Not that cheap.
Concrete related material and construction cost is important in total cost (~25% of total plant
cost for 1970’s PWRs
Have you seen how bulky and overbuilt toasters were in the 1970s? Nobody’s building gen two reactors these days. We have many, much lighter-weight designs these days with much better safety profiles that don’t require all those high-pressure containment domes.
Cool! I mean look, I have nothing in principle against nuclear energy, it’s an incredible thing. But this is the kind of thing I’ve heard for such a long time. Then when I look for examples, I find, for example, that the 2020 report from China says:
No new approvals have been granted for the past three years, amid spiraling costs, delays for key projects and safety concerns about new technologies.
In Finland, a new reactor had a estimated cost of €3 billion, but ultimately cost €8.5 billion (!), amid multiple failures of planning and construction.
Or the new French one, where Wikipedia says of the latest reactor:
As of 2020 the project is more than five times over budget and years behind schedule. Various safety problems have been raised, including weakness in the steel used in the reactor.[1] In July 2019, further delays were announced, pushing back the commercial date to the end 2022.
They keep telling us the new designs will be cheaper, better, and safer, but actually building one is not easy.
Meanwhile we just keep building more solar and wind and it seems to work pretty well.
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Electric car tare weight is that excessive in batterystorage to go a limited distance the roads n bridges carparks and concrete will be loads to suit it’s builds to a certain maximum weight in them and to store them will turn concret into rubble in time more repairs more costs rego expenses up high margins battery recycle wastage the max in landfill when it comes will wearing out as to loads on trucks to stop in use in wet n dry unstable roads mean more accidents in breakage more work n wear more accidents because of overloads of weight distributed over good n services public transport ferries just as ships n submarines torpedos and weaponary planes 
no way i would go on a plane loaded with heavy turbulent batteries
And for solar electricity will it cover street lights traffic lights railway lines in areas in distances and cities in industrial cables and technology in public waterstations dams overhauls machinery conversions and services facilities in repairs ? Besides our seasonal changes and reserves for the farming and country folk running businesses ? So much math for the brain teasers that have eco solutions to give out to all of us to share how much does the queen of england take take to then on taxes on and off our shorelines then ? Will counties share their energy levels then ? Will they have much to spare ? Yes im am a over thinker but i do care as we all do …can Australia and the royals get this right for our sake n theirs ? And the underprivileged counties will they gain wealth as the lose coverage in overcrowded built up populations ?
My friends in the industry (I hope I’m not misquoting them!) feel that it’s a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy: the public is scared and skeptical, so the regulators and engineers play it extra cautious, which causes all kinds of inefficiencies and delays as everything is second-guessed by everyone, and then that ballooning cost is used to justify the initial skepticism. Meanwhile climate change is just getting worse and worse. I can understand why they’re frustrated.
I cant wait til the day climate change pressures will bring out steam running engines and hydro energy is made that way for a cleaner environment and way of living but the goverment cant make money out of air n water can they or can they I wonder whats important to them in reality without profits in wealth spendings ? Go back to the steam day trains of wood n coal hmm clearing forest trees would be a no go unless farming trees could give wealth away once again residing here ? Wheres the positive thinking 
In eco studying i suggested to the professors that we should use bore water underground to make water consistency’s energy back in 2011 n they said that would be too expensive ! So thats when they suggested i chain myself to parliament gates to be heard of my advice in the act because the professors were only governed to teach what they were told to say so that rings a bell doesnt it 🥸:open_book:
While i was there i had a epthany to invent a natural energy compound made of corn starch n extractions in a sugar cube size for dangerous goods to reserve for natural disasters of flame extinguishment by extracting oxygen out of fuel tanks in a fire incidents for cars firetrucks farming machinery mining equipment ect … epithany csme from the time when the bush fires took lives of a group of firefighter trapped by a bushfire that surround their truck n took there lives … impacts like that make people want to make the world a better place to live in … if i had the back up like some do i would make the change from myself too all things are possible if you let them …
This topic reminded me of a short video Carl Sagan’s Pale Blue Dot.
Doesn’t it appear sad, foolish and shameful, from this detached bystander perspective, that many leaders, and rich and famous, compete, seek after wealth and fame, exploit free natural resources and other species and fight? But how to help them see impacts of their behaviour on larger scale, I am not really sure. Would people like the owners of Facebook and of other social media really understand the message of this video and the Buddha’s message and warning given to Kalamas in AN 3.65?
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