Artur (Art) Slowikowski’s Post

#European average is 20% of energy production from #NuclearPower, «with 100 active reactors and others under construction». #Italy needs a lot of #Clean #Reliable energy to revolutionize its production system, and the reality is that actually In #Italy, two thirds of electricity comes from #carbon sources and obtaining it only from #renewables is very challenging... In this context, the Government is studying and evaluating the new nuclear power to add it to its #EnergyMix... Will #Italy adopt #SMRs, #SFRs... to decarbonize its economy???

On Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), I spoke to some experts on the technology and here are some key facts: 🔅 You can count the number of operational SMRs in the world on one hand. 🔅They could be a good source of fixed, dispatchable power in the future, and an alternative to fossil fuel power plants. 🔅There are around 80 different models out there, and we have not figured out which one could be produced in factories and shipped worldwide, this is likely to take decades - by which time it will be 2050 and we will have to be already climate neutral. 🔅We don't know anything about costs - we only know that their larger nuclear counterparts consistently go billions over budget. 🔅In Nov.2023, the company that is developing SMRs in some EU countries had to scrap its SMR project in the United States because it was too expensive.

A new #DOE report highlights that rising electricity demand, driven by high-performance computing and AI, increases the need for reliable clean energy. The report shows that combining nuclear with renewables can lower overall electricity costs compared to relying on renewables and storage alone. #CleanEnergy #AI #Nuclear #NuclearEnergy #Electricity #ArtificialIntelligence https://lnkd.in/gZ5eHZU9

TVO: If you understand power generation, the Ford government’s decision on nuclear makes sense Read more from TVO here:

“Nuclear generates carbon-free electricity, provides firm power that complements renewables, has low land-use requirements, and has lower transmission requirements than distributed or site-constrained generation sources. It also offers high-paying jobs and significant regional economic benefits, can aid in an equitable transition to a net-zero grid, and has a wide variety of use cases that enable grid flexibility and decarbonization beyond the grid, including high temperatures for industrial heat.” Lift Australia’s nuclear bans.

Fantastic Department of Energy report on nuclear capacity build-up! This report is a must for anyone interested in nuclear power. The Department of Energy discusses the cost of new NPPs. All power generation shows the same behavior in terms of cost per installed power: smaller is more expensive per kW! There are figures mentioned; the calculated specific costs are ~8500 and ~13000 USD/kW for conventional and small-scale plants, respectively. The DoE figures are based on 1400 and 300 MW BWR plants with calculated median costs of ~12 BUSD and ~4 BUSD, respectively. Indeed, small is cheaper in absolute terms, but the LCOE is chiefly set by the USD/kW! For comparison, the 2024 Lazard figures for a 2200 MW NPP range from 8765 to 14000 USD per kW. How does this translate into a Swedish context for production cost? Calculating LCOE (i.e., cost per MWh) is not straightforward because of the involved complexity involved in taxes, etc. The discussion in Sweden so far is to have a CfD securing a strike price of approximately 80 USD/MWh and government-guaranteed loans for reduced capital spending. The DoE report is well spent reading! Energimyndigheten https://lnkd.in/dWfyTfdi

‘Scotland’s green economy potential at risk without nuclear investment.’ Scotland’s green economy could lose billions in investment by neglecting new nuclear projects, warns the Nuclear Industry Association. #energycosts #energyindustry #energyinvestment #energymarket #energymix #energynews #energyprices #energyproduction #gasprices #greenhousegasemissions

According to Elia Group, by 2050, a power shortage as large as consumption today could be imminent. Elia thinks the gap can best be filled with a mix of keeping current nuclear plants open longer and building offshore wind farms. https://lnkd.in/eJj8ZGrz #energy #utilities #energycrisis #powershortage #renewableenergy #windpower #windfarms #nuclear

With the UK targeting 24GWe of new nuclear ☢️ by 2050, news of Great British Nuclear acquiring both the old Wylfa and Oldbury nuclear sites, should we also be prioritising other former nuclear sites for new nuclear over other generation technology? A solar ☀️ energy firm is eyeing up land near an old nuclear power plant in southern Scotland. Developers want to locate PV panels and a battery storage 🔋 facility close to Chapelcross, a former Magnox site near Annan. The Elgin Energy proposals are the second project seeking to take advantage of the proximity to the old power station's link to the National Grid. The Chapelcross site ceased generation in 2004 and its cooling towers came down a few years later but its substation remains which has attracted developers. Utilising existing High Voltage infrastructure will always be attractive to investors due to build and local grid reinforcement costs over an existing sub station and grid connection capacity. Getting a Development Consent Order are requirements for projects of national significance like nuclear power stations as well as other permitting, therefore the fastest route to achieving 24GWe by 2050 is utilising former sites, which should make the whole process faster. Locating a solar farm is far less challenging than a nuclear power station ⁉️ #energy #nuclear #powergenerstion #securityofsupply

This is great but much more efficient use could be made with using all these former sites, especially the Nuclear ones for new Nuclear Power Stations!! Solar Energy is at best 20% efficient at converting SolarvEnergy into Electricity.