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tanrgith t1_jcr8eo7 wrote

Reply to comment by BranchLatter4294 in Rolls-Royce go-ahead to build a nuclear reactor on Moon - Scientists and engineers are working on the micro-reactor programme that will help humans to live and work on Earth's natural satellite by Gari_305

You're gonna need a whole lot of batteries to support 2 weeks of energy needs

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BranchLatter4294 t1_jcrbxc7 wrote

About 3 typical EV battery packs. Six for redundancy.

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ItsAConspiracy t1_jctyfgi wrote

If each of those EV batteries is a 100 kilowatt-hour Tesla battery, and your lunar base uses just one kilowatt like an average American house, then sure, three batteries will last for (almost) two weeks since there are 336 hours in two weeks.

But Rolls-Royce is talking about a reactor that can provide megawatts. If we need a megawatt of power instead of a kilowatt, then we multiply our battery requirement by a factor of a thousand.

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BranchLatter4294 t1_jcuvm6g wrote

Yes, if you're building a city. Not sure we are at that stage yet. And mirrors in orbit could still direct sunlight to the panels even during the night weeks.

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ItsAConspiracy t1_jcuzi3u wrote

Depends, if they start mining then they could easily need a megawatt or two. Which is probably why Rolls-Royce is including that size in their designs.

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