3 ms·
And if you have enough for peak demand (which France for a while mostly had), you run into the opposite problem of having too much power production when you don
by _ph_ 3y ago
And if you have enough for peak demand (which France for a while mostly had), you run into the opposite problem of having too much power production when you don't need it. Nuclear reactors are not only slow to switch power output, but they cannot be run below a certain output level (like 40-50%) without shutting down entirely. On top of that, running nuclear reactors on average significantly below maximum output drives the cost up further.
- illiarian 3y ago> Nuclear reactors are not only slow to switch power output This is not true > On top of that, running nuclear reactors on average significantly below maximum output drives the cost up further. It doesn't
- bayesian_horse 3y agoOf course running below maximum output drives up cost. Are you disagreeing with basic math? Consumption of fuel is not the main cost of a nuclear power plant, and even if you shut it down completely, it still needs external power for the cooling.