Re:Nuclear fusion: it's time for a reality check
by ksec on Thursday January 30, 2025 @07:59AM
(#42877310)
GE Hitachi’s small modular reactor (SMR) provides 24/7 on-demand, carbon-free power.
https://www.gevernova.com/nuclear/carbon-free-power/bwrx-300...
Re:Nuclear fusion: it's time for a reality check
by ViewTrick1002 on Thursday January 30, 2025 @08:59AM
(#42877694)
Which is wholly irrelevant if the costs are so high that no one will buy the power.
Which is especially true considering how renewables and storage is plummeting in cost seeing incredible growth.
Re:Nuclear fusion: it's time for a reality check
by ksec on Thursday January 30, 2025 @08:43PM
(#42884017)
The whole point is that bwrx-3000 is actually cost competitive.
Re:Nuclear fusion: it's time for a reality check
by ViewTrick1002 on Friday January 31, 2025 @06:46AM
(#42886747)
On paper, while they are continuously revising up the cost.
You know, just like Flamanville 3 was back in 2005 before they had a 7x cost over run and 13 year delay on a 5 year project.
Try get them to sign a fixed price contract for delivery at said competitive price. We all know they will run scared from the room because otherwise they would be selling their product using that method.
Today they are relying on absolutely enormous government subsidies, where the government both subsidizes the electricity and takes on the project risk.
Re:Nuclear fusion: it's time for a reality check
by pfdietz on Friday January 31, 2025 @05:34PM
(#42893122)
The BWRX-300 was purported to be cost competitive, but it turned out this was because the newbs designing it (all the experienced NPP designers had retired) screwed it up. Their plan to make the containment small by omitting safety systems was a complete nonstarter. They had no one around to tell them their idea wouldn't fly.
https://spectrum.ieee.org/the-forgotten-history-of-small-nuc...
Or just this recent summary on how all modern SMRs tend to show promising PowerPoints and then cancel when reality hits.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XECq9uFsy6o
Simply look to:
- mPower: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%26W_mPower - NuScale: https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2024/10/29/the-rise-and-f...
And the rest of the bunch adding costs for every passing year and then disappearing when the subsidies run out.
Not sure why you would want to fill storage with extremely expensive nuclear power when we might as well just use cheap renewables.