Re:First New U.S. Nuclear Reactor in Two Decades to Begin Fu...
by fnordfnordfnord on Monday October 26, 2015 @11:37AM
(#10452105)
They aren't good at generating baseload during refuelling, obviously. Most plants have more than one reactor. Refuelling usually occurs during the spring or fall, when demand is lower, and only in one reactor unit at a time. It's not exactly a feature, but it also isn't much of a bug.
http://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/images/2013.08.27/supplyreq...
Got data? Seems that most of the renewable energy is being used ok. Smarter energy management, and using salt/aluminium/steel aluminium molten lakes allows for storage/adjustment. In many places aluminium factories use up a LOT of power. They can be used as batteries of sorts. CSP solar can hold power for over 8 hours. Wind farms over provision to allow for baseload generation. Then there is storing energy in car batteries. Biomass solutions offer different power generation abilities too. All this is being done today, and systems are continually being enhanced.
The point I was making though, is that you can have power generation (including batteries) at a much smaller cost for it to be useful. For example, even installing solar on a factory roof and installing batteries can be done for way under $100,000.
Working nuclear plants have to close 38 days every 17 months for refuelling and maintenance. How good are they at generating baseload then?