Why are nuclear power construction costs so high? Part III

Re:Why are nuclear power construction costs so high? Part II... by psd1 on Saturday October 01, 2022 @04:42AM (#33045055)

I agree with your reasoning, but on this tiny rock we call Albion I'm not convinced that renewables will ever be viable for base load.

I'm concerned about the tonnage requirement of strategic minerals for battery storage. Supplies for EV batteries are currently choked; we need to scale far beyond that for grid storage.

Pumped hydro at the required scale will be a feat of engineering comparable to nuclear engineering. Millions of tonnes of Portland cement will be an input.

And renewables are land-extensive; that's an impedance mismatch for us.

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Re:Why are nuclear power construction costs so high? Part II... by pfdietz on Saturday October 01, 2022 @07:53AM (#33045909)

There are many different battery technologies being pursued. Some use uncommon materials, but others are just using elements available in essentially unlimited amounts. There are also means of storing energy in other forms. For example, storage of electrical energy as heat energy in sand could have a round trip efficiency of 54% at a quite reasonable cost.

https://arpa-e.energy.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/07%20D... (now being commercialized by Babcock & Wilcox.)

The big question of storage is not if it's possible, but which of the many options will come out on top.

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