4 ms·
I love nuclear in the abstract (loved the LFTR presentations and other new gen), and I agree strongly that new nuclear is dumb with current economic development
by AtlasBarfed 5y ago
I love nuclear in the abstract (loved the LFTR presentations and other new gen), and I agree strongly that new nuclear is dumb with current economic development curves / LCOE of solar/wind and storage.
What I REALLY like about alternative energy "destroying" nuclear is that the nuclear industry it is destroying is the old PWR / Solid Rod / regulatory / proliferation regimes.
Because what nuclear REALLY needs a clean slate. When the solar/wind/battery markets and technologies stabilize, it should then provide a target for modular reactors, LFTR, etc.
- ncmncm 5y agoNukes will never be more competitive than they are right now, and they aren't, now. Renewables+storage cost is still in free-fall. By the time things stabilize, even just sunk-cost operating expense for a nuke, ignoring capital, will be way too high. There will always be a place for nukes in the outer solar system, ultimately pB11 fusion. Out there, you don't need to bother with containment. On Titan or in the upper atmosphere of Venus, Saturn, Neptune, or Uranus, a reactor is as simple as a a big fabric tube with a naked pile near the bottom and a wind turbine at the top. One moving part.