Comment by notepad0x90
2 days ago
I thought it was cost-competitive with something on the scale of mega-dams and takes about as long to finish too. Except unlike dams, you don't disrupt river flow and cause water-rights disputes (and potentially wars).
> Except unlike dams, you don't disrupt river flow and cause water-rights disputes (and potentially wars).
The water requirements of nuclear power stations cooling systems can cause significant issues. The discharge of heated water back into rivers and the sea is also a major problem.
The largest nuclear power plant in the US (Palo Verde) is cooled by evaporating treated wastewater. Water is water and you get about 0.3kWh of electricity for each evaporated kg of water.
How major? Would not a temporary lake be sufficient to dissipate heat?
The unit economics of dams get more and more competitive when their size increase.
So, hell no, nuclear is not competitive with mega-dams. It's not even competitive with small dams.
You mean the ROI? I'm talking about the cost-to-build.