07 Jul Energy Density and Human Dignity on ABC Illawarra
Energy is the lifeblood of our society.
It’s tied to the cost of our food, clothing, housing, healthcare and the inventions of our modern societies. The less it costs and the fewer resources it consumes, the more society flourishes
In this interview with Nick Rheinberger on ABC Illawarra we discuss my recent essay on Energy and Human Dignity. You can listen to the interview here
Link to the original essay is here
Colin Megson
Posted at 03:20h, 08 JulyAustralia’s ~245 TWh of electricity generation could be supplied by 100 of GE Hitachi’s BWR-300 small modular reactors (SMRs), the first of which will be available in 2028. The capital cost would be AU$97 billion and that would deliver 24/7/365 electricity for 60 years, equating to a cost of $1.62 billion per year. The capital cost content per unit of electricity generated is $6.60/MWh and, coincidentally, the fuel cost content is $6.60/MWh, which totals $13.20/MWh.
It would take 63 MacIntyre wind farms to generate ~245 TWh of intermittent electricity each year for 30 years. The capital cost would be $123.48 billion, equating to a cost of $4.12 billion per year. The capital cost per unit of electricity generated is $16.80/MWh + $0.00/MWh for fuel.
But the INTERMITTENCY PROBLEM never goes away. So if you want electricity to your homes and businesses when the wind don’t blow it will need a lot more capital to invest in a helluva lot of Snowy Mountains or other low-carbon energy storage technologies. And the people who put up all of this capital will ensure they get back every penny – with interest – from every energy bill payer. And, the poorer you are, the more it will hurt.
Rob Parker
Posted at 09:13h, 08 JulyColin
Thanks for your input.
As you’ll note on our website we are great fans of the BWRX 300.
I think however your numbers are a bit optimistic
GE-H were anticipating a year or so ago that the plant would have an all up energy cost of circa US$45/MWh for an Nth of a kind in the USA
We are trying to get numbers for deployment in Australia and that needs to also take into account the enabling infrastructure, shipping and difficult access as well as things like large cranes