Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
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Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
1–10 of 512 posts
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#2TL;DR rising labor costs and regulation
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#3Totally unrelated question but does anyone know if nuclear powered US Navy vessels are able to feed power to the grid while in port? I know it's technically possible, just not sure if anyone has ever implemented such a thing.
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#4Totally unrelated question but does anyone know if nuclear powered US Navy vessels are able to feed power to the grid while in port? I know it's technically possible, just not sure if anyone has ever implemented such a thing.
My understanding is that they shut down the reactors in port and run off the grid.
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#5Totally unrelated question but does anyone know if nuclear powered US Navy vessels are able to feed power to the grid while in port? I know it's technically possible, just not sure if anyone has ever implemented such a thing.
The largest nuclear vessel produces up to 160 MW, the smallest single nuclear reactor power plant about 500 MW (sites often have multiples), the largest nuclear reactor in the US is about 4 GW. An average wind turbine produces 2-3 MW.
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#6TL;DR rising labor costs and regulation
Since 50s we've got so many improvements in construction tech that I would expect costs to plummet, instead they are higher than ever. Countries use immigrant labor (sometimes illegal) and have all tech available and the price only goes up. I wonder why.
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#7TL;DR rising labor costs and regulation
Each build is unique and requires way too much overhead. The new generation of preapproved factory assembled SMR's are the future.
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#8On this topic, see the excellent website https://whatisnuclear.com/ and its webpage about economics https://whatisnuclear.com/economics.html
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#9Totally unrelated question but does anyone know if nuclear powered US Navy vessels are able to feed power to the grid while in port? I know it's technically possible, just not sure if anyone has ever implemented such a thing.
My understanding is that they shut down the reactors in port and run off the grid.
This is my understanding as well. I believe that they may even shut down at sea and run in on batteries/generators, which doubles as a way to test those systems. Refueling is quite the ordeal, so there is an incentive to minimize fuel depletion.
Re: Why are nuclear power construction costs so high?
#10> Because nuclear plants are expensive, and they take a long time to build, financing their construction can also be a significant fraction of their cost, typically around 15-20% of the cost of the plant. For plants that have severe construction delays and/or have high financing costs (such as the Vogtle 3 and 4 plants in Georgia), this can be 50% of the cost or more.
This is why nuclear power plants should be state-sponsored projects. States typically have loans at 0% rate, or even negative interests.