How much money does a nuclear power plant make

Bloomberg News. Fact Sheets. Analysis of the economics of nuclear power must take into account who bears the risks of future uncertainties.

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The British government has announced plans to construct a new generation of nuclear power stations, a move which is likely to revive the long-standing debate over the cost and safety of nuclear energy. It will also add to the gathering momentum behind nuclear power, driven by the global need to reduce carbon emissions, as well as the rising cost of gas and oil. Here is a look at the economics of the debate. How much does it cost to build a nuclear power station? There are few recent examples to draw on, but a new plant being built in Finland gives some indications.

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Most US reactor designs produce about MW thermal or more. As the technology becomes more refined, the NRC will allow for higher power production. Theoretically, there is no limit to the power a nuclear reactor can produce at any given time. The difficulty is removing the heat generated so as not to cause the fuel to be destroyed. Also, the higher power you operate the reactor at, the shorter life the fuel will have since there’s a finite amount of fissions that can take place based on fuel loading. There’s a decent website you can go to to learn more i you don’t want to spend four years and tens of thousands of dollars getting your BS in Nuclear Engineering. There are two different ratings for nuclear plants, thermal and electric.

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The British government has announced plans to construct a new generation of nuclear power stations, a move which is likely to revive the long-standing debate over the cost and safety of nuclear energy. It will also add to the gathering momentum behind nuclear power, driven by the global need to reduce carbon emissions, as well as the rising cost of gas and oil.

Here is a look at the economics of the debate. How much does it cost to build a nuclear power station? There are few recent examples to draw on, but a new plant being built in Finland gives some indications. How does that compare with other types of power station? Gas and coal-fired power stations are much cheaper to build. So is nuclear power good value for money? Nuclear power stations are extremely expensive to build.

But if several stations are commissioned at once, then the cost should go down because of economies of scale — a sort of bulk discount.

But they will still be more expensive to build than conventional power stations. And there are fears that investment in nuclear will detract from other sources of energy — such as renewable. So how does nuclear power compete? Once built, nuclear power plants have advantages. So firms and consumers are very exposed to the wholesale price of gas. One argument given in favour of nuclear is that consumers are less likely to see huge variations in their energy bills, which have been rising in recent months.

Nuclear power also produces much lower levels of greenhouse gases and the nuclear industry wants incentives to reflect. What are the cost implications of nuclear power? Germany’s E. On, France’s EDF, and British Gas parent company Centrica have all showed eagerness to be involved in the operation of the new nuclear sites, while French-owned Areva, the world’s largest nuclear power group, said it also wanted to build up to six new plants.

Energy companies running the new nuclear power plants will have to pay the costs for decommissioning existing sites, and pay their share of waste management costs, the government has said.

It is unclear how much of this will be passed on to consumers through, for example, higher energy bills. But firms keen to invest in this area have strongly rejected this argument, saying they will not need any sort of extra funding. EDF, for example, has said it is willing to invest in new nuclear power stations in nucllear UK «without subsidy», to include all the costs of construction, operation, decommissioning and waste disposal.

But it, like other firms, moneu said this can only happen if the right framework is in place. Ultimately, firms will only invest if it is competitive with other forms of energy. Some analysts say public opposition might make some investors reluctant to fund schemes that are viewed as unpopular. Most Popular Now 56, people are reading stories on the site right. Low graphics Pllant help. News services Your news when you want it.

News Front Page. Market Data. E-mail this to a friend Printable version. The nuclear question is one of the biggest facing global economies. Go-ahead for 10 nuclear stations. Dounreay mony anniversary marked. Ex-adviser backs nuclear increase. Brown expands nuclear how much money does a nuclear power plant make. The politics of nuclear power plan. How nuclear power works. Climate change: nuclear power. International Energy Hlw. World Nuclear Association.

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The Atlantic. Estimates of total lifetime energy returned on energy invested vary greatly depending on the study. New Statesman. University of Chicago : xi. Other factors — is the plant a one, two, three or four unit plant?