Gillette WY to build nuclear power plants

[Gulf of America]

Read it again. Already had regulatory approval in 2020.

"In 2020, Oregon-based NuScale’s SMR design was the first in the country to win regulatory approval. But it announced in November 2023 it was pulling the plug on an Idaho-based demonstration project that could have ushered in the next wave of SMRs. Its costs had nearly doubled, which meant the project wouldn’t have been able to generate power at a price people would pay.

Much like large-scale nuclear plants, NuScale’s primary issue was high costs, as already expensive building supplies converged with tight supply chains, inflation and high interest rates.

It was a major blow to the argument that SMRs would be cheaper and faster to build than traditional reactors."

Regulation costs aren't just the price of the permit, it's the engineering and construction costs to build to the regulatory standard. So yes, materials went up, but the bill of materials is what it is because everything has to be so over-engineered.

 

[BigHornRam]

Regulation of nukes is an on-going process. Every tweak, every change, every new location results in millions of regulatory review. The theory is these smaller nukes will be more consistent and that will reduce cost of regulatory oversight. That is speculation, the govt and anti-nuke folks haven't yet agreed these will be treated more routinely. Plus all the at location litigation and regulation (some if it serious NIMBY). Look at how much the regulatory and NGO litigation adds to simple pipelines.

And yes, even without regs, everything costs 2x these days.

Every new generation source gets litigated. Why we are headed for major energy shortages in the future. This plant is a fraction of the cost per megawatt compared to nuclear, and the litigation is driving up the cost of electricity for the consumer.

Judge: Laurel gas plant decision is up to Yellowstone County • Daily Montanan

Judge says Yellowstone County should be the entity to decide whether NorthWestern Energy can operate a gas-fired power plant near Laurel and the Yellowstone River.

dailymontanan.com

 

[BigHornRam]

Is the high costs because of inflation since it was approved? Pretty much everything has doubled

It was likely borderline doable when it was approved. Inflation, higher interest, and supply chain issues doubled the price. At this point, only a fool would proceed.

 

[noharleyyet]

SIAP...clickable

America's Largest Nuclear Plant

A new reactor unit at Georgia’s Vogtle nuclear power plant went into commercial operation yesterday, capping a 15-year expansion that makes the site the single biggest producer of carbon-free energy in the country. The reactor, known as Unit 4, comes online less than a year after the similarly built Unit 3 was flipped on—together they were the first nuclear reactors constructed from scratch in the US in more than 30 years. The plant is expected to produce 30 million megawatt-hours of power annually, or roughly 23% of Georgia's total power consumption (though it will also service customers in Florida and Alabama). The project was expected to begin producing power in 2016, but experienced significant delays and unexpected costs, driving the final price tag from $14B to $35B. Customer rates were raised a total of 10% to help cover financing. A single half-inch uranium pellet produces roughly the same amount of energy as 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas or 1 ton of coal. See how commercial nuclear reactors work here.

 

[VikingsGuy]

It was likely borderline doable when it was approved. Inflation, higher interest, and supply chain issues doubled the price. At this point, only a fool would proceed.

Would push spending on nuc than the many half measures we are propping up.

 

[BigHornRam]

Would push spending on nuc than the many half measures we are propping up.

Like wind and solar? Agree on that.