Constellation Energy plans to invest $1.6B to revive the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania and sell all the output to Microsoft for AI energy demands. - eviltoast

Three Mile Island was the worst nuclear accident in US history. Was mainly caused by poor design of human feedback systems which caused operational confusion and lead to a catastrophic failure.

  • andyburke@fedia.io
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    2 months ago

    Now do the math on the cost of that uranium and the facility you need to turn it into power compared to the cost of the solar.

    If you think cost isn’t the primary factor in all energy production … 🤷‍♂️

    Edit: not to mention all the essentially free developed space we already have in spades to deploy solar to: rooftops.

    • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Utility-scale solar comes out to around US$0.06 per kWh (source). Nuclear power comes out to US$0.07 per kWh (source).

      Commercial-scale solar costs US$0.11 per kWh. Residential rooftop solar comes out to US$0.16 per kWh.

      Edit: This does not take into account the cost of battery capacity or pumped-storage hydroelectric solutions, which are necessary for solar solutions but not nuclear ones. Lithium-ion battery storage costs US$139 per kWh. You’d need at least 500 MWh to accommodation a medium-size city, which would cost US$70 million. If you get 5,000 charge cycles out of the battery, this adds an additional US$0.03 per kWh.

        • andyburke@fedia.io
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          2 months ago

          All of which ignores lots of real world factors that aren’t being included in the costs the commenter outlines.

          Again, if nuclear were cheaper, you wouldn’t all be here downvoting my comments, you’d be discussing all the great new nuclear being onlined.

          Renewables have won. They’re cheaper and easier to deploy, they’re distributed rather than concentrated, and they have lower impacts on the environment.

          FWIW: I thought thorium reactors might have had some legs in the 00s, but it became clear those didn’t make fiscal sense, either.

          • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            It does not ignore any information.

            The cost per kWh is the totality of all information. It is the end product. That is the total costs of everything divided by the number of kilowatt-hours of electricity produced.

            I understand that you’re deeply invested in this argument, but you’ve lost. You’re repeating the same claim over and over, and when proven wrong, you just said “nuh uh” and pretended that nothing I said is true.

            Nuclear energy can be cheaper than solar or wind. It is more reliable than solar and wind. It uses less land than solar or wind. All of these are known facts. That’s why actual scientists support expanding nuclear energy 2 to 1.

            But people will still dislike it because they’re scared of building the next Three Mile Island or Fukushima. That, as I explained, is the reason why fewer nuclear plants are being built. Because the scientists, the ones who know the most about these, are not in charge. Instead, it’s the people in the last column that are calling the shots. Do not repeat this drivel of “iF nUcLeaR pOweR PlanTs So Good WhY aRen’T tHerE moRe of ThEM??”. I have explained why. It is widely known why. Your refusal to accept reality does not make it less real.

            That is the end of the argument. I will not respond to anything else you say, because it is clear to me that no amount of evidence will cause you to change your mind. So go ahead, post your non-chalant reply with laughing emojis and three instances of “lol” or “lmao” and strut over the chessboard like you’ve won.

            Because I don’t give a pigeon’s shit what you have to say any more.

            • andyburke@fedia.io
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              2 months ago

              Show me the line items for long term handling of the waste, please. I am curious how much they allocated.

                • andyburke@fedia.io
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                  2 months ago

                  You don’t have to convince me, if you think it’s such a great power source with such low costs you should pitch some investors.

                  I would think you would be the one trying to understand why nuclear plants aren’t being built if their costs are lower and benefits are higher. 🤷‍♂️

                  • Aatube@kbin.melroy.org
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                    2 months ago

                    We understand already. The reason is that people are scared by "omg nukes!'. It’s the stigma, not unlike that against LGBTQ+ parlors, immigrants, anarchism, and putting dishes in the dishwasher without rinsing them first.

          • tee9000@lemmy.worldOP
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            2 months ago

            So many twists and turns here!

            Its alright i wasnt going to tell anyone i knew the best energy solution after reading lemmy comments. I haven’t voted at all in this thread.

            Nuclear definitely has a ton of commitment. It takes like 60 years to decommission one right?

            • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              The Trojan Nuclear Plant near my city was closed in 1992. They started moving stuff away in 2003. The cooling tower was demolished in 2006. The various other buildings were demolished in 2008. All that remains are some security posts and abandoned office buildings and empty tool sheds.

            • Aatube@kbin.melroy.org
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              2 months ago

              Yeah. Minimum is like 20. Note that stopping it from generating power is quite early in the decommissioning schedule.