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On Netflix there is a three part documentary about Bill Gates. One of the parts is about him funding a new generation nuclear plant.
by pkaye 7y ago
On Netflix there is a three part documentary about Bill Gates. One of the parts is about him funding a new generation nuclear plant.
- very_nice 7y agoNice
- specialist 7y agoI wholeheartedly support traveling wave reactors. Mostly as a way to reduce our stockpiles of waste. Energy generation is a nice side benefit. I'm now unclear if Gates funded TerraPower is still working on TWR (or some variant). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_wave_reactor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_wave_reactor FWIW, I oppose creating any new nuclear power facilities using any other technology. Excepting maybe pebble bed. Until the problems of proliferation, disposal, financing, incompetence, and corruption are addressed.
- petre 7y agoToo bad he was working with China. I want it to succeed but I imagine it cannot in the curent political reality (trade war, Xi, HK, Taiwan independence, etc).
- specialist 7y agoThere's got to be other options for hosting (locating) their work. I hope their lobbyists are pitching to DARPA and DOE as a way to reduce our stockpiles of waste. An alternative to Yucca Mountain.
- loeg 7y agoThe major setback highlighted in the documentary was Fukushima, which predates the recent political climate.
- qes 7y agoI thought I recalled that the major setback was the current U.S. administration's trade policies with China. Everything was set to go, but then the plans got trumped.
- loeg 7y agoYou're right :-). They were both addressed in the series (part 3). > [~27:24] Narrator: Bill and his team finally believed they had developed the ideal energy source. A reactor that was clean, efficient, and most importantly, safe. > [cuts to conference room TV playing Fukushima news coverage] ... > [~28:22] N: Public opinion, already skittish, turned against nuclear. > [cuts to the two walking around outside] > N: When you have a massive setback, how do you deal with that? > ... [some cut to old DOJ drama] ... > [~32:07] TV anchor: The US nuclear industry is bracing for a backlash > [background switches to Fukushima footage] Later: > [~41:49] N: In 2015, President Xi came to Seattle and had a private meeting with Bill. > Some guy: Then we see real movement. > ... > [~42:39] TV: A tariff tit-for-tat, teetering on a trade war ... > [~42:50] TV: Investment restrictions on China with respect to high technology. > [43:09] Guy working on the reactor: China and the United States had to negotiate this very complicated contract. Well, each government had a right to cancel it, and our government did. So, by canceling that contract that gives us the legal right to do nuclear things in China, we can't do it anymore. > [43:35] [cuts to another guy] N: What was his reaction when you showed it to him? > Guy: I think he just said, "oh shit." > [cuts away to more DOJ stuff]