https://mastodon.au/@WePlanetAus/112482408946509746

The new version of CSIRO's #GenCost report is out, and for the first time, it includes estimates for the cost of large-scale #nuclear as a power source!

The addition is very welcome, and poses the question: What can we do today to put ourselves in the best position if we choose to add nuclear to our energy mix in the future?

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Previous GenCost reports estimated that the cost of generating electricity from small modular reactors (SMRs) would be five times greater than for renewables. Pretty spenno.

The new GenCost report estimates that the cost for large nuclear reactors is 𝘵𝘸𝘪𝘤𝘦 that of renewables.

"Twice? That's still a lot more!"

It is, but the GenCost report assumed that these large reactors would pay off their capital costs over 30 years, while noting that assuming a period of 40 years would reduce the cost of electricity from these reactors.

(For reference, many current nuclear power plants have been running for longer than 40 years, with a few over 50 years old. Most in the US are licenced to run for 60 years, and a few for 80 years.)

More than that, though: this edition of GenCost signals an end to the authors' out-of-hand rejection of large-scale nuclear — a normal source of low-emissions energy that provides 10% of the world's electricity.