When I heard that SMRs might need to build several GW to pay down factory investments it clicked for me. Their first of a kind models are likely to cost plenty. And at those prices the financing issue that seems to be their true raison d'etre aren't much better than for a GW scale project. More than anything it appears that cost overrun insurance is the building block that a nuclear renaissance can be built on
You are right. The firm establishment of supply chains and the maintenance of a large, skilled workforce are essential to a successful build. One must also point out that there is a lack of managers who have the skill and experience to handle multi-billion-dollar projects where there might be 500 workers and 30 machines on the job site and a critical path with 2,000 tasks.
1. The cost overruns for Vogtle were on top of estimates that already accounted for “First of a Kind” status.
2. Maybe Unit 4 was really completed at a cost 30% below Unit 3. Or maybe the industry has returned to the practice of loading all common costs onto Unit 3, in which case the “cost reductions” for Unit 4 have little real bearing on future plants.
3. In the past, vertically integrated utilities, like Georgia Power, also loaded lots of nuclear costs into corporate “Administrative & General” accounts. Things like fringe benefits, regulatory costs, public relations and executive costs were not allocated to nuclear O&M, making costs per kWh distorted.
When I heard that SMRs might need to build several GW to pay down factory investments it clicked for me. Their first of a kind models are likely to cost plenty. And at those prices the financing issue that seems to be their true raison d'etre aren't much better than for a GW scale project. More than anything it appears that cost overrun insurance is the building block that a nuclear renaissance can be built on
You are right. The firm establishment of supply chains and the maintenance of a large, skilled workforce are essential to a successful build. One must also point out that there is a lack of managers who have the skill and experience to handle multi-billion-dollar projects where there might be 500 workers and 30 machines on the job site and a critical path with 2,000 tasks.
1. The cost overruns for Vogtle were on top of estimates that already accounted for “First of a Kind” status.
2. Maybe Unit 4 was really completed at a cost 30% below Unit 3. Or maybe the industry has returned to the practice of loading all common costs onto Unit 3, in which case the “cost reductions” for Unit 4 have little real bearing on future plants.
3. In the past, vertically integrated utilities, like Georgia Power, also loaded lots of nuclear costs into corporate “Administrative & General” accounts. Things like fringe benefits, regulatory costs, public relations and executive costs were not allocated to nuclear O&M, making costs per kWh distorted.
Buyer and pundit beware.
Thanks. This morning, even Varney on fox business was talking about the need for nuclear power. the word is getting out. Keep up the good work.
Has Jigar had a change of heart following his somewhat questionable behaviour on Decouple?