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> no nuclear plant that has submitted an application since the formation of the NRC in 1975 has yet commenced operation. Hasn't stopped the US Navy (including
by hnburnsy 5y ago
> no nuclear plant that has submitted an application since the formation of the NRC in 1975 has yet commenced operation.
Hasn't stopped the US Navy (including land-based ones), I wonder what their application\regulatory process is like...
"All U.S. Navy submarines and supercarriers built since 1975 are nuclear-powered by such reactors."
I think Oklo wanted to put their reactor at INL (Idaho National Laboratory), where the Navy has a land-based reactor.
- DennisP 5y agoThe NRC doesn't regulate the Navy's reactors. For a while, Flibe Energy planned to work directly with the military, to bypass the NRC. And the Navy's ship-based reactors at least are classified.
- sbierwagen 5y agoNaval reactors always run on highly enriched uranium, to make the core lighter and more compact. It's easy to make a gun-type nuclear weapon out of HEU, though. Not a big problem on a military ship, problematic in a civilian context.