Yes. Heat is generated by fission of fissile material such as uranium. Fuel rods have X amount of fissile material in them. Higher power -> faster depletion of the fissile material.
> what are fuel costs as a percentage of total operational costs?
Around 30%, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. This compares with 80% for coal, natural gas, and oil.[2]
> My impression is it doesn't make sense to operate a nuclear reactor at less than full power
I would think that'd be true of almost any machinery, but that's almost a tautology: You design your machinery for an optimized balance of performance versus wear-and-tear, then try to operate at (what you call) "full power" as much as you can, so as to reap maximum value from your investment.
In any event, the original comment was that excess power is inevitably generated by nuclear plants (at least during some time periods) and therefore must be dumped somehow. That's not the case; nuclear plants can be throttled up and down as needed.
Yes. Heat is generated by fission of fissile material such as uranium. Fuel rods have X amount of fissile material in them. Higher power -> faster depletion of the fissile material.
> what are fuel costs as a percentage of total operational costs?
Around 30%, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute. This compares with 80% for coal, natural gas, and oil.[2]
> My impression is it doesn't make sense to operate a nuclear reactor at less than full power
I would think that'd be true of almost any machinery, but that's almost a tautology: You design your machinery for an optimized balance of performance versus wear-and-tear, then try to operate at (what you call) "full power" as much as you can, so as to reap maximum value from your investment.
In any event, the original comment was that excess power is inevitably generated by nuclear plants (at least during some time periods) and therefore must be dumped somehow. That's not the case; nuclear plants can be throttled up and down as needed.
[2] http://www.nei.org/resourcesandstats/nuclear_statistics/cost...