Reply #5: umm...that's $17 - 24 billion depending on which reactors they build [View All]

[jpak]

http://a4nr.org/library/economics/02.21.2008-nucleonicsweek

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The company said the cost for building the two units ranges from $12.1 billion to $17.8 billion for Westinghouse's AP1000, and $16.5 billion to $24.3 billion for General Electric's ESBWR.

FPL spokesman Mayco Villafana said last week that the company reached its cost estimates by revising a 2004 study of overnight costs done by a consortium of companies, led by the Tennessee Valley Authority in coordination with DOE. That study found the cost of building two ABWRs would be $1,611 per kilowatt. In updating those figures for 2007, FPL said, it found that costs for materials, equipment and labor had risen more than 50% by some indexes since 2004.

In its revisions, FPL determined that overnight costs for the power plant island and supporting construction would range from $6.7 billion, or $2,444/kW, to $9.8 billion, or $3,582/kW.

FPL added owner's costs, including security, cooling towers, site work and land costs ranging from $1.27 billion, or $466/kW, to $1.96 billion, or $717/kW. Additionally, FPL estimated transmission costs and allowance for cost risk ranging from $541.7 million, or $198/kW, to $663.6 million, or $242/kW.

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Now.

The 132 MW Kibby Mountain wind farm in Maine will cost $270 million (all costs including a 27 mile transmission line). It will produce 375 million kwh per year (a projected capacity factor of 32% based on on-site wind data).

That's $2045/kW vs. $5780/kW - $8071/kW for FPL's new nukes.

<snip>

FPL then added an 11% carrying charge for construction costs and factored in cost escalation over the scope of the project to reach its final figures of $5,780/kW to $8,071/kW depending on the scope of the project and inflation.

<snip>

$17 billion would buy 8311 MW of new wind capacity...

$24 billion would by 11,733 MW of new wind capacity...

Even accounting for wind capacity factors, wind is cheaper than nuclear.

Way cheaper...