2023-09-09 12:55:00
Nevertheless, the British consultant insists that nuclear power plants, unlike wind turbines and photovoltaic panels, can produce electricity 24 hours a day, even if there is no wind and no sun. According to him, we should therefore not compare the high costs of nuclear power with those of wind power and photovoltaics.
According to Woodmac, the real competitors of nuclear power are geothermal energy, hydrogen power plants (blue and green), gas power plants accompanied by a CO2 storage device and long-term electricity storage systems. All these technologies are capable of providing carbon-free electricity even if there is no wind or sun. And to prevail against them, nuclear power will have to lower its costs, believes Woodmac. “At present, nuclear power is just one technology among others providing carbon-free energy in a non-intermittent manner,” insists the consultant. According to him, it will be necessary to support the nuclear sector to help it develop. Both by granting subsidies, but also by harmonizing international safety rules and facilitating the granting of permits.
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For his part, Matt Robinson, Head of Strategic Services at the American consultant PSC, believes that nuclear competitors should deploy significantly more quickly than him, by 2035-2040. Indeed, given the urgency of reducing our CO₂ emissions, technologies that can be deployed quickly have a serious advantage, he believes. “The speed of deployment of low-carbon technologies is a crucial factor to take into account,” says Matt Robinson. According to him, this obligation to move quickly could favor hydrogen power plants, which are quicker to install than new nuclear power plants. “Turbines, compatible with both gas and hydrogen, are already being deployed on the market,” says Matt Robinson. “And it is expected that these turbines will run solely on hydrogen by 2030.” However, in the longer term (by 2050), the consultant believes that nuclear power could have a more important role to play. In particular to decarbonize the last 20% of electricity production.
Ugo Salerno, CEO of the Italian engineering company RINA, is more positive about nuclear power. “Nuclear energy will be a cornerstone of our energy mix,” he explains. “While alternative technologies are very promising, the role of nuclear energy will remain essential.” He specifies, for example, that a gas power plant accompanied by a CO₂ storage device has a greater environmental impact than a nuclear power plant.
Finally, Damien Ernst, professor at ULiège, thinks that several of the aforementioned technologies are a real threat to nuclear power. “We are going to see the development of energy hubs around the world, where electricity production costs will be very low,” he explains. “I am thinking of very sunny or very windy places where wind turbines and photovoltaic panels will be able to produce renewable electricity at very low costs. With this cheap electricity, it would be possible to produce green hydrogen at a competitive price, according to Damien Ernst. According to him, it would also be possible to combine this green hydrogen with carbon captured in the air, to produce relatively inexpensive synthetic methane.
However, according to Damien Ernst, power plants running on synthetic methane or hydrogen are a serious competitor for nuclear power. In short, the competition will be tough.
Note that the vast majority of experts consulted believe that wind power and photovoltaics will account for the lion’s share of green growth. It is behind these two technologies that the battle will rage.
Finally, let us emphasize that building new nuclear power plants has become vital for the nuclear industry. According to Woodmac, approximately 75% of the current fleet was installed between 1970 and 1990.
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