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It's not hard when you're delivering fuel to one location 1000km in desolate wilderness with no road access. Your only option is basically ship borne helicopter
by Aperocky 6y ago
It's not hard when you're delivering fuel to one location 1000km in desolate wilderness with no road access. Your only option is basically ship borne helicopter, and then you have to make this trip semi-regularly.
Plus. nuclear material are only expensive because there are not enough usage - hence the economy of scale is small. They're arguably cheaper in the Soviet Union (even if they followed market terms).
- Retric 6y agoThese where used for lighthouses which aren’t exactly useful if people stay 1000km away from them. Now for unmanned Antarctic observation or something then that’s a possibility, but hardly going to feed economies of scale. Outside the Arctic circle solar panels + batteries win hands down.
- cozzyd 6y agoAs you probably already know, RTGs were of course commonly used in Antarctic weather stations in the past, by both the US and others: https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/104291748/radioactive-generators-powered-antarctic-science https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/104291748/radioactive... The last was removed in 2015, as far as I know.