U.S. Reenters the Nuclear Fuel Game

Re:U.S. Reenters the Nuclear Fuel Game by defrost on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @02:06AM (#38274075)

Monocrystalline is the most expensive one to produce, the process of manufacturing monocrystalline solar cells is very energy-intensive and produces a big amount of silicon waste.

They're not especially robust in cold weather and while they do last longer, they do also degrade in output over time just as the poly versions do.

To maintain a 1 GW farm requires ongoing upkeep, etc.

Again, there are no magic problem free resources, just like low volume uranium mining, large volume mining and production processing to sustain solar power has toxic side effects and impacts people.

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Re:U.S. Reenters the Nuclear Fuel Game by photochemsyn on Wednesday November 15, 2023 @02:42AM (#38274259)

I think that the overall cost of producing 1 GW of monocrystalline solar PV (a technique China has apparently mastered) is very comparable to the cost of producing a single year's worth of enriched uranium fuel rods, at that's from comparing the costs of acquiring the raw materials, putting them through the requisite processing stages, and producing the finished product.

It's not even close, with some limited exceptions, like Finland and other Artic Circle zones.

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