Submitted by filosoful t3_yxm3fo in Futurology
UniversalMomentum t1_iwppclc wrote
Reply to comment by OptimalConcept143 in Overhyping hydrogen as a fuel risks endangering net-zero goals by filosoful
We can dream, but I'll have to see real world LCOE stats before I start accepting Fusion as a cheap option. Until then it has horrible LCOE because it's all investments and no power output.
Nuclear has such a long history of claiming much cheaper costs than it winds up producing and with such high complexity I have my doubts it willproduce wind/solar level cheap energy.
Same thing happened with fission. On paper it was much cheaper than averaged real life costs. Plus nuclear LCOE doesn't take real long term waste storage or inevitable accidents into account. They are cheating LCOE pretty hard on the nuclear side just like the fossil fuel side and all it's externalized long term costs.
Also the problem of just convincing a country that can't build nuclear reactors to switch a huge chunk of its power generation over to nuclear reactors and then be completely dependent on one or a handful of countries that can maintain those reactors. As well as venting the countries making Fusion reactions to export to developing nations.
On Paper those obstacles might not look huge, but I'm pretty sure they are.
Of fusion can produce a levelized cost of energy around $25 per megawatt hour then it will at least be a good option for the handful of countries that can build the reactors, but I doubt it will scale out globally.
Try to think about it like you're the developing country and America has highly proprietary power plant design that it wants you to invest in and will require you to basically stay in America's favor or not be able to fix your own power plants.
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