Gillette WY to build nuclear power plants

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Also helps with reliability- you can cycle the maintenance downtime on them and maintain power output.

100% lots of benefits but the biggest will be lower initial capital cost which is holding back new nuke plants currently. Or one of the major hurdles I should say

 

[BigHornRam]

100% lots of benefits but the biggest will be lower initial capital cost which is holding back new nuke plants currently. Or one of the major hurdles I should say

Per megawatt the big plants will be cheaper.

 

[mtmiller]

Before you go all Hillary on me

fugg off

 

[Nick87]

fugg off

Sarcasm or thin skin?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Per megawatt the big plants will be cheaper.

Source? Or speculation? Because micro reactors aren't approved yet last I heard.

Or assumption based on traditional cost model for facility construction?

 

[SAJ-99]

Source? Or speculation? Because micro reactors aren't approved yet last I heard.

Or assumption based on traditional cost model for facility construction?

He just made it up. BHR is against every new idea. Facts are disposable.

 

[LuketheDog]

The implication being that other laborers cannot work hard or take pride in their jobs. My family members who spent their careers pulling all-nighters at the printing presses would object to that.

What's a printing press?

 

[Gellar]

 

[Carl]

Not that others cannot have pride in their job.

The point was Coal Miners are a completely different breed of people when it comes to that

Inside the mine, my experience is they're like workers in any other blue collar occupation I've been around or dabbled in. There's a few for whom it's their life/identity. Many are (rightly) proud of working hard to support the world around them. For the majority, it's a job...a job that pays decent in many of those parts of the world, includes some satisfaction from what you were able to get done in a shift, but still a job.

I'm glad I worked in one and glad I don't still work in one.

I've thought the country/world should be embracing nuclear for ~ 20 years, any steps in that direction are generally progress in my book.

 

[BigHornRam]

Source? Or speculation? Because micro reactors aren't approved yet last I heard.

Or assumption based on traditional cost model for facility construction?

Basic common sense. Large turbines are proportionally less than small turbines. Land costs for one large plant is less than 10 small ones. Building costs for a 100,000 sqft building is significantly less per software than a 1000 sqft one.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Basic common sense. Large turbines are proportionally less than small turbines. Land costs for one large plant is less than 10 small ones. Building costs for a 100,000 sqft building is significantly less per software than a 1000 sqft one.

Not applicable to how these will be built.

Large turbines are more expensive as they are harder to machine to tighter tolerances, transport, etc.

Land is a wash, micro reactors will all be on a common site. Think 20 small reactors instead of 2-4 huge ones on a 250 acre piece of land

Building is massively more expensive for traditional nuke. Nuclear regulation requires the containment building to be extremely expensive. By being able to build many small containment vessels cost will be greatly reduced. Economics of scale isn't applicable as the cost of building per sqft isn't linear for nuclear. I wouldn't go so far as to say exponential as sqft increase but you get the idea.


Building a nuclear power plant isn't anything like building a house or commercial building. All the economics of scale don't hold true. That's why micro is more cost effective per MWhr


And most importantly, micro tech is much safer just by design, and many of the new gen IV reactors can even use traditional reactors spent fuel rods helping to solve the waste problem.

 

[BigHornRam]

When will the first ones be operational?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

When will the first ones be operational?

My honest guess? 10 years is optimistic based on the requirements of the nuclear regulatory agency and the current roadblocks

 

[Dave N]

and the current roadblocks

Such as lawsuits.

 

[BigHornRam]

My honest guess? 10 years is optimistic based on the requirements of the nuclear regulatory agency and the current roadblocks

Got to love big government bureaucracy! Looks like Alaska is moving the ball forward for your cause.

Alaska simplifies microreactor regulations

The US state of Alaska has adopted regulations to streamline the regulatory process for the siting of microreactors. The new regulations, which waive some requirements imposed on larger nuclear facilities, come into effect in August.;

www.world-nuclear-news.org

"The US Department of Air Force's preferred location to pilot its first microreactor is at the Eielson Airforce Base near Fairbanks. In September 2022, the department, in partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, issued a request for proposal for a microreactor to be built at the base. The reactor will be owned and operated by the contractor, and the US government will purchase its energy output via a long-term contract under a firm-fixed price. The system must be able to produce electricity and steam and to meet a baseload electricity demand of 5 MWe. The target is for the microreactor to be operational in 2027."

Any estimates on what this 5 MW powerhouse system is going to cost when and if it becomes operational in 2027? What will the long term fixed price electricity contract cost per kw?

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Got to love big government bureaucracy! Looks like Alaska is moving the ball forward for your cause.

Alaska simplifies microreactor regulations

The US state of Alaska has adopted regulations to streamline the regulatory process for the siting of microreactors. The new regulations, which waive some requirements imposed on larger nuclear facilities, come into effect in August.;

www.world-nuclear-news.org

"The US Department of Air Force's preferred location to pilot its first microreactor is at the Eielson Airforce Base near Fairbanks. In September 2022, the department, in partnership with the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, issued a request for proposal for a microreactor to be built at the base. The reactor will be owned and operated by the contractor, and the US government will purchase its energy output via a long-term contract under a firm-fixed price. The system must be able to produce electricity and steam and to meet a baseload electricity demand of 5 MWe. The target is for the microreactor to be operational in 2027."

Any estimates on what this 5 MW powerhouse system is going to cost when and if it becomes operational in 2027? What will the long term fixed price electricity contract cost per kw?

Govt is a piece of the puzzle no doubt. Buy being in base it'll save from having to win over the public for the most part.


Cost, no real idea. I'd ballpark it and say it'll be less than $400M. Last time they tried building a traditional reactor down south I think price ballooned well over $1B.


Nuke electricity is usually extremely cost effective usually. Being up in fairbanks they'll have higher overhead cost no doubt but I'd expect even with everything that it'll be around that $0.10/kWhr. For whole sale production and purchasing that's actually pretty expensive. Most power at the whole sale rate is $0.02-0.06/kWhr down in the lower 48.

Lots of just pure educated guesses and conjecture there

 

[BigHornRam]

Govt is a piece of the puzzle no doubt. Buy being in base it'll save from having to win over the public for the most part.


Cost, no real idea. I'd ballpark it and say it'll be less than $400M. Last time they tried building a traditional reactor down south I think price ballooned well over $1B.


Nuke electricity is usually extremely cost effective usually. Being up in fairbanks they'll have higher overhead cost no doubt but I'd expect even with everything that it'll be around that $0.10/kWhr. For whole sale production and purchasing that's actually pretty expensive. Most power at the whole sale rate is $0.02-0.06/kWhr down in the lower 48.

Lots of just pure educated guesses and conjecture there

Based on your numbers, the contractor will lose his ass selling electricity at .10 per kw. Unless it it is extremely subsidized.

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

Based on your numbers, the contractor will lose his ass selling electricity at .10 per kw. Unless it it is extremely subsidized.

Without knowing how they plan to do the project it's tough to say, but it reads like the govt would pay to build the reactors like any other building on base, then have a third party run the reactor and buy the power.

That would help the numbers, but again massive speculation.


Also, with the lack of power options in that area of Alaska national security would be more important to uncle Sam than the cost of the power

 

[BigHornRam]

Without knowing how they plan to do the project it's tough to say, but it reads like the govt would pay to build the reactors like any other building on base, then have a third party run the reactor and buy the power.

That would help the numbers, but again massive speculation.


Also, with the lack of power options in that area of Alaska national security would be more important to uncle Sam than the cost of the power

NG is not an option?

Interior Gas Utility to acquire all its natural gas from North Slope starting in October 2024

In Interior Alaska, 2,750 households and businesses rely on natural gas from IGU for heat.

www.webcenterfairbanks.com

 

[SD_Prairie_Goat]

NG is not an option?

Interior Gas Utility to acquire all its natural gas from North Slope starting in October 2024

In Interior Alaska, 2,750 households and businesses rely on natural gas from IGU for heat.

www.webcenterfairbanks.com

Right now there's no pipeline to fairbanks, so I doubt they can truck enough LNG from Anchorage to keep up with a gas burner. Plus that isn't great for if Russian invades for example. Hard to keep that gas flowing as it would be a critical failure point.