Comment on Renewables blow past nuclear when it comes to cheap datacenter juice
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 weeks agoVirginia class nuclear subs cost $2.7B.
Submarines aren’t normally used for bulk transport of civilian cargo.
The prototype NS Savannah cost $46M to build in 1955 (roughly $500B today) with half the cost being its nuclear engine. So, on the high end of modern container shipping, but with the benefits of rarely needing to refuel.
And that’s before an economy of scale on bulk construction.
Wind power is path to decarbonizing shipping.
Sailing ships don’t operate well at the scale we’re building.
humanspiral@lemmy.ca 3 weeks ago
The nuclear industry likes to lowball the cost of SMRs (heart of nuclear ships), but the overall cost difference of power types is the truth. Aircraft carriers are also 4x the cost of diesel, but with only 2x the operational costs. An aircraft carrier requires 1000 extra crew to supervise the reactor.