4 ms·
Small reactors, they remove the main problem with nuclear power: huge reactors that no western country knows how to build any more. The largest projects we can
by konjin 6y ago
Small reactors, they remove the main problem with nuclear power: huge reactors that no western country knows how to build any more. The largest projects we can build today are the size of a large office building. Anything bigger will be over budget and time.
- christiansakai 6y agoWhat about safety and nuclear waste?
- ben_w 6y agoWhile I am also concerned about safety (there’s always something that can go wrong, and the energy density and the conversion factor from energy to risk are both very hazardous here), the waste is a surprisingly small issue: The actual quantity of material, thanks to the energy density of the fuel, is tiny and easily managed.
- christiansakai 6y agoInteresting. How about the supply of the Uranium. As far as I know it is not renewable?
- ben_w 6y agoIt’s not renewable, no. Exactly how much uranium is economical to extract isn’t clear, even before the last decade of tech development caused renewables to reduce to about 1/10th the price of nuclear. My opinion is: keep any current reactors running while they’re in decent condition, but don’t bother trying to plan new reactors for electricity because PV is faster and cheaper to deploy even if you have to add LiIon batteries. (I’d be fine with making new reactors for big new cargo ships, but I believe someone tried something like that already and it didn’t work out).