Reply #10: Why would it be coal?

[kristopher]

Renewables roll out faster and are a better investment when the grid is structured the way they have it. It takes decades to pay off the investments and no one is going to invest in a generator that is going to have a steadily decreasing slice of the demand. That is the same problem confronting nuclear everywhere, not just china.

You have made it very, very clear how important the high capacity factor is for nuclear's economics. But if Europe reaches it 2020 goals on energy efficiency it causes a projected load factor for new nuclear of 76% (no matter technical capability) and if they hit their 2020 renewable target the number drops to 56%. Before you slip into a fugue where you start spouting about how they will sell it all because they drop the price you'd better remember that their total costs are not just the marginal operating costs. Of course, like all the other supporters of nuclear power you think the money invested to build the plants is free and need not be paid back, but a lot of people disagree with that.

A totally renewable distributed grid is not only possible, it is preferred to a centralized system built around thermal generation.

You are grasping at straws and talking nonsense.