Carl Surran reports that GE Hitachi must innovate to remain viable as the economics of nuclear power plants often wrap the construction of new facilities in red tape, a top official said this week at the 2018 State Energy Conference of North Carolina. Executive VP Jon Ball says GE Hitachi is developing a reactor called the BWRX-300 that is far smaller than traditional reactors - ~15.5K cm vs. some other reactors that can stand as large as 161K cm - and cost-competitive at ~$700M.
GE Hitachi has targeted production at $2,000/KW, a number where federal estimates show nuclear is extremely competitive with renewable technologies; the company says it thus far has reduced the costs of BWRX-300 production to $2,250/kw. “Hitting this [2,000/kw] target is relevant, and if new nuclear is going to have a future going forward, these are the kind of price targets that we’re going to have to hit," Ball tells the Wilmington Star News.
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