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I’m pro-nuclear, but the cost isn’t fixable. It is improvable, and we need to have power sources that ramp up and down on demand, and to fill seasonal gaps. N
by hedora 3y ago
I’m pro-nuclear, but the cost isn’t fixable. It is improvable, and we need to have power sources that ramp up and down on demand, and to fill seasonal gaps. Nuclear is the best long-term bet for that.
However, as it is, coal plants already cost more than solar or wind. Almost all of that cost is in the turbines.
Unfortunately, nuclear plants use similar turbines, and the coal industry has already cost-optimized the death out of them. It is unlikely there are significant improvements coming.
So, even if the rest of the nuclear plant was free, it would still be uncompetitive on a raw $/kwh basis.
- WalterBright 3y ago> Almost all of that cost is in the turbines. Cost of mining and transporting the coal?
- hedora 3y agoCoal loses on cost before you even build the furnace, let alone put something in it to burn. (“Turbine” also includes stuff like the boiler, generator, etc, etc. I should have written “cost of the plant, minus the coal furnace and the fuel”)
- WalterBright 3y agoWhat about the 10 years being mired in the courts? "The licensing process – something that can take more than a decade to complete – consists of a series of approvals by the NRC, including issuance of design certification, early site permits, limited work authorizations, construction permits, operating licenses and combined licenses for new nuclear power facilities."