r/NuclearPower • u/ViewTrick1002 • 2d ago

Solar surpasses nuclear power globally for first time

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/09/29/solar-surpasses-nuclear-power-globally-for-first-time/
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u/Inevitable_Unit_9714 2d ago

It will be funny, like last year in Iberian Peninsula (electrical regulation)

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u/mrCloggy 2d ago

That black-out was inconvenient alright, but look at the bright side as in lessons learned (at that very large scale).

No idea if all those 'lessons learned' recommendations will be implemented, but if not then undoubtedly Mr.Murphy (he of the infamous Law) will bite them on the ass (again).

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u/ViewTrick1002 2d ago

The report offers several lessons, particularly around oscillations and voltage control.

But much of this comes down to Spain's outdated grid regulations. The US and other sensible grids have required inverter-based generation to provide reactive-power support for close to a decade.

Spain only waking up to this in 2025 is frankly ridiculous.

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u/mrCloggy 2d ago

They knew about it already, they just decided it was too expensive to implement.

Those (standard old-ish) solar inverters control reactive power as a percentage of their 'own delivered' power, not as function of the MVAR's required by their overhead wires, which works nicely when the inverters work at nominal power but less so when seriously throttled down due to (grid)overproduction.

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u/ViewTrick1002 2d ago

You mean conventional thermal power plants failing to provide the reactive power they were expected to supply?

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u/Inevitable_Unit_9714 2d ago

No, I mean solar (and wind) is good but electricity based on solar and wind energy will never be able to stay in balance with consumption (and maintaining the required grid frequency is also difficult).

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u/ViewTrick1002 2d ago

Whole-system cost modelling, not just LCOE:

Denmark, 2026: system-level LCOE including storage, flexibility and system integration; renewables substantially cheaper than nuclear.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544226009837

Finland, 2025: nuclear scenarios 71–84% higher system cost; unrestricted least-cost optimization builds zero new nuclear.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225042720

Australia, CSIRO + AEMO GenCost 2025–26: whole-system modelling including transmission, storage and firming; renewables + storage remain the lowest-cost net-zero pathway.

https://www.csiro.au/en/research/technology-space/energy/Electricity-transition/GenCost

What are these grid operators and researchers missing that you know?

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u/Inevitable_Unit_9714 2d ago

If scidir article never lies (haha) and the "system cost" isnt just magic with the numbers, then why is cheaper the electricity for higher nuclear ratio countries then others? I'm from Hu, and I see that the normal price here is 3x cheaper, than germany. Why are so many npp under building in China and other countries? What is this nuclear renaissance worldwide? Its not just cheap, its stable and plannable.

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u/Altruistic_Fruit2345 2d ago

Unsurprising. Wind and solar are so cheap now, and battery storage has plummeted too. I've heard talk about adding batteries to nuclear plants to make them more flexible, like renewables, but of course then the obvious question becomes why not just build cheaper renewables in 1/10th the time?

It's also the financial return issue. Even if you somehow get the cost of nuclear down, due to the long build time that money is tied up. Solar comes online quickly and you start to see a return. Profit in a few years.

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u/ViewTrick1002 2d ago edited 2d ago

Coal plants has been doing it for a while. But it is only a temporary measure squeezing a few extra years out of their legacy assets.

It was scheduled to close by 2025,[6] seven years sooner than expected, owing to its operator's inability to cope with the "influx of renewables."[7][8] Origin completed the 460 MW / 1770 MWh (stage 1) Wärtsilä grid battery at the site in January 2026, eventually extending to 700 MW / 3100 MWh.[9][10][11][12]

On 20 January 2026, Origin Energy announced that the lifespan of the plant would again be extended to 30 April 2029

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eraring_Power_Station

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u/Altruistic_Fruit2345 2d ago

Yeah, it's a stopgap. The same will be the case for nuclear as that winds down.

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u/ViewTrick1002 2d ago

Storage killing peakers and renewables eating the ”baseload”. A nice double whammy for expensive outdated thermal plants, and even worse for new builds.