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A nuclear plant dumps a lot more than 30 MW of waste heat into its adjacent body of water. Is that a problem? Power grids can be upgraded, and a grid-connected

A nuclear plant dumps a lot more than 30 MW of waste heat into its adjacent body of water. Is that a problem? Power grids can be upgraded, and a grid-connected battery that can send 300 MW in the other direction during occasional supply shortages is actually really good for grid stability. In that case the ship sells some power at lucrative rates (maybe $1k/mWh?), then recharges later at night after the demand peak. Bunkering (the process of loading fuel) already takes hours and often requires a rendezvous with a tanker ship at sea, so it's not like ships aren't already inconvenienced by their need to acquire energy.

mikewarot 4y ago
>A nuclear plant dumps a lot more than 30 MW of waste heat into its adjacent body of water. Is that a problem? Nuclear power plants near me generally have their own cooling ponds, covering vast amounts of ground, as they would otherwise emit too much waste heat into the ecosystem and kill all the wildlife. If there were multiple ships each dumping 30 MW of heat into a harbor, that could happen quickly. >Power grids can be upgraded, and a grid-connected battery that can send 300 MW in the other direction during occasional supply shortages is actually really good for grid stability. In that case the ship sells some power at lucrative rates (maybe $1k/mWh?), then recharges later at night after the demand peak. Ports are already at capacity, this would only make it worse.