Nuclear - future for Ireland?

charlie14 · 30-04-2026 09:01PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124433697#Comment_124433697

I wasn`t asking the poster what the U.K. figure were for last year. With the poster being an engineer I imagined with knowing the capacity factor of each, the volume used and the electricity generated the poster would be able to work it out but apparently not.

Anyway…. any progress on revealing what your proposed plan is and how much it will cost, or are you so busy asking others for theirs that you do not have the time.

Capt'n Midnight · 30-04-2026 09:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124433733#Comment_124433733

Regardless the UK has a higher % of renewables on their grid and OCGT last year averaged 20MW for all intents and purposes they have phased it out.

Since you are the one proposing change to the current direction of travel the onus is on you to tell us how much you think nuclear will cost.

Should be easy.

All we have to do is deliver more power plant reactors than the people who had 84% of the reactors 34 years ago have done since.

And do it 10 years faster.

And do it for under 40% of the price.

And have no reactors abandoned when their real world rate was 40%.

And figure out how to provide zero carbon spinning reserve and backup.

Should be easy.

SeanW · 30-04-2026 10:33PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124433823#Comment_124433823

And if you want us to continue on our current course, the onus is on you to answer some basic questions.

Like where does your "transition fuel" - i.e. gas - come from?

That too, should be easy.

SeanW · 30-04-2026 10:44PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124431714#Comment_124431714

What's your alternative? Buy gas from Russia and fund their genocide in Ukraine?

Nobody can seem to tell me where the gas for the current plan is to come from!

Capt'n Midnight · 30-04-2026 11:34PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434012#Comment_124434012

Wow, stop and think for a minute.

If you are suggesting that something that can't replace gas very soon is bad then you are going to be shocked when I tell you that nuclear won't displace a single m3 of gas anytime in the next 20 years. And would then take years to supply anything other that a relatively small amount of power.

Any delay in nuclear means gas would be the default stopgap. Unless we had enough zero carbon generators that we didn't need nuclear , which is our current plan.

And since 40% of nuclear projects outside Asia were cancelled. And 100% that arrived were years late. And they were insanely over budget. And unreliable. Supporting nuclear means you are in effect planning for gas by failing to plan for nuclear's failure to deliver.

Birdnuts · 01-05-2026 02:04AM

An Taisce highliged yesterday how gas use is set to spiral off the back of governments Data Centre Plans - we are not a serious country when it comes to energy in this country.🙄

Consonata · 01-05-2026 08:48AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124433990#Comment_124433990

We will be just as dependent on gas with nuclear as we are with renewables.

Nuclear just happens to be much much more expensive.

bored65 · 01-05-2026 09:09AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434012#Comment_124434012

That’s precisely what Spain are doing

https://elpais.com/economia/2026-04-16/rusia-envia-a-espana-el-mayor-cargamento-de-gas-de-la-historia-en-el-primer-mes-de-guerra-en-oriente-proximo.html

Without gas as we seen their grid collapses

bored65 · 01-05-2026 09:11AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434108#Comment_124434108

When exactly is this “very soon” of yours?

2050 is 24 years away and even then under the 37GW offshore wind scenario you are unable to give the cost for we are still burning gas

There are gas burning plants being built in Ireland today with their business plan being they will be burning gas past 2050 to backup Chinese “renewables”

bored65 · 01-05-2026 09:11AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434355#Comment_124434355

France disagrees with you

Today

Consonata · 01-05-2026 10:01AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434398#Comment_124434398

1. France still depends on gas for the last 15-20% of energy, which is what we're discussing.

2. France's nuclear program has been around nearly half the lifetime of our state. To come even close, would require significant investment over decades, and would carry huge risk of lots of money being spent without a Kw of energy being generated.

bored65 · 01-05-2026 10:14AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434529#Comment_124434529

That’s a lie

In 2025 France used 16 TWh for electricity production (less than Ireland) which is 3% of their total production

https://analysesetdonnees.rte-france.com/en/annual-review-2025/generation#Overview

2. Many of the reactors have been extended to continue running way past 60+ years (some are at 40 already) in that time your offshore wind farm would be replaced 3x times

as of today EDF was requested to build 23GW of new reactors by 2050

and this gas use is why right now, today back here in the real world we are the second dirtiest country in EU when it comes to CO2 production per kWh

Producing 21.6x more co2 than France

Consonata · 01-05-2026 10:21AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434560#Comment_124434560

Many of the reactors have been extended to continue running way past 60+ years (some are at 40 already) in that time your offshore wind farm would be replaced 3x times

So how long would it take for a brand new nuclear power plant to be built in Ireland today? And what countries in Europe have done similar

bored65 · 01-05-2026 10:32AM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434583#Comment_124434583

Trying to brush off your erroneous claims that real world data demolished again?

10 years of go with South Korean or Polish option

12 years if go with French/Finnish next gen reactors

Faster if ask Ukrainians

Faster again if ask the Chinese whom the “greens” have no issue sourcing 95% of all “green” tech from with security backdoors and kill switches and all that good stuff

https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3350847/chinas-vast-nuclear-power-sector-now-able-build-50-reactors-time

That’s half the time to 2050 goal, btw France building another 8 EPRs by 2050 of 23GW

Consonata · 01-05-2026 12:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434620#Comment_124434620

So Poland is the only one of these that did not have a preexisting Nuclear industry, and has yet to complete a Nuclear reactor?

We are not going to be able to build Nuclear at the pace of France, this much is self evident.

bored65 · 01-05-2026 01:04PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434936#Comment_124434936

That’s your opinion

My opinion is that we will see rapid change once governments have to choose between giving 28bn+ to EU “overlords” or doing something

Failing to go nuclear (or at least pay the French to do it for us) will bring governments down one after another (especially those stupid enough to send billions out of country) as 2030s 40s and 50s roll around and we are still one of the dirtiest co2 emmiting countries in Europe with highest electricity prices

We ain’t a serious country and need to grow up, no spending in defence and massive wasteful spend on energy which leaves us with expensive and dirty energy

Even Eamon Ryan admitted he was wrong about nuclear as he can see where the wind is blowing (lol pun)

josip · 01-05-2026 01:35PM

We won't be paying fines to any "overlords".

We will have to buy carbon credits from other EU countries. We don't know what the cost of these credits will be, hence the "up to" in the reports and erroneously used as a final figure by those who wish to.

https://www.rte.ie/news/2025/0304/1500019-climate-report/

Busman Paddy Lasty · 01-05-2026 04:13PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434936#Comment_124434936

20 years for a French nuclear reactor on an existing site. Don't be listening or wasting time on trolls.

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/delay-in-flamanville-3-attaining-full-power

charlie14 · 01-05-2026 06:05PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435114#Comment_124435114

How much those payments will be do not disguise how poorly this plan has performed in relation to emissions.

This whole paying those that have over achieved is a bit moronic imo. It`s stick and no carrot which never works well. Especially when you consider that those likely to achieve this target will do so burning large volumes of wood on the "lets all pretend that hauling wood half way around the world before transporting it hundreds of kilometers by road to burn is carbon neutral" idea.

We could avoid paying fines by throwing up a raft of those wood burning plants to join the two we already have. I presume those that are opposed to the idea of nuclear - not in availing off it, just avoiding the heavy lifting - would have no problem with that ?

charlie14 · 01-05-2026 06:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435539#Comment_124435539

I wouldn`t worry myself over it Paddy if I was you. The French aren`t and they are going to build more nuclear plants. They made over €15 Bn.in the last three years exporting nuclear generated electricity, and we should not be cribbing get.about their nuclear. Like the rest of Europe we will be depending on it to keep the lights on.

That Celtic Interconnector will only be sending in one direction. As would the second one we are now keen to get from France as well.

cnocbui · 01-05-2026 06:46PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434355#Comment_124434355

Yeah, just like France, right, with their 14g per KWh of CO2 vs Irelands 264g. France is Sooo dependent on gas… not.

Nuclear is cheaper than both solar and offshore wind in terms of the energy produced.

Busman Paddy Lasty · 01-05-2026 06:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435889#Comment_124435889

Turning over cash because you have been bailed out by the government isn't the same as 'making' money hand over fist.

It is fact this expansion and also Hinckley have not been on programme or budget.

Where would you put nuclear plants on the island of Ireland?

Capt'n Midnight · 01-05-2026 07:14PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434397#Comment_124434397

Renewables are replacing gas right now. And will replace more gas as they are rolled out.

Nuclear won't replace any gas for a very long time. An almost complete reactor produces no power. It's all or nothing.

Unless you have a plant to keep the lights on until a fleet of nuclear reactors has been successfully commissioned you are planning for a fallback to gas.

And to be clear, based on their actual output none of the reactors built outside Asia in the last 34 years has been successfully commissioned yet. They would be a burden on the Irish grid.

bored65 · 01-05-2026 07:17PM

No answers on dates

No answers on costings

Very one sided debate so far while the rest of the world moves on

Capt'n Midnight · 01-05-2026 07:22PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124434620#Comment_124434620

"12 years if go with French/Finnish next gen reactors" I think you are getting confused with the lengths of the delays.

Hinkley-C was supposed to be powering Christmas dinners by 2017. It might start power in 20230 said EDF who have been consistently wrong about prices and dates.

The UK spent 6 years arguing about how to pay for Sizewell-C. The Financial Times reckon the new funding model will cost £100Bn.

Please explain how solar panels have backdoors ?

Rolls Royce turbines most definitely phone home for maintenance reports.

Capt'n Midnight · 01-05-2026 07:31PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124435970#Comment_124435970

The marginal cost of power from sweating old Gen II plants fully paid for 20 years ago is different from the cost of constructing Gen III reactors.

LCOE compares the outgoings of those who paid off their mortgage years ago with those who have to rent while waiting for their new house to be built.

The Operation and Maintenance costs of solar here are negligible. We are so far north the angle means the rain cleans panels.

bored65 · 01-05-2026 07:35PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124436045#Comment_124436045

how solar panels have backdoors?

Easy, just about every house including Ireland that has solar ( including my one) has Chinese solar inverters and panels and electronics with ability to view usage which runs on a webservice hosted in China, I didn’t find out until months later as installer didn’t think it was important to tell me that

I can modify all sorts of settings from my phone like when to charge/discharge and so on which gets routed via China and back to inverter and electronics in my house inside my network

Now that there’s 1Gw of solar widely disturbed it wouldn’t be particularly hard to destabilise the grid and trip it over, took all of 70 seconds in Spain last year

now where are them costs and timelines for the renewables utopia we are being sold but somehow continues to not deliver co2 savings and burden us with high electricity costs?

Busman Paddy Lasty · 01-05-2026 07:36PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124436025#Comment_124436025

No admission of error when unable to digest electricity price report.

No understanding that France is a small part of a continental grid that enables it to go very high % nuclear versus and island to the west of another island off the continent.

bored65 · 01-05-2026 07:38PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124436085#Comment_124436085

No references to backup statements made about Poland

No admission of error about French gas usage

Busman Paddy Lasty · 01-05-2026 07:42PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/124436088#Comment_124436088

Please supply realistic dates for a Gen III nuclear plant connecting to grid in Ireland.

Provide costs for same while acknowledging we are not the UAE or an Asian country with a shocking record of corruption and woeful attitude to worker pay and conditions.

Nuclear - future for Ireland?

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