Nuclear Energy

Fission. Fusion?

Sites

• YouTube: Illinois EnergyProf — Professor David Ruzic

Links

• YouTube: Why nuclear plants are shutting down? | Vox
  • Fewer fossil fuel plants, more renewable/nuclear plants
  • Skewed safety concerns, trade-off in environmental concerns, and cost
  • Alternative clean firm power: nuclear, geothermal, long-term energy storage, carbon capture, etc.
• YouTube: WTF Happened to Nuclear Energy | Johnny Harris
  • Addressing the three big problems: accidents, waste and cost
• YouTube: The Economics of Nuclear Energy | Real Engineering
  • YouTube: Economics of Nuclear Reactor | Illinois EnergyProf
  • The revenue and costs of nuclear power plants
  • Levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) is high for nuclear
• Why Does Nuclear Power Plant Construction Cost So Much
  • Costs of nuclear power plants increased over decades
  • High construction costs, rising labour costs, constantly changing regulatory/QA/QC requirements
  • Possible ways to bring down the cost: mature supply chain, predictable regulations, public support, etc.
• How to Scale Nuclear Power
  • Almost none of the nuclear power plant in the US is new, the cost is high
  • The success is more about managing cost, project management and policies rather than engineering or safety concerns
  • The safety concerns for radiation, nuclear waste or nuclear meltdowns are not significant any more
• Will We Ever Get Fusion Power?
  • What is fusion, how it works, why fusion reactor shape like that (called tokamak)
  • The slow development of fusion over the last 70 years, the bull and bear point of view on fusion
  • Bull: more private sector attention and investment it might work
  • Bear: even if it works it might be too expensive