OVERKILL
$100 Site Donor 2021
The oldest operating Nuclear power plant in the United States, the tiny (636MWe) Oyster Creek facility, which commenced operation in 1969, will end its life having provided 50 years of power generation, retiring in 2019. It originally had its operating license extended until 2029.
The site produced roughly 4.6TWh (4,600GWh) a year and employs ~600 people directly, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:7.6GWh.
Over its lifespan, this facility will have produced ~230,000GWh.
New Jersey has invested heavily in PV over the last decade, reaching an installed capacity of 3,260MW as of the end of 2016, which yielded an output of 2,746GWh. Given a 20 year lifespan, and not accounting for degradation, that PV, which includes industrial and rooftop, will produce approximately 55,000GWh during its lifetime.
One of the primary issues pertaining to the operating costs of nuclear in the United States is the staff to output ratio. That is, a nuclear facility requires security and significant operational staffing, which is the primary expense. Since staffing does not track linearly with installed capacity, larger facilities with higher output are generally in a better position to be cost-competitive.
To draw a comparison to a newer US Nuclear plant we could look at Watts Bar, which has an installed capacity of 2,300MW with its two units producing 13,650GWh/year with a staff of 1,000 people. This gives us a much more favourable staff to output ratio of 1:13.65GWh.
For a Canadian comparison
- Point Lepreau is our only operating single-unit site with an installed capacity of 660MWe producing 5,000GWh/year. It has a staff of 470, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:10.6GWh.
- Darlington Nuclear, our 4-unit site with an installed capacity of 3,512MW producing 26,000GWh/year. It has a staff of 2,600, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:10GWh.
- Bruce Nuclear, the 8-unit CANDU has an installed capacity of 6,288MW and produced 49,019GWh in 2017. Bruce employs 3,800 people, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:12.9GWh, a bit lower than Watts Bar, but better than the other two. Of note here is that the Bruce site is not exclusively Nuclear. There is an ethanol plant as well as a marijuana grow-op on the expansive property.
I would expect, going forward, as gas pushes other thermals out of the market, to see these smaller nuke plants to be the first to go, particularly ones that are extremely old like Oyster Creek.
It will also be interesting to watch, going forward, what the required staffing will be for SMR's built as stand-alone. Currently pending new builds in Canada are both at already-staffed locations (Point Lepreau) skewing the numbers. SMR's are advertised as requiring far less staffing, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out in real-world application.
The site produced roughly 4.6TWh (4,600GWh) a year and employs ~600 people directly, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:7.6GWh.
Over its lifespan, this facility will have produced ~230,000GWh.
New Jersey has invested heavily in PV over the last decade, reaching an installed capacity of 3,260MW as of the end of 2016, which yielded an output of 2,746GWh. Given a 20 year lifespan, and not accounting for degradation, that PV, which includes industrial and rooftop, will produce approximately 55,000GWh during its lifetime.
One of the primary issues pertaining to the operating costs of nuclear in the United States is the staff to output ratio. That is, a nuclear facility requires security and significant operational staffing, which is the primary expense. Since staffing does not track linearly with installed capacity, larger facilities with higher output are generally in a better position to be cost-competitive.
To draw a comparison to a newer US Nuclear plant we could look at Watts Bar, which has an installed capacity of 2,300MW with its two units producing 13,650GWh/year with a staff of 1,000 people. This gives us a much more favourable staff to output ratio of 1:13.65GWh.
For a Canadian comparison
- Point Lepreau is our only operating single-unit site with an installed capacity of 660MWe producing 5,000GWh/year. It has a staff of 470, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:10.6GWh.
- Darlington Nuclear, our 4-unit site with an installed capacity of 3,512MW producing 26,000GWh/year. It has a staff of 2,600, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:10GWh.
- Bruce Nuclear, the 8-unit CANDU has an installed capacity of 6,288MW and produced 49,019GWh in 2017. Bruce employs 3,800 people, giving it a staff to output ratio of 1:12.9GWh, a bit lower than Watts Bar, but better than the other two. Of note here is that the Bruce site is not exclusively Nuclear. There is an ethanol plant as well as a marijuana grow-op on the expansive property.
I would expect, going forward, as gas pushes other thermals out of the market, to see these smaller nuke plants to be the first to go, particularly ones that are extremely old like Oyster Creek.
It will also be interesting to watch, going forward, what the required staffing will be for SMR's built as stand-alone. Currently pending new builds in Canada are both at already-staffed locations (Point Lepreau) skewing the numbers. SMR's are advertised as requiring far less staffing, so it will be interesting to see how that pans out in real-world application.
