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Texas, where new nuclear has been dead in the water for years. > “The cost of new nuclear is prohibitive for us to be investing in,” says Crane. Exelon conside
by pfdietz 2y ago
Texas, where new nuclear has been dead in the water for years.
> “The cost of new nuclear is prohibitive for us to be investing in,” says Crane. Exelon considered building two new reactors in Texas in 2005, he says, when gas prices were $8/MMBtu and were projected to rise to $13/MMBtu. At that price, the project would have been viable with a CO2 tax of $25 per ton. “We’re sitting here trading 2019 gas at $2.90 per MMBtu,” he says; for new nuclear power to be competitive at that price, a CO2 tax “would be $300–$400.” Exelon currently is placing its bets instead on advances in energy storage and carbon sequestration technologies.
(passage from Dec. 2018 Physics Today; Texas natural gas is even cheaper than that now)
- portaouflop 2y agoThe point is it’s not the technology that is the issue in Texas - it’s unhinged turbo capitalism
- pfdietz 2y agoIt's a system where it's more difficult for utilities to ram through uncompetitive capital intensive projects by way of capture of the state regulatory agencies. If that's "unhinged", hinge-ness is overrated.
- natmaka 2y agoTexas, albeit culturally/politically swimming in fossil fuel, pushes hard towards renewables: https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/infrastructure/2024/energy-info/ https://comptroller.texas.gov/economy/fiscal-notes/infrastru...