ATLANTA (AP) — A new reactor at a nuclear power plant in Georgia has entered commercial operation, becoming the first new American reactor built from scratch in decades.
Renewables are fantastic, but I think we’ll need to supplement with nuclear in order to shoulder the demand while we transition off of burning fossil fuels.
So in short, please build more.
I am in agreement there. Nuclear power has to be on the table when discussing renewables.
Devils advocate, why built more nuclear plants when you could build more renewables? If it’s a scaling issue, in that you need a ton more infrastructure for renewables, and need to supplement with nuclear, wouldn’t that then always be the case in the future? I hear nuclear is needed to bridge the gap often, but it always sounds like it’s temporary, which I don’t understand - seems like nuclear would be needed forever if renewables aren’t able to scale well?
Take solar as an example, the current technology isn’t developed enough to generate the amount of Kilowatt hours necessary to provide ample power to users. You can’t build to scale yet. Buffering with nuclear power, despite the long-term fuel waste disposal, is an effective way to help eliminate greenhouse gases.
There’s a need for high capacity power generation, and at this point the renewable technologies are not developed enough to ween ourselves entirely off coal and natural gas. Then you have to take into account the growing EV demand, which has barely begun to generate user demand.
Nuclear is like watering a garden with a hose as opposed to renewables that has a squirt gun. The hose can shoot a lot more, a lot harder, for a lot longer. The squirt gun can do a good bit during the day but has to go be filled up at night from the nearby lake. It also doesn’t give nearly as much water nor does it do it as hard. The only benefit to renewables is the ‘bottomless’ aspect where no matter how much of it we use, there’s always more.
And not to go fully into this, renewables like solar panels require rare earth materials that we can run out of so hedging our bets on that is dubious at best. Fission, while fear mongered by media into the ground is amazing in modern times and Fusion is on the horizon to try and win the hearts of those still, somehow, unconvinced.
Way over schedule and WAY WAY over the price it was supposed to cost. They’ve increased our bills more than once because of this bullshit, including an increase this year. Nuclear may be needed but the price is very hefty for the forced customers of these power monopolies.
Commissioners will decide later who pays for the remainder of the costs of Vogtle, including the fourth reactor.
The GA Public Service Commission has never met a price increase they didn’t approve.
Worth it though to have working nuclear and help stop global warming. I personally don’t mind paying more to get more nuclear plants up and running.
Everyone keeps complaining about the budget and cost…but coming through COVID at only 2x isn’t unexpected.
It’s also a pretty big obstacle when the company you hired to design and build the reactor core folds.
Lessons were learned and the next one will be faster and cheaper.
I hope we build more for the sake of the climate.
Chakan, you’re a tough motherfucker, but I like your style.
Is this a pressurized water reactor, like the one at Fukushima?
Is this a pressurized water reactor, like the one at Fukushima?
Well that’s a shame. If you’re going to build new reactors, why not try a newer design that’s less risky and puts out less waste? Still waiting for a pebble reactor, for example.
Look, just because it’s a PWR, doesn’t mean it’s a bad design by default.
Fukushima was a Gen II reactor. These new reactors are Westinghouse AP1000’s and they’re classified as Gen III+. By comparison, Fukushima’s reactors are archaic in design.
Gen III+ reactors are smaller, and are greatly simplified designs, and most importantly, have passive cooling features. Passive cooling is what Fukushima didn’t have. If the external power gets cut to these new reactors for an extended period of time, AND the backup generators get knocked out too, they can leverage these passive features to cool the reactor and prevent a Fukushima-style event.
That is very cool information
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The third and fourth reactors were originally supposed to cost $14 billion, but are now on track to cost their owners $31 billion. That doesn’t include $3.7 billion that original contractor Westinghouse paid to the owners to walk away from the project. That brings total spending to almost $35 billion.
The third reactor was supposed to start generating power in 2016 when construction began in 2009.
A reactor that starts being built today will cost way more and will be delayed way more than these and they are already at least 14 years in the making not counted for the planning phase and 7 years late to be producing power and no they are not fully powered yet, because it takes another 1-2 years to get them to full power, not to mention drought and war threats.
Nuclear will not play any role in fighting climate change. A reactor starting planning today will most likely just replace an old model that is falling apart and to dismantle that and keep the parts safe somewhere costs another fortune.
Ironically, a major reason for this is environmentalists themselves. Nuclear power would be way cheaper if it wasn’t for their panic over things that contain atoms.
Ironically, a major reason for this is environmentalists themselves. Nuclear power would be way cheaper if it wasn’t for their panic over things that contain atoms.
In terms of safety, there’s a big difference between nuclear technologies that fail elegantly like LFTR and more traditional designs that tend to use weaponized isotopes with very long half-lives, and can meltdown and explode when operated incorrectly.
I can understand why environmentalists look at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and say, hmm, maybe we shouldn’t do that.
