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According to the report, which examines the potential for fusion in the UK, the government has estimated the 2040 levelised costs of electricity (LCOE) for the UK for standalone offshore wind, onshore wind and large-scale solar of £40/MWh, £44/MWh and £33/MWh respectively.
The £60-£70/MWh cost for fusion “provides the first target for nuclear fusion to be economically competitive”, the report concludes. It says fusion is uncompetitive today with other low-carbon options available in the UK – including wind and light-water nuclear fission reactors. The reason for this is the combination of a relatively high construction cost (£5,887/kWe) and a low capacity factor (56%).
The International Energy Agency has put the LCOE for advanced nuclear at $63/MWh (about £45/MWh).
With an improved, large fusion design the construction cost decreases to £4,135/kWe and the capacity factor to 75%. These two effects improve the fusion economics, decreasing the LCOE into the range £60 to £97/MWh. For a small fusion design, the energy cost of 75 units is in the region of £69- £99/MWh – a range that is comparable to 10 units of large fusion reactors and also the energy cost of LWR fission reactors.
- Source: Nucnet
- Date: Saturday, 23 October 2021
- Original article: nucnet.org/news/capital-costs-are-high-but-can-be-reduced-to-economically-competitive-level-10-4-2021
Experimental and theoretical research has shown 'spherical' tokamaks to be a "fast route to fusion" compared with more "conventional" tokamak devices such as Joint European Torus (JET), according to David Kingham, chief executive of Tokamak Energy.
- Source: World Nuclear News
- Date: Monday, 30 January 2017
- Original article: world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Spherical-tokamak-to-put-fusion-power-in-grid-by-2
The UK Department of Energy & Climate Change has a problem with the world’s largest stocks of reactor-grade plutonium. The international association Environmentalists for Nuclear Energy view this as a one-time opportunity to benefit several advanced nuclear energy developments, none of which are acknowledged by DECC. By Brendan McNamara
Weak, short distance radiation makes it warm; so it is safe to hold but not to swallow. UK reactor grade plutonium is unsuitable for making weapons. And small-scale uses of UK plutonium could never go critical
- Source: NEI Magazine
- Date: Friday, 27 May 2011
- Original article: neimagazine.com/news/newssmarter-uses-for-plutonium