ThorCon electric power cost:

Lower capital cost and lower fuel cost than coal.
Competitive with pipelined natural gas.
Lower electricity cost than shipped LNG (liquified natural gas).
Cheaper than solar and wind including natural gas backup.
Cheaper electricity than storage-buffered wind and solar sources. //

Batteries have been proposed to replace CO2-emitting natural gas generators. Storing intermittent electric energy for later dispatch adds expensive storage buffering costs. A 2018 Science article by Steven Davis and 32 other renowned scientists analyzed storage costs. Using low-cost, mass-market, lithium-ion batteries for daily buffering raises electricity costs from 3.5 cents/kWh to 14 cents/kWh. For weekly buffering the cost grows to 50 cents/kWh. Even if future battery costs are halved, that cost will be 29 cents/kWh. Even free intermittent electricity would not significantly reduce storage-buffered, dispatchable electricity costs. ThorCon generated electricity is cheaper than storage-buffered wind and solar electricity. //

ThorCon power should-cost about half as much as coal where coal is cheap. But the did-cost depends on how we regulate nuclear power. The bottom line is simple: will we build nuclear power plants the way the U.S. Navy builds ships or the way the Koreans build ships? If it’s the former, then nuclear will never beat coal regardless of the technology. If it’s the latter, then ThorCon is easily cheaper than coal.