Here are the fuel prices (as of 9 Nov, 2019) for the following fuels, and the links to where that info came from. Diesel, Nat. Gas and Gasoline all from the same source.
Wood- $30.68/ton (average price of last 7 months on record for roundwood biofuel)
Coal- $55.60/short ton (2,000lbs) (bituminous coal)
Diesel- $3.04/gal (national average)
Liquid Natural Gas- $2.76/DGE (diesel gallon equivalent)
Gasoline- $2.76/gal (national average)
Hydrogen- $13.99/kg
Uranium- $53.13/kg (price at top of page)
This post is to accompany Energy Density. For a comparison of price vs energy density of sources, let’s divide uranium’s price by 2.2- this gives us $24.15/lb. Multiply that by 2,000 and we will pay $48,300 for one ton of Uranium, something we only pay $55.60 for coal.
So is the energy difference worth the cost difference? Yes, because even before we compare it, we need to account for the fact that uranium does not pollute like coal does, nor does it emit greenhouse gasses. But here are the price and energy differences:
We pay almost 869 times MORE for one ton of uranium than we do for coal. This means that for the price of one ton of uranium, we could buy 869 tons of coal. That’s a lot, so it is worth the investment?
Well, the energy density of uranium is about 80,000,000 MJ/kg, while coal is about 30 MJ/kg. So one kg of uranium produces as much energy as 2,666,666.67 kg of coal.
Overall, I’d say we’re saving a ton by using uranium.
Mikl Moose 