Vindkraft eller kärnkraft - En jämförelse

The scope of this project is to make a comparison of costs associated with wind and nuclear power in order to decide which one of these is the most suitable in the case of an increased demand for electricity. It is also investigated if there are other factors that can influence the choice of energy source. An average cost is calculated in terms of kronor per kilowatt-hour (SEK/kWh) using cost of investment, operation & maintenance and taxes & subsidies. Total investment cost is recalculated to production cost using the annuity method at three different interest rates (6%, 9% and 12%). The comparison is made between three cases of wind power and two cases of nuclear power. For wind power there are two ocean-based (300MW and 100MW installed capacity, respectively) and one land-based (60MW) wind farm. For nuclear power there is one EPR-reactor (1600MW) and one AP1000-reactor (1100MW). From the calculations it is evident that nuclear power in most cases is the most cost efficient alternative regardless of whether or not the taxes & subsidies are taken into account. However, land-based wind power is for some cases with high interest rate less expensive than the EPR-reactor, even if taxes & subsidies are excluded. If they are included, land-based wind power is less expensive than both the EPR-reactor and the AP1000-reactor. The smaller of the ocean-based wind farms (100MW) is almost equal to the case of the EPR-reactor when taxes & subsidies are included. The larger ocean-based wind farm (300MW) is the most expensive alternative in all cases. Least expensive in the majority of cases is the AP1000-reactor. There are several large problems related to the unsteady production of wind power. At a large-scale expansion both a great amount of regulating power and heavy reinforcements in the electricity grid are required. There is also a correlation between low availability during cold winter days when the electricity demand is at its largest. For nuclear power there are additional costs for fuel both before and after usage. This cost amounts to 0.06-0.08 SEK/kWh for both purchase of fuel and treatment of waste