Disclaimer: I worked a nuclear shop of ex-GE folks in the 90's.
It feeds an all-too-common techno-religious obsession rather than big-picture economic and risk management for specific projects in specific locations. One of the biggest hurdles and costliest aspects of proposing nuclear projects in the US is getting insurance first for construction and then operation, and the few insurers who can cover them aren't going to underwrite risky projects. It's so much simpler and cheaper to put up solar and wind nowadays that it doesn't make any sense compared to the past when renewables were very expensive. Renewables are the path of least resistance. Centralized and distributed grid storage in various forms then becomes a bonus feature that allows for more resiliency under load and unplanned outages.
Centralized and distributed grid storage sits at the same problem in that its generally much simpler and cheaper to put up natural gas turbines. Outside of solar + battery with hours of capacity and a predictable recharge cycles, grid storage are very expensive. The wast majority of countries in Europe is currently build fresh new solar, wind and natural gas power plants. Centralized and distributed grid storage are delegated to future tech with heavy subsidized test projects for non-commercial scale, like the green hydrogen in northern Sweden. This while new natural gas power plants are under constructions and even more sites being approved.
The US seems to be in a similar situations. Some states has weather that is suitable for battery and solar, but then the other states invest in more natural gas.
What is the total grid storage capacity in Texas, in terms of the number of hours it can supply the normal demand when there is no sunlight or significant wind?
Battery prices have only dropped low enough to make it cheap very recently. Of course there's not much built yet. It's the rate of build that matters, and the rate of increase of the rate of build.
It feeds an all-too-common techno-religious obsession rather than big-picture economic and risk management for specific projects in specific locations. One of the biggest hurdles and costliest aspects of proposing nuclear projects in the US is getting insurance first for construction and then operation, and the few insurers who can cover them aren't going to underwrite risky projects. It's so much simpler and cheaper to put up solar and wind nowadays that it doesn't make any sense compared to the past when renewables were very expensive. Renewables are the path of least resistance. Centralized and distributed grid storage in various forms then becomes a bonus feature that allows for more resiliency under load and unplanned outages.