CarwilBJ's avatarCarwilBJ's Twitter Archive—№ 32,493

                1. In light of yet another nuclear renaissance story, here's a quick update on nuclear power. Two areas of bad news, one of uncertainty, and spectacular improvements of the alternatives: renewables and storage.
                  Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar ❤️ 1 Favorite Mood -3 🙁
              1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
                Nuclear bad news 1: massive cost overruns and delays continue at only conventional nuclear power plants under construction in the USA.
                Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood -3 🙁
            1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
              The Vogtle 3 and 4 reactors were delayed again. These two conventional reactors were started in 2013 and will cost at least $30.34 billion. world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Further-delay-in-startup-of-Vogtle-AP1000s
              Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood -1 🙁
          1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
            The nuclear renaissance was pitched to the public at a $4 billion/gigawatt reactor price point, so we're now approaching a 4x cost.
            Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood 0
        1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
          Nuclear bad news 2: Small modular reactors, pitched as a low-waste future version of nuclear power, are actually likely to compound nuclear waste, according to a peer-reviewed analysis. arstechnica.com/science/2022/06/smaller-reactors-may-still-have-a-big-nuclear-waste-problem/
          Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood -4 🙁
      1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
        SMRs have some economic problems as well. arstechnica.com/science/2020/11/first-major-modular-nuclear-project-having-difficulty-retaining-backers/
        Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood -2 🙁
    1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
      A balanced look at the leading SMR project, which promises a reactor in 2029. Far too early to tell if they will meet their cost promises. utilitydive.com/news/nuscale-makes-public-debut-but-requires-a-lot-of-financing-to-launch-smal/624568/
      Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood +5 🙂
  1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
    The area of uncertainty is lifetime extension for existing nuclear power plants. Unlike New construction, just keeping these open is cost competitive with new renewables. (see yellow dots on thus graph)
    oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
    On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood +2 🙂
    1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
      Here's an informed skeptical take from Amory Lovins on just how long that can last. energyintel.com/00000180-f7a8-d67b-a3cd-f7faad650000m
      oh my god twitter doesn’t include alt text from images in their API
      Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood -2 🙁
      1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
        Meanwhile the costs of solar and wind power continue to plunge and both distributed sourcing and battery storage provide an alternative to the "baseload" power nuclear backers claim is necessary.
        Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar Mood 0
        1. …in reply to @CarwilBJ
          As I've said before, activist effort is far better spent on retiring coal and gas plants than nuclear ones right now, but there's no real case for a nuclear renaissance.
          Permalink On twitter.com Twitter logo CarwilBJ’s avatar ♻️ 1 Retweets ❤️ 1 Favorite Mood +1 🙂