Re:EU electricity production by country and source
by marcosdumay on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:22AM
(#33494198)
Nuclear requires 90%+ of utilization to be competitive. They reached a wall once they provide enough power that they would have to be cut down for 10% of the time.
What is completely different from solar, that is outcompeting everything with ~20% utilization, and making the alternatives more expensive on the process... What is a problem because it can't provide more than ~20% utilization.
Re:EU electricity production by country and source
by Retric on Sunday November 06, 2022 @11:44AM
(#33494449)
A high capacity factor sounds like a benefit, however demand isn’t a constant. The perfect power source would be capable of running 24/7 but be profitable if run for 1 hour a year.
In the electrical industry a base load generation has historically been the least valuable electricity and it’s the only way Nuclear can operate.
Re:EU electricity production by country and source
by Reason077 on Sunday November 06, 2022 @12:25PM
(#33494943)
> ”Hinkley point C is guaranteed a price of £92 per megawatt hour (or 9.2p/kWh)”
It’s actually £92.50 in 2012 money, inflation adjusted.
Given current inflation, the strike price is likely to be well over £160/MWh when it comes online, now estimated to be 2027.
(Fun fact: Hinkley Point C is the most expensive power plant ever built, anywhere in the world)
I don't understand this line of argument - that's a high capacity factor! And it's not a dirunal or annual one either, it's a predictable "we need to shut down to refuel" one. It sounds like it wouldn't have broken even, even at 100% capacity factor? At which point it's no longer "too cheap to meter" but "nuclear power is too expensive". And that's before we even dig into capex vs opex vs decommissioning vs disaster insurance.
Hinkley point C is guaranteed a price of £92 per megawatt hour (or 9.2p/kWh), when it finally comes online.