First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in operation

Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by hef19898 on Friday December 29, 2023 @04:07AM (#38803033)

No need to do back-of-envelope maths:

LCOE (total, incl. CAPEX, in USD per MWh):

coal 82.6, combined cycle 39.9, advanced nuclear 81.7, geothermal 37.6, biomass 90.1, onshore wind 40, offshore wind (that one was a surprise, since offshore wind should be quite cheap, mainly driven by capital cost of 104 USD per MWh) 105, solar 33.8, solar hybrid 49 and hydro 64.

Variable cost (same as above):

coal 23.7, combined cycle 27.7, adv. nuclear 10.3, geothermal 1.2, biomass 30, onshore wind 0, offshore wind 0, solar 0, solar hybrid 0, hydro 4.1

All number from here:

https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/electricity_generation...., page 9.

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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by qwebfdzsh on Friday December 29, 2023 @05:23AM (#38803517)

Directly comparing solar or even wind with nuclear, gas, coal isn't exactly fair though unless you account for storage costs.

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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by hef19898 on Friday December 29, 2023 @05:34AM (#38803593)

Well, tell that the EIA and not me, it's their official government numbers...

Edit: Just realized the link is broken for some reason... This one should work:

https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/aeo/pdf/electricity_generation....

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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by qwebfdzsh on Friday December 29, 2023 @05:36AM (#38803599)

Why? I'm not challenging the validity of the data itself. Just the interpretation.

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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by hef19898 on Friday December 29, 2023 @05:39AM (#38803621)

Well, that that's your problem either due to a lack of curiostiy to learn about modern grid design or a lack of imagibation to think yourself about possible solutions beyond the existence of night and sun.

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Re:First new U.S. nuclear reactor since 2016 is now in opera... by nicoburns on Friday December 29, 2023 @07:02AM (#38804076)

Gas and coal, yes. But nuclear also requires storage or expensive overbuilding.

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