this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2023
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Tldr: renewables are really cheap and utility partners backed out from buying the energy so it didn't make economic sense.
I can't help but feel that it would make more economic sense if we taxed the fuck out of other stable sources of energy that are killing us (coal/gas).
But it's Utah: they don't give a single shit about air quality or global warming.
Also according to the guardian the project had massive cost overruns increasing the costs by a factor of five:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/nov/09/small-modular-nuclear-reactor-that-was-hailed-by-coalition-as-future-cancelled-due-to-rising-costs
To answer your idea solar costs on a MW bases 30times less today, with falling prices. Solar runs something like 20-25% of the time and you need storage, but that is still much much cheaper then this nuclear plant would be. So you are really wasting money going for nuclear today.
@MrMakabar @huginn @climate
Small modular nuclear reactor?
Not in my back yard, thanks. Not that these industries tend to ask.