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Siemens Energy and Rolls-Royce design mini-nuclear power plants | Health insurance companies call for measures against deficit

Siemens Energy and Rolls-Royce design mini-nuclear power plants

Siemens Energy $SIE (-1.47%) and Rolls-Royce $RR. (-1.2%) have recently signed an exciting supply contract to develop mini nuclear reactors in the UK. These new modular reactors are not only simpler but also cheaper to build than the conventional nuclear power stations we are familiar with. Siemens Energy will provide key equipment such as steam turbines and generators. An official contract is expected to be signed by the end of the year, further increasing the anticipation for this innovative technology.

With an impressive output of up to 470 megawatts, the planned reactors could supply around 1.1 million households with electricity. Nevertheless, there are also critical voices: Opponents of nuclear power warn that a large number of smaller plants could bring new risks. The nuclear industry, on the other hand, emphasizes the advantages of this technology and sees it as a forward-looking solution. In countries such as the UK, Czech Republic and Poland, the development of such small modular reactors is being driven forward, while Germany is phasing out nuclear energy.

Health insurance companies call for measures to tackle deficit

The health insurance funds are facing an unexpectedly large challenge: the deficit is higher than expected. The head of the association, Pfeiffer, is pushing for immediate measures to stop the continuous rise in expenditure. She is proposing an expenditure moratorium to ensure that health insurance funds do not spend more than they earn with the current contribution rates. Price or fee increases that exceed current revenues should be avoided. This step would give politicians the time they need to tackle the necessary structural reforms in the healthcare system. A fundamental change of course in healthcare policy is considered urgently necessary in order to stabilize the financial situation of the health insurance funds in the long term.

Sources:

https://www.n-tv.de/wirtschaft/Siemens-Energy-entwickelt-mit-Rolls-Royce-Mini-Atomkraftwerke-article25597452.html

https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/krankenkassen-defizit-hoeher-als-erwartet-verband-fordert-massnahmen-a-cd7e2e02-70f5-4125-b201-00bdfc72f15b

7 Comments

Moritz@leveragegrinding

There are 2 problems with small nuclear power plants. One feasible, one not.

1. they have to be much cheaper to build than the old large ones, as that is the main criterion. There are no actual construction figures yet, so it's all speculation.
It could happen, it's a question of political will and innovation.

But:
2. like all nuclear power plants, these must also be run so that the electricity produced is as cheap as possible (logically, acquisition costs + maintenance + other costs divided by the electricity produced = electricity costs)
However, as more and more countries have higher shares of renewables, which fluctuate greatly, they need balancing power generators) If you use nuclear in this way (no one does) it becomes extremely expensive. If it is not used in this way, it does not completely cover dark phases, but simply increases electricity production throughout... Which also leads to even more negative prices at other times of the year.

For this reason, the capacity utilization of French nuclear reactors has been falling for years, it was now at 64% (again: the higher, the more electricity you can offset the acquisition costs against)

From a German perspective:

Even if we have to import electricity from other European countries in 4 weeks of the year, if we only rely on wind and solar, this is the most sensible alternative for the economy as a whole. Spain and Italy will also come to this conclusion at some point, as the sunny days are much more frequent there. France has made its energy policy decision.

Many countries are now launching new nuclear projects thanks to good lobbying and the bogus justification "we always need cheap electricity".

As a nuclear power producer in the middle of Europe, France could provide this security on its own (apart from Eastern Europe), which is how the European electricity trade works anyway. In addition, storage facilities are booming and will compensate for minor fluctuations.

Building nuclear power plants for 3 weeks of calm a year is economically incredibly stupid and is based on a shitty national ideology.

In Europe, the greenest and then the cheapest electricity is always used. If we build nuclear reactors now, they must be given priority, otherwise they would be too expensive to ever be used.

Since they are not coal-fired power plants, it's not really the end of the world, but it's a waste of money to the point of no return.

(I won't even go into nuclear waste and planning time now).

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strategy_savant_1286@strategy_savant_1286

@leveragegrinding Next-generation SMRs are still a prerequisite for defense drive technology in particular.

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