The London REE Report: Nuclear v Renewables
Sunday, November 14, 2010
raremetalblog.com
Constellation Energy, which wants to build a 1.6-gigawatt plant in Maryland, shed some light on the subject when it pulled out of the DOE loan program. Constellation had been seeking a guarantee that would cover 80 percent of the $7.6 billion loan on the Calvert Cliffs 3 project. The entire budget for the project is estimated at $9.6 billion. Constellation pulled out because the DOE requested a $880 million fee -- around 11.6 percent of the loan -- for the guarantee. The fee would make the project un-economical, Constellation said.
Which is better, nuclear produced electricity, or electricity produced from renewable sources? By the time you add in decommissioning costs, and a state funded radioactive waste storage facility, nuclear can never really win the debate, yet the debate goes on without end, mostly to the detriment of renewable energy. Back in September, the debate in America took a new turn with a report from the Institute for Energy and Environment at Vermont Law School. Updating the costs of new nuclear plants, it estimates the 2010 cost has now reached 7 to 10 dollars per kilowatt. Today I will use Constellation Energy as a proxy example, that’s with an “r”, of why renewable will almost always win out over nuclear.
Time to End Nuclear Socialism, Says New Study
A nuclear plant will cost $7,000 to $10,000 per kilowatt, says Mark Cooper of the University of Vermont. That’s more than wind, solar, storage and other renewables—and the price tag will continue to climb.
It shouldn't be called the French Nuclear Miracle, says Mark Cooper. It's more like a recurring nightmare.
Unlike computers, solar panels, wind turbines and most other high tech projects, nuclear power plants and projects don't go down in price over time. Instead, the costs escalate, and that's a recipe for a disaster, according to a report released today by Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis at the Institute for Energy and the Environment at Vermont Law School.
----In the 1970s, the "overnight" cost of nuclear power, or the cost of a power plant minus interest on the loans during construction, ran around $1,000 per kilowatt in the U.S. and France when measured in 2008 dollars, according to Cooper. In the '80s, the projected price rose to $3,000 to $4,000 in the U.S., and to $2,000 to $3,000 in France. In the '90s, the projected price in the U.S. rose to $5,000 to $6,000.
More: greentechmedia.com
Wind, although intermittent, costs $1,300 a kilowatt. Flow batteries for storing wind power sell for $4,000 a kilowatt. Compressed air can cost $1,000 per kilowatt. Conceivably, wind and storage together hover just under the $6,000 kilowatt benchmark for nuclear.
New US nuclear electricity plants are now too time consuming and costly, and require loan guarantees that the US Government can no longer afford. Below from Constellation Energy’s letter to 50% partner in the Calvert Cliffs 3 project, EDF pulling out and asking EDF to take on the whole project. EDF is Electricite de France SA. The CC3 project is already 5 years in the making and probably still another 5 years from completion if it is ever built. Click here: files.shareholder.com
Next, Constellation Energy and a renewable energy project in New Jersey. The construction phase about half a year. I don’t know how long the negotiating phase took, but I’m willing to bet that it wasn’t five years.
Constellation Energy to Develop 5 Megawatt Solar Installation at Johnson Matthey Facility in W. Deptford, N.J.
BALTIMORE, Oct 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) announced that it has entered into agreements with Johnson Matthey Inc. (LON:JMAT) and Preferred Unlimited Inc. to deploy a new 5.2-megawatt DC solar photovoltaic power system to serve the Johnson Matthey facilities in West Deptford, N.J. The solar installation will utilize high-efficiency photovoltaic panels from SunPower Corporation (NASDAQ: SPWRA, SPWRB), which will also design and build the system. Constellation Energy will finance, own, operate and maintain the system, and Johnson Matthey will purchase electricity produced by the installation under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
"Solar power continues to make good sense for companies like Johnson Matthey that are seeking affordable electricity prices for the long-term while supporting clean, renewable energy generation," said Michael Smith, senior vice president of green initiatives for Constellation Energy's retail business. "These types of commitments are a big reason that last year's U.S. solar electric capacity is higher by 37 percent over the previous year's, and continues to expand."
The solar installation is expected to produce approximately 20 percent of the West Deptford facility's electricity requirements. The system will be ground-mounted on approximately 21 acres and utilize single-axis tracking to optimize the exposure of the photovoltaic panels to sunlight. Construction of the system has begun and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2011.
More
With renewable energy likely to trump nuclear if only due to the length of time needed for nuclear projects, a lot more renewable energy projects are needed to match the same power output. From our rare metals interest perspective, that’s not a bad thing. From the perspective of not creating a massive decommissioning expense for our grandchildren, it’s another win as well, but only if we get enough REE mines into production with the supporting separation plants.
"Structuring solar projects as power purchase agreements creates an attractive business model that creates no upfront costs for customers and provides them with firm power costs over a long term," DiMascio said.
More tomorrow.
Graeme Irvine, London.
Posted by at 02:28:25 AM in Blog, Editor, Graeme Irvine, The London REE Report |
