this post was submitted on 23 Jan 2024
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The US government opens 22 million acres of federal lands to solar::The Biden administration has updated the roadmap for solar development to 22 million acres of federal lands in the US West.

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[–] loopedcandle@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

It's not a simple issue. It is very complicated. Permitting, real estate, time to build, construction offsets, battery needs (solar's weakest point likely).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source

I'm more of a let's do both, and we'll everything we can, kinda guy.

[–] wikibot@lemmy.world 2 points 9 months ago

Here's the summary for the wikipedia article you mentioned in your comment:

Different methods of electricity generation can incur a variety of different costs, which can be divided into three general categories: 1) wholesale costs, or all costs paid by utilities associated with acquiring and distributing electricity to consumers, 2) retail costs paid by consumers, and 3) external costs, or externalities, imposed on society. Wholesale costs include initial capital, operations & maintenance (O&M), transmission, and costs of decommissioning. Depending on the local regulatory environment, some or all wholesale costs may be passed through to consumers. These are costs per unit of energy, typically represented as dollars/megawatt hour (wholesale). The calculations also assist governments in making decisions regarding energy policy.

^to^ ^opt^ ^out^^,^ ^pm^ ^me^ ^'optout'.^ ^article^ ^|^ ^about^

[–] IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world -2 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I disagree, it is a simple issue: Do you want to pay way more than you need to for electricity?

"These stark differences are echoed in the most recent Levelized Cost of Energy Analysis by Lazard, a leading financial advisory and asset management firm. Their findings suggest that the cost per kilowatt (KW) for utility-scale solar is less than $1,000, while the comparable cost per KW for nuclear power is between $6,500 and $12,250. At present estimates, the Vogtle nuclear plant will cost about $10,300 per KW, near the top of Lazard’s range. This means nuclear power is nearly 10 times more expensive to build than utility-scale solar on a cost per KW basis."

https://www.energysage.com/about-clean-energy/nuclear-energy/solar-vs-nuclear/

"“Nuclear power is irrelevant in today's electricity capacity market,” the report's main author, French nuclear consultant Mycle Schneider, told pv magazine, noting that power generation from nuclear power dropped by 4%, while non-hydro renewables increased by 13%.

According to the report, the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) of solar PV dropped by approximately 90% over the past few years, while the LCOE of nuclear energy climbed by around 33%."

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2021/09/28/renewables-vs-nuclear-256-0/

[–] BronzedBonobo@midwest.social 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Your first link is from a solar company. Mycle Schneider is a “self-taught anti-nuclear activist”. Cherry picking does make things simple.

But regardless, it’s worth considering the self-fulfilling prophecy. Starting with the state of public discourse leading to tax-incentives heavily favoring solar and wind. And how these articles’ statements exclude all manner of externalities.

[–] IchNichtenLichten@lemmy.world -1 points 9 months ago

If you had bothered to do more than skim the article you'd know that it links to the underlying data.