- the points you make regarding baseload power, dispatchable power and the need to instantaneously match supply to demand are very simple, make sense and should be easy to understand. So why have we gone of the rails with renewables? Maybe it just gets back to the local needs and politics as you say.
Yes - ultimately it goes back to local needs and politics. The electric grid is a fragmented thing and has a lot of interested parties who all form their own opinions. Like I said we can do almost anything - the question is cost. How much are you willing to pay for your electricity? I know personally I don't want to pay much more than I am currently, and I know people who simply can't afford to pay more. On a cost per megawatt hour basis natural gas is simply the cheapest right now - especially once you start considering in all of the various quality factors.
- regarding nuclear not being a solution for dispatchable power. Doesn’t it make sense to keep adding nuclear as baseload and having gas / coal as the dispatchable? Additionally do the small reactors terraform/gates is working on solve this problem.
Absolutely - the solution to the problem is going to be multipronged. I think of SMRs as essentially breaking up the chunks of ramp rate required similar to an integral. Nonetheless I don't get excited about SMRs - it's not really a new concept, just being flashed around as new. Our forefathers were just as smart, if not smarter than us and there's a reason they didn't go this route. It's not like they didn't have fab shops and stuff to prefab in the 60s. That said - if they can reduce the capital requirements to deploy more nuclear I think we will see a lot more development.
Additionally, there's a lot of hub bub around the development costs of nuclear generation. A lot of blame has been fairly put on the NRC, but I think erring on the side of caution is the correct thing to do. I haven't been involved in a nuclear development project but I have a 2x1 combined cycle plant. I once heard a nuclear guy lament and use as an example of NRC incompetence that when they built the steam piping system, they built it from both ends and met up in the middle. He used that as an example of NRC ineptitude because the NRC made them redesign all the piping when it didn't meet up in the middle and was off by 2 feet. But the truth is that was for damn good reason. Steam piping is heavily stressed components and specifically engineered for location. When I was building a 2x1 we started at one end of the steam system and made damn sure everything was on location before moving forward - for specifically that reason the construction must meet design when it comes to any sort of safety critical item. We knew that if it wasnt on location it would have to be restressed. That's why I tend to think a lot of the cost overruns from Vogtle were simply due to poor design and contracting operations less so NRC incompetence. From a high level and without looking closely - theres a reason once bechtel got involved they were able to build it from essentially foundation to firing in 6 years.