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I've read about 7% transmission loss, but never 50%. Got a link for that?
I don't have a link. I had a chart from an energy class I took at the college and there is some forumula for energy loss in transmission line based on the distance it travels. Of course the longer the distance you send it the more that is lost and it had the max electrical energy produced in the US and where it went and it had slightly over 50% lost in transmission and through the grounds in our homes.
We don't currently have an electricity problem, but if EVs become popular, that will change in a big way. With gas prices climbing out of control, I would say it is a certainty. My personal guess is that we'll see an EV boom within 5 - 10 years. When that happens, we WILL see an electricity problem. Knowing that building a nuclear plant takes 4 years if all goes well, it would be a good idea to start building now. I don't want to take away from solar plants. We'll need those too, especially since they can be brought on line faster than nuclear. But until better storage systems can be produced, solar will have to be a support system to augment other systems, like nuclear and NG.
The amount of money that it takes to build nuclear doesn't seem worth it. Not only does it ALWAYS over run projected costs they also always divert the costs of cleanup and not to mention the fact that that land is useless after tear down for eons. Just put the money in insulating lost distance power lines then wind and solar farms behind that. Peak use is during the day so solar can help handle that surge.