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Not really. Even if you assume crazy high energy prices in the future you get a larger return on your investment using cheaper technology. https://www.lazard.c

Not really. Even if you assume crazy high energy prices in the future you get a larger return on your investment using cheaper technology. https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-levelized-cost-of-storage-and-levelized-cost-of-hydrogen/ https://www.lazard.com/perspective/levelized-cost-of-energy-...

Schroedingersat 4y ago
Japan's solar and onshore wind resources are pretty abysmal and their ocean shelf is steep. Unless you expect them to cover the entire early adopter costs of floating offshore wind (and too quickly for the devopment money to be efficient), then there's not really a viable renewable option for bulk power the next 8 years or so. Even if it costs on the order of $150US/MWh to restart their reactors it makes sense.
- Gwypaas 4y ago
  The latest floating off-shore wind pilot project in UK went for £87.30/MWh = $105US/MWh. This is a super low scale project so if it works out we can expect costs to reduce quite drastically when scaling it up. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1103022/contracts-for-difference-allocation-round-4-results.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/... https://www.twinhub.co.uk/ https://www.twinhub.co.uk/ Company building the floating foundation: https://www.hexicongroup.com/ https://www.hexicongroup.com/
  - Schroedingersat 4y ago
    The offshore wind market is going through some growing pains right now so we can't rely on the price decreases in the short term like usual, and Japan's coast is quite different to the UK's. There are superstorms, tsunami, and even laying cable is hard and expensive. Hopefully the reactors are obviously obsolete in 2032 and offshore wind, tidal, or imported ammonia replaces them, but for now it makes a lot of sense.
- pfdietz 4y ago
  If Japan is forced to go with nuclear they are still competing with cheap renewables elsewhere in the world. This is bad news for Japanese heavy industry. In a defossilized world some places will be energy ghettos. This is probably bad news for Europe, too.
  - Schroedingersat 4y ago
    They have good, but extremely challenging off shore wind and some top tier tidal resource. Hopefully it would be just restarting old plants until they wear out and not needing to build new.

Schroedingersat 4y ago

Japan's solar and onshore wind resources are pretty abysmal and their ocean shelf is steep. Unless you expect them to cover the entire early adopter costs of floating offshore wind (and too quickly for the devopment money to be efficient), then there's not really a viable renewable option for bulk power the next 8 years or so. Even if it costs on the order of $150US/MWh to restart their reactors it makes sense.

Gwypaas 4y ago
The latest floating off-shore wind pilot project in UK went for £87.30/MWh = $105US/MWh. This is a super low scale project so if it works out we can expect costs to reduce quite drastically when scaling it up. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1103022/contracts-for-difference-allocation-round-4-results.pdf https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/... https://www.twinhub.co.uk/ https://www.twinhub.co.uk/ Company building the floating foundation: https://www.hexicongroup.com/ https://www.hexicongroup.com/
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  The offshore wind market is going through some growing pains right now so we can't rely on the price decreases in the short term like usual, and Japan's coast is quite different to the UK's. There are superstorms, tsunami, and even laying cable is hard and expensive. Hopefully the reactors are obviously obsolete in 2032 and offshore wind, tidal, or imported ammonia replaces them, but for now it makes a lot of sense.
pfdietz 4y ago
If Japan is forced to go with nuclear they are still competing with cheap renewables elsewhere in the world. This is bad news for Japanese heavy industry. In a defossilized world some places will be energy ghettos. This is probably bad news for Europe, too.
- Schroedingersat 4y ago
  They have good, but extremely challenging off shore wind and some top tier tidal resource. Hopefully it would be just restarting old plants until they wear out and not needing to build new.