I've been seeing numbers of a ~€50/MWh LCOE for the Finnish side thrown around, which could make sense given the fixed price contract and their total investment of ~€5.5B at incredibly low interest rates (a 2.6% discount rate) due to subsidized loans and the structure of TVO providing power to the Finnish industry. Having a certain customer with known demands 24/7 all year around.

All I can find on the total cost is:

The agreement would settle all legal actions between the two companies. With the settlement, TVO disclosed its total investment to be around €5.5 billion. Areva had accumulated losses of €5.5 billion. The total cost of the project, therefore, is estimated to be €11 billion.[64]

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

In the settlement the only thing that is said is that the French will shoulder future costs and deliver the power plant.

• In order to provide and maintain adequate and competent technical and human resources for the completion of the OL3 EPR project, Areva will source the necessary additional resources from Framatome S.A.S., whose majority owner is Electricité de France (EDF).

• The supplier consortium companies undertake that the funds dedicated to the completion of the OL3 EPR project will be adequate and will cover all applicable guarantee periods, including setting up a trust mechanism funded by Areva companies to secure the financing of the costs of completion of the OL3 EPR project.

• The turnkey principle of the OL3 EPR plant contract and the joint and several liability of the supplier consortium companies remain in full force.

News outlets seem to continue reporting this 2018 figure. It seems unlikely that costs stopped accumulating back in 2018 given that the plant was not delivered until 2023?

Also, in what year are those costs based? 2004 euros?

Anyone knows what the total costs are if we sum up the Finnish, French and all suppliers in 2024 currencies? It seems quite hard given the complex legal nature of the OL3 project.

Nuclear power plants have some profound esthetic impact - after all, they are one of the pinnacles of human creation - we had to discover atoms, relativity, and create the technology to harness the power of nuclear fission. Therefore, I am interested in visiting them - but it seems over the recent years it has become more difficult, as days when they are open to public disappeared.

Today I got kicked out from Byron nuclear plant parking lot in Illinois. I get it, probably not many people are interested in them and random visitors look suspicious, and security has to do its job.

It made me wonder though if people are sometimes able to get access to visit the plant outside of days open for public and without having a particular official business and what are the conditions for that? Like could I get some access if I tried to contact public relations personnel, or is it completely futile?

Thank you very much!

Like NLO's for electrical equipment and mechanical equipment?

Wondering which I should pick. There’s a university who have shown that they’ve done a placement year in the nuclear industry and the other university I’m interested in has a nicer course structure and has a industry year too (but idk if they have anything nuclear related)

Hello, I’m currently in a program to become an RCT and was curious about the travel opportunities with the position. I know once you become a senior you can essentially work anywhere in the country, but I was wondering if you could work abroad in other countries that the DOE collaborated with as well, such as Sweden. If so, would the DOE allow you to ever work in the states again, or do they consider that to be a security risk?

So, say we had a neutron source, and we wanted to obtain a certain isotope, using thermal neutrons would increase the probability of our nuclei capturing it. So if our source emits fast neutrons and we wanted to slow them down, what range in mm of graphite could be optimal for the production rate of our desired isotope, given that our source id fairly weak

The more graphite you use as a moderator, the slower the neutrons and so I’d assume that would lead to a greater capture rate, but increasing the amount of carbon would also lead to more of the neutrons being captured by the carbon making less available

Does your plant (USA) have means of tracking tools or M&TE with RFID or other means? If so, can I get a contact? Thanks. BWR Plant.

Hi there, I graduated with my degree in education back in 2018, since then I’ve been selling technology, AI, all sorts of shit. I was also in the army for 6 years but no experience with nuclear.

Since I was young, I have been infatuated with all things nuclear, I think it’s the coolest shit in the universe.

I want to pivot to a career in nuclear, but I know I need experience/ schooling. I am wondering, what would be the fastest path to transitioning?

Can anyone shed some light on to how long it will take? Some programs I could look at? I live 5 minutes from Limerick Pa (constellation) and I would love to end up there.

Hello, I was thinking after playing the game Quantum Science Energy Recearch facility (QSERF) if it is possible to build the DMR (Dark matter reactor) in real life,In the game's wiki it is mentioned that it is an Inertial Confinement reactor that uses dark matter in its combustion cycle, and outside of the use of fission reactors as catalysts for the Reaction I don't know if this reactor would be possible

Have the opportunity to take a position as an NLO, the hourly pay is about 6$ less an hour than I make now, and I make double time on all OT after the first day of OT. The NLO position is 15 minutes from home, where I’m at now is an hour and 20 minute drive one way( refinery). I am trying to get an idea of what you guys make as operators a year. Obviously it probably differs plant to plant depending on how much overtime there is etc.

Thanks

The Australian conservative Opposition coalition has just announced their intention to go all out on creating a nuclear power option for Australia. They have nominated 7 future sites and claim that the first will be in operation in 2035-37. The sites chosen are on current and closed Coal power plants. Apparently, there will be 5 large reactors and 2 small reactors but a recent statement suggests that there may be multiple reactors at a site. My doubts are centred around who will actually construct these reactors given recent global reactor construction? We can rule out the Chinese and Russians. Who else would build our reactors? And I welcome any other considerations on the idea for a nation blessed with renewable power situations.

Hi folks,

With Bill Gates on TV lately talking about TerraPower's new Natrium reactors, which are sodium cooled fast neutron designs, I'm curious if anyone can speak to the similarities and differences with the Russian's SFRs?

I understand the clever bit with Natrium where there is a "nuclear envelope" of land for the reactor, and a non-nuclear envelope for everything else (steam generation, turbines, etc). This seems like a clever way to escape nuclear grade regulation for much of the design, although I'm unclear how many sodium-to-sodium heat exchange points there are (I assume actual fision exposed coolant is kept on the nuke envelope side).

Also having the reactor largely decoupled from the turbine load, via their heat storage stuff is very cool and will aid in ensuring reactor ops aren't slaved to grid needs.

My primary concern though is fires. We know the Russians SFRs are prone to fires anytime there is a sodium coolant leak. I can't see the modern American populous being ok with hearing "there was a coolant leak induced fire at the local nuclear plant" every few months. People will shit themselves.

So there it is... how is Natrium different than today's Russian SFR's and how will those differences solve the issue of corrosion and leaks?

Hey all, I just graduated and got a job at a Nine Mile as an engineer. That was before I did some research and found out about operators and how much more they get paid. So I want to ask what are the steps I should take to become a SRO and if it is worth it.

My idea is that I should work 2-3 years in engineering to get experience, then apply for licensing to become a SRO. Does that sound right? Thanks!

My cousin works at UAE Nuclear Plant. He is mainly working as scaffolding supervisor and he has a phone. He said, he never takes the phone inside the work and only keeps it in his room. However, he uses the phone daily.

Now, he is back home and has offered me the phone. because i don't have one.

But, I'm quite reluctant to take it. I'm afraid there is contamination or yk nuclear stuffs that could harm me in long run. Am I overthinking?

I'm not sure if he took a shower before checking on his phone everyday after he came from work.

I recently gained interested in nuclear energy but dont know where to start learning about it. I would love to hear some opinions on where nuclear is headed and what might be the future of nuclear energy.

On ABC afternoon briefing in Australia they inferred that although Uranium is mined in Australia, If we had nuclear reactors we would still need to import high grade uranium from overseas.

If anyone out there can explain this, it would be greatly appreciated.

I believe in Australia, Uranium ore is mined and processed into uranium oxide before being exported, with no enrichment into nuclear fuel. Australia then imports enriched Uranium for use in its one and only medical nuclear reactor.

Does building a nuclear reactor power station in Australia include providing the ability to take raw mined uranium oxide and enriching this to nuclear fuel used in the reactor?

Believe it or not, it's hard to find how much Vogtle cost. I have yet to see line by line who paid what. I only see estimates ranging from $30B-$37B. Has anyone seen a solid case study on this?

Hi everyone,

Title says it all. A few months back I started applying for NLO/AO positions at some different plants (US). In the past weeks I've heard back from my 2 top choices that I won't even get an interview. I've got other applications out, but that definitely has me a bit spooked. I'm wondering if anyone can give me some further insight or tips on how to go about this. I've pretty much decided that a career in nuclear is what I want, so I'll do whatever needs to be done to make it happen.

My last post gives further details on my background if that helps. In retrospect I do think my resume and cover letter weren't exactly doing me justice, so I've made some improvements there. Otherwise I guess I'm wondering if now is the time for me to start considering jobs that will just "get my foot in the door". I'm not opposed to any kind of work, so what are the positions/titles besides operations that are easier to get into, but still related to the plant somehow? I can and am willing to do security or mop floors if that's what really needs to happen, but I'd prefer to do something that is at least tangentially related to my background.

Thanks for any advice!

Edit: Thanks for the tips everyone! And for anyone who may come across this in the future with a similar issue:

TL;DR

• Enhance resume to include an informative header + summary. They often won't see your cover letter, so don't rely on that to help you.
• Apply to less desirable plants (Midwest).
• Try reaching out to American Nuclear Society or NAYGN chapters/members to start building connections.
• Lastly, look into other roles that fit your background better or are easier to get into.

I'll update this in the future with what worked best for me

How would you convince someone that Nuclear Physics domain still has alot of research areas and demand? I was asked thos question and I had no ideal answer, help me enlighten y'all please forgive me for stupid question too.

Like wind, solar, hydroelectric, geothermal, etc.

I’m on the other side of the U.S. so I don’t know if there’s an effort to start the plant back up. Are there a lot of plant improvements required before they can start up?

Note: Obviously due to cost, nuclear proliferation or the amount of shielding this reactor would probably need it is in no way practical, I just want to discuss the science of this and if it's theoretically possible.

My guess, based off of what I know, is that it's most likely not possible since there is not enough fissile material near each other to sustain a reaction even with enough moderation and reflectors, but if it is let me know!

If it isn't possible, this is my guess as to how many bundles it would take.

TRIGA reactors according to this page uses 4.4 pounds of U235 in the core, natural uranium is about .7 percent U235 which means we would need 628 pounds of natural uranium to get 4.4 pounds of fissile material.

Each bundle is about 40 pounds of uranium to make 16 fuel bundles for our theoretical core.

I know it's not very fair to compare 2 very different reactors and designs, but from the way I see it, if you have about the same fissile material it could be possible, right? Maybe with enough reflectors?

This all started with me reading this article, l've seen plenty of plans for micro reactors to power small towns or neighborhoods but they all seems to use enriched uranium so it made me wonder how small could unenriched uranium reactors could go, the smallest power producing one l've found online was Canadas NPD which used 20 tons of fuel in similar previous generation bundles.

So I work for a catering company as a chef de cuisine (second in command) and tomorrow we are catering a small lunch party at a nuclear power plant in central NY. I was told in passing last week that I could not drink or smoke for 24 hours before the party because I will be screened before entry for both of those things. I gave my boss my SS number for a background check and everything like that. I am a casual smoker and smoke pot to relieve body pain and to aid with sleep and appetite (self medicated but it works well). I am starting to feel some withdrawal symptoms from not smoking weed at all yet today and I have to be up at 4:30AM for work. I’m really on the fence about smoking so I can sleep tonight as I’m usually unable to stay awake by 8:30PM given my work schedule and it is now 9:30PM and I have no desire to sleep. Does anyone who works at a power plant know if (1) this is a real thing and I will actually be screened upon arrival, and (2) why 24 hours? I have enough of a tolerance that it would probably take me 5-6 weeks of no smoking to get THC out of my system and I don’t know of any way in New York State that we can detect how long it’s been since someone smoked. LMK so I can smoke and sleep with confidence that it won’t have repercussions at work lol.