Are Chinese Nuclear Plants Cheaper than U.S. Wind and Solar?
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
-
Vogtle Electric Generating Plant
13 min read
The article extensively discusses Plant Vogtle units 3 and 4 as the cautionary example of U.S. nuclear cost overruns ($17 billion over budget, $15,000/kW). Understanding the full history of this project—the only new nuclear construction in the U.S. in 30 years—provides crucial context for why American nuclear costs have spiraled compared to China's.
-
Hualong One
12 min read
This is China's flagship domestically-designed third-generation nuclear reactor, central to their cost reduction success. The article discusses how China builds 'only a handful of reactor types repeatedly'—the Hualong One is the primary example of this standardization strategy achieving economies of scale.
-
Capacity factor
10 min read
The article's cost comparison hinges on capacity factors (34% vs 42% for wind, nuclear running at ~90%). This technical concept determines whether Chinese nuclear is actually cheaper than renewables—understanding why nuclear achieves 90%+ while wind/solar achieve 25-42% is essential to evaluating the article's central argument.
A quick note: This piece marks two years of Energy Bad Boys on Substack. During this time, we’ve published 90 articles, been cited in Congressional hearings, influenced federal and state legislation, and gained over 10,300 subscribers (with 298 paid!). We feel like we’ve added value to the energy conversation in our own irreverent way, and for that, we are incredibly grateful to our readers who make it possible.
The most rewarding part of the journey has been the friends we’ve made along the way. Thanks to everyone who has been with us from the beginning and those who have just hopped aboard for the ride.
Now, for the rest of the story.
Chinese Nuclear: Cheaper than U.S. Wind and Solar?
On October 22nd, the New York Times published a fascinating story detailing the astonishing cost declines in Chinese nuclear reactors. These cost declines prompted us to wonder: Are these nuclear power plants cheaper than U.S. wind and solar?
The answer is yes, even when the costs of delivering reliable power to the grid are not accounted for.
Hidden in the success of cost declines for Chinese nuclear reactors is the path forward for America, which will need to replicate China’s success in quickly and affordably building new reactors if it hopes to restart its nuclear industry and make nuclear competitive with other forms of electricity generation.
What’s Behind the Low Cost of Chinese Nuclear Facilities?
To begin, the success behind Chinese nuclear reactors didn’t come without help from the government. According to the NYT, China’s success starts with heavy government support. Three state-owned nuclear developers receive cheap government-backed loans to build new reactors, which is valuable because financing can account for one-third of costs. The Chinese government also requires electric grid operators to purchase power from nuclear plants at favorable rates.
Principally, we don’t favor subsidization or government mandates for any energy source and would prefer a free market landscape. However, we also understand that, practically, energy subsidies are currently the name of the game, and the subsidization of intermittent, unreliable generators has resulted in heavily distorted energy markets that are struggling to supply the country’s growing energy needs. If we’re going to subsidize anything, it might as well be energy sources that can reliably serve the grid, actually lower costs in the future, and repair the damage done from decades of favoring unreliable energy sources—and not wind
...This excerpt is provided for preview purposes. Full article content is available on the original publication.