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NRC issues first U.S. construction permit for a BWRX-300 small modular reactor

151 points · 191 comments · papa-whisky

  1. idontwantthis · · focus · HN ↗
    A nuclear power plant is essentially a coal power plant with free fuel. Today, if you literally built a coal power plant with free fuel it would not be cheaper than solar. My question: If you built a small modular coal power plant, would that be cheaper than solar? It necessarily has to be cheaper than nuclear.
    1. vablings · · focus · HN ↗
      A nuclear power plant is a coal power plant except.

      It has incredibly strict requirements for safety, we are talking SOP & Risk assesment for climbing up a 3ft ladder

      There is a requirement for literally thousands of pounds of concrete to shield the reactor

      The employees have to be highly qualified and trained.

      The construction materials have to be validated, tested certified and then tested again during install to ensure conformance.

      You must deal with spent fuel

      They are not the same and cannot be retrofitted eitherways

      1. idontwantthis · · focus · HN ↗
        That's my point I'm trying to find a good argument for why modular nuclear is a good idea.

        Can modular coal (which doesn't need all of that) beat solar? If not, then I don't know why modular nuclear would be able to.

        1. vablings · · focus · HN ↗
          Modular nuclear is a great idea, sadly right now and in the foreseeable future solar is absolutely king in terms of cost/kWH, we should build what makes sense for our needs with regards to power in the USA then worry about other tech later considering the state of our grid.
          1. idontwantthis · · focus · HN ↗
            But why is it a great idea if solar provides more power, more cheaply without any danger whatsoever?
            1. bobthebuilders · · focus · HN ↗
              Solar gives power in the wrong time, making the duck curve a thing, and requiring conflict prone minerals storing dangerous amount of powers to smooth out. On net, this is probably worth it, but solar isn't free as you claim.
              1. viraptor · · focus · HN ↗
                > and requiring conflict prone minerals storing dangerous amount of powers to smooth out

                Sodium batteries are available these days. No rare minerals, non-flammable, almost fully recyclable.

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