outagecalendar.com/
  - fulafel 5y ago
    Forever? No. For the design life of the reactor? Possibly, for a purpouse designed reactor type. If you want it today, there's the nuclear radioisotope thermoelectric generator, in use since the 50s and used on many spacecraft.
- gadrev 5y ago
  When is it offline? A few days (or weeks) every 12-24 months? I don't think it's a major problem with a network of nuclear plants, you can plan the fuel replacement and have a steady power supply (nationwide). You can control when the downtime happens, unlike in other power sources.
  - fulafel 5y ago
    Much more often on average for nuclear plants. Avg capacity factor is 83% according to https://www.world-nuclear.org/getmedia/3418bf4a-5891-4ba1-b6c2-d83d8907264d/performance-report-2020-v1.pdf.aspx https://www.world-nuclear.org/getmedia/3418bf4a-5891-4ba1-b6...
- nradov 5y ago
  Obviously the grid needs to have a fleet of base load plants large enough that some can be periodically taken offline for maintenance. This is understood by everyone familiar with the issue and we shouldn't have to keep repeating it. Maintenance schedules also apply to every other type of power plant capable of handling base load.
aagd 5y ago
The electricity that is produced at night is sold cheaper in Germany, as it's mostly not used anyway - mostly because storage is difficult. But since the world is currently being filled with an abundance of large batteries like in electric cars, this energy loss will decrease over time. These batteries could also compensate peaks in demand.
Tade0 5y ago
> Nuclear produces electricity 24/7, independent of weather with no backup required. Actually, no. Heatwaves can and did disable thermal plants in the past: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-electricity-heatwave-idUSKCN1UK0HR https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-electricity-heatwa... This is an problem that will only be intensified by climate change.

jhgb 5y ago

> with no backup required. Not true. > The kWh costs 30 cents in Germany, but 15 cents in France. International comparisons are useless without comparison of pricing structure. That includes for example the tax regime, fees mandated, etc.

eecc 5y ago

> Nuclear produces electricity 24/7, independent of weather with no backup required. When the plant is not offline…

martinflack 5y ago
Can't a nuclear energy plant run continuously? (Genuinely asking.)
- coryrc 5y ago
  They must be shutdown to be refueled regularly, but it can be planned for.
- epistasis 5y ago
  Refueling usually takes a long time, minimum three weeks, and a month is common: https://www.outagecalendar.com/ https://www.outagecalendar.com/
- fulafel 5y ago
  Forever? No. For the design life of the reactor? Possibly, for a purpouse designed reactor type. If you want it today, there's the nuclear radioisotope thermoelectric generator, in use since the 50s and used on many spacecraft.
gadrev 5y ago
When is it offline? A few days (or weeks) every 12-24 months? I don't think it's a major problem with a network of nuclear plants, you can plan the fuel replacement and have a steady power supply (nationwide). You can control when the downtime happens, unlike in other power sources.
- fulafel 5y ago
  Much more often on average for nuclear plants. Avg capacity factor is 83% according to https://www.world-nuclear.org/getmedia/3418bf4a-5891-4ba1-b6c2-d83d8907264d/performance-report-2020-v1.pdf.aspx https://www.world-nuclear.org/getmedia/3418bf4a-5891-4ba1-b6...
nradov 5y ago
Obviously the grid needs to have a fleet of base load plants large enough that some can be periodically taken offline for maintenance. This is understood by everyone familiar with the issue and we shouldn't have to keep repeating it. Maintenance schedules also apply to every other type of power plant capable of handling base load.

aagd 5y ago

The electricity that is produced at night is sold cheaper in Germany, as it's mostly not used anyway - mostly because storage is difficult. But since the world is currently being filled with an abundance of large batteries like in electric cars, this energy loss will decrease over time. These batteries could also compensate peaks in demand.

Tade0 5y ago

> Nuclear produces electricity 24/7, independent of weather with no backup required. Actually, no. Heatwaves can and did disable thermal plants in the past: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-electricity-heatwave-idUSKCN1UK0HR https://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-electricity-heatwa... This is an problem that will only be intensified by climate change.