5 ms·
Nuclear is dead not because people are afraid of it. Nuclear is dead because it is way more expensive than alternatives. Always was, and getting moreso as renew
by ncmncm 4y ago
Nuclear is dead not because people are afraid of it. Nuclear is dead because it is way more expensive than alternatives. Always was, and getting moreso as renewables cost continues on down.
In the foreseeable future, nukes will be mothballed long short of their design life just because nobody will want to pay enough for their power to enable continuing to operate them. Geothermal might suffer the same fate.
When a nuke is mothballed early, every kWh it ever produced will suddenly be found to have cost much more than had previously been reckoned.
- realusername 4y agoIt's only more expensive if you don't factor external costs due to renewables. At the moment, renewables still can't compete on pricing with 70s nuclear designs...
- Lutzb 4y agocitation needed
- Ekaros 4y agoNuclear as base load is rather price efficient. And with enough units it can deliver at that price every hour of the year. Not as cheap as renewables, but still very affordable.
- thatfrenchguy 4y agoRenewables plus storage are incredibly expensive. There is zero grid running on renewables (besides hydro) for base loads today.
- ncmncm 4y agoYou wish renewables plus storage were expensive. But they are, in fact, not.