It has been inspiring to see Ukraine liberating a strategic section of its territory over the last week, not so seeing Russia sending missiles into Ukraine’s thermal, nuclear power, and water facilities and cutting off gas to greater Europe. Never has a story like the attached of Finland accelerating toward energy independence from Russia been more topical. The Olkilnoto3 new nuclear unit and wind power additions collectively generate about +26% of new zero-carbon energy for Finland. And new transmission line to Sweden will allow 800-900 energy exchange between these countries.
I’m sure nuclear proponents will pile on the world needs more 24/7 power, and nuclear is the answer. While I believe this new plant should operate for the foreseeable future, its license was started in the year 2000…construction started in 2005, its original cost of 3 billion euros ballooned to 12B. Its LCOE is 42 c/MWh. That compares with wind in Finland at 25 c/MWh. Instead of 17 years of actual construction for the nuclear facility, most of the wind capacity was constructed in the last 3-4 years, and the rate of installation has massively accelerated, according to the article.
But this post isn’t about nuclear vs. renewables; both are carbon-free energy, and we need that right now. It’s about getting off Russian fossil fuel asap, which is being used to pay for aggression toward Ukraine and energy security for Europe. Renewables, plus transmission, are the key. The speed we can build in both the wind and solar industries is staggering and I am hopeful to see a massive surge of renewable projects and transmission completed in Europe over the next year. Our industries are ready.
Read the post here.
Shug
