Nuclear power now makes up about 25% of the generation of Georgia Power, the largest unit of Atlanta-based Southern Co.

First U.S. nuclear reactor built from scratch in decades enters commercial operation in Georgia::ATLANTA — 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.

  • UnPassive@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Maybe Australia’s grid is 90% ready for solar, I’ve heard they’re pushing for full renewable in 2 States. But the USA’s isn’t ready.

    Again, I understand that new installations of solar power plants are cheaper than nuclear. My points against solar are:

    • its footprint (solar farms outside every town/city)
    • its lack of power generation during night (batteries aren’t cheap and don’t last long, new tech will help but doesn’t exist yet)
    • how quickly output changes due to weather. This is extremely hard for the grid to adjust to. The best solution is filling gaps with natural gas (methane) because it starts up fast. Methane is a potent greenhosue gas and it’s supply chain is extremely leaky so that stinks.

    Meanwhile points agaisnt nuclear are

    • cost
    • waste

    Both of which seem like much simpler problems to solve:

    • subsidize (like renewables)
    • store on site, reprocess, or build a storage facility (last point being expensive, but solving the problem completely). Reprocessing is my favorite choice.
    • ephemeral_gibbonEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Australia’s grid isn’t fully ready for renewables, but accounting for that cost they’re still cheaper than any other energy generation. Also as for your “need a lot of storage” comment, the reason solar + wind with integration costs is still relatively cheap is that you really don’t need much when it’s modelled as a full solution. Quite conveniently, wind produces more power at night and nicely compliments solar.

      The footprint of solar also isn’t that big. I did a little maths in some other coment, and to power the US off solar alone (not solar + wind) would take a bit over a third the land used to grow corn for ethanol in the US. That land cost is also included in the cost of generation, so it doesn’t make solar uneconomic.

      Yes there are difficulties, but they’re cheaper to solve than it is to make a safe nuclear reactor.