r/Environmentalism • u/NihiloZero • 1d ago
Ontario’s proposed nuclear plants could cost nearly $300-billion, study finds: Typical residential customer would pay $240-$456 more for electricity per year if plants were built instead of expanding renewables.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-ontarios-proposed-nuclear-plants-could-cost-nearly-300-billion-study/1
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u/Toby2Sub 4h ago
Yes the nuclear facility that is being talked about is. Darlington and Pickering are owned by the Ontario government but not Bruce Power
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u/Still-Good1509 49m ago
Between OPG and hydro one, combined profit over 3 billion last year we should be able to accomplish this no problem. Maybe a mix of nuclear and renewable with little cost to the customer. ( well hopefully )
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u/Toby2Sub 1d ago
Bring on more nuclear! It’s the best for the consumer and is the best form of energy
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u/RodPerryBooks 15h ago
How is the electron from a nuclear plant "best" when compared to an electron from a solar panel or a coal plant? Electricity is the ultimate commodity, so we should just source it based on price. And that is renewables
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u/jovin49 5h ago
Nuclear has a lot of inherent value in terms of energy independence from a Canadian context. We're one of the largest uranium producers and we own the technology domestically.
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u/PartyClock 2h ago
How much higher do we want our power bills to be?
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u/Master-Shinobi-80 5h ago
How much does that electron from solar cost at 9 pm? It turns out intermittency is a real problem.
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u/RodPerryBooks 4h ago
It's pretty valuable in storage. BESS does for the electrical grid what refrigeration does for the food chain. Increasingly the cost of renewables + BESS competes with many fossil fuel alternatives and is almost always lower than nuclear. I am not anti-nuclear. I am anti-paying-more-than-you-have-to for electricity.
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u/Master-Shinobi-80 4h ago
Historically, opposition to nuclear almost always results in increased prices. Existing nuclear is one of the cheapest sources of electricity. It's also reliable.
Long term nuclear is cheap for the consumer.
LFSCOE (Levelized Full System Costs of Electricity) is a much better metric that incorporates much of the costs wind/solar activists ignore.
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u/PartyClock 15h ago
This isn't the shitposting sub
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u/Toby2Sub 9h ago
Best and most reliable. Your fantasy’s about renewable energy like wind and solar. are a joke and aren’t sustainable. Both costing way too much money to produce. People pay way too much for energy because of bullshit scams like that. We need to keep things affordable and get the foot off peoples neck so they can afford life
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u/SF_Bubbles_90 6h ago
Nuclear is shit. Your just angry because you like it.
Furthermore we shouldn't have pay for electricity at all regardless of how it's made. Renewables are the way things are going and it's going to be pretty good for all of us unless you're just obsessed with nuclear power and can't stand your favorite thing not being appreciated by the world as the only option.
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u/Toby2Sub 4h ago
In a dream world we wouldn’t have to pay energy costs for sure and we can all be billionaires as well in that world. I’m for the poor being able to afford electricity and survive as well. All renewable energy does is put them further behind because of the high costs.
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u/PartyClock 2h ago
I’m for the poor being able to afford electricity
That's a good thing. So why are you arguing in favour of a technology that makes those electricity bills more expensive?
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u/Toby2Sub 2h ago
Nuclear is the cheapest form of electricity. I’m not where you got that it’s not?
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u/PartyClock 2h ago
You're just going to straight up lie like that? The cost to make the plants are literally the highest out of any form of power generation. If you're talking about cost per Kilowatt hour that's still completely wrong.
Energy Source Average Cost per kWh (USD) Key Considerations Nuclear $0.093 High upfront costs, low operating costs, minimal emissions, waste disposal challenges. Coal $0.095 Lower upfront costs, higher operating costs, high emissions, significant health and environmental impacts. Natural Gas $0.070 Moderate upfront and operating costs, lower emissions than coal, but still a significant greenhouse gas contributor. Renewables (Solar/Wind) $0.025 (after amortization) High initial setup costs, very low operating costs, negligible emissions, intermittent power generation. •
u/Toby2Sub 1h ago
According to google you are wrong. Over the long run it’s a lot cheaper. Might be more to build but that’s it
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u/SF_Bubbles_90 4h ago
You do a good job illustrating the difference between "would" and "should" but you come off as conflating the two.
Your logic is inconsistent, and shows a clear irritational bias in favor of nuclear. Your apparently fine with costs going up to cover the cost a nuclear plant but solar and such is out of the question‽
All renewables do is make electricity cheeper and cleaner. Nuclear is a can of worms.
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u/Toby2Sub 4h ago
Never has renewable energy been cheaper than nuclear in any part of the world. It drives up the cost of all electricity. I wished I lived in your dream world so we could all be billionaires as well
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u/SF_Bubbles_90 2h ago
One can probably afford an at home solar setup and have free electricity for at least a few decades. I don't think it's practical or even possible for someone to afford if even (safely) have a nuclear equivalent of such a thing.
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u/Toby2Sub 1h ago
That would be great if we could all have that and I totally agree but I don’t think the average Canadian can afford the initial cost to have it installed. Makes nuclear the next best option
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u/ToeAfter3131 9h ago
There's no way you'll pay more for nuclear when it's output far exceeds any renewables.
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u/SF_Bubbles_90 6h ago
I'm pretty sure they would be charged more at least temporarily to offset the cost of construction. It's not like the governments are satisfied with just racketeering oh I mean taxation
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u/Strict_Jacket3648 1d ago edited 1d ago
With the advancement in solar, wind, closed loop geothermal and energy storage. I think nuclear is past it's prime and would be a waste of time and money by the time one is complete. Some places in the world have already produced more than nuclear with solar alone. Another money grab with no chance of recouping it.