3 ms·
> Nuclear plants remain stupidly expensive and lack this feature. Combining nuclear with some secondary application that can run only at energy surplus times,
by rbanffy 4mo ago
> Nuclear plants remain stupidly expensive and lack this feature.
Combining nuclear with some secondary application that can run only at energy surplus times, such as desalination or pumped hydro, might help with the economics.
Desalination and pumping desalinated seawater through long distances might actually be a nice idea to reduce desertification or to increase agricultural output.
- leonidasrup 4mo agoNuclear powered desalination was demonstrated using BN-350 reactor. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BN-350_reactor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BN-350_reactor The question is always: costs. In the Middle East and North Africa dominating source of power for desalination is natural gas. https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/energy-consumption-by-fuel-for-water-desalination-in-the-middle-east-and-north-africa-2000-2035 https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/charts/energy-consum...
- rbanffy 4mo agoCost of the energy input is less important if it uses the energy surplus the grid isn’t paying for.
- thijson 4mo agoThat would require an energy market with spot prices that incentivize the buildout.