New Nuclear Power Is on the Way

Construction of the first Generation IV nuclear power electricity generating plant in the US has begun. Interestingly, more and more countries are rethinking their ban on nuclear energy, likely in light of the realities of “green energy” as well as the improvements being made in the Generation IV systems. Switzerland, for example, has reversed its outright ban of nuclear.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Agency Approves First Generation IV Nuclear Reactor
by Leslie Eastman
All of these are positive developments for those of us who enjoy the perks of civilization, such a light at night and heat during the winter. . . .

According to Interesting Engineering, the new Hermes reactor will be the first one built in the United States in 50 years that won’t be cooled by light water. Instead, it will use a system of molten fluoride salt, and a TRISO (tri-structural isotropic particle) fuel pebble bed design will power the generator.

Molten fluoride salts have “excellent chemical stability and tremendous capacity for transferring heat,” per the report, meaning it stays cooler and dissipates heat much faster than the light water that has been used for so long in American reactors.

The fuel bed consists of hundreds of millimeter-sized particles of uranium encased in multiple layers of special ceramic, which allows each individual piece of fuel to have its own containment and pressure vessel, per Ultra Safe Nuclear. The ceramic casing is stronger and more resilient than the typical zirconium alloy, meaning it can withstand higher temperatures and neutron bombardment past the failure point of other types of fuel.

On top of that, because each individual piece of fuel is so small, in the event that one fails, the ensuing burst of radiation would be significantly lessened — and less likely to cause further damage, thanks to the coolant system. . . .

 

New nuclear fuel is being made from old nuclear weapons.
U.S. Dismantling Nuclear Warheads for Reactors
Ella Nilsen, CNN

Inside a highly classified facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee — the same facility that enriched uranium for the first atomic bomb in the era of the Manhattan Project — workers are turning old, unexploded warheads into fuel that will power cities.

The recipe to create advanced reactor fuel involves melting weapons-grade uranium with low-enriched uranium in a crucible — a massive, metal cauldron heated to around 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit to turn its contents into molten soup.

Emerging from its furnace, a glowing orange cast filled with the hot liquid uranium is slowly lowered into a cooling chamber. The hardened finished product, which looks like black charcoal, can be safely held in-hand.

This fuel is set to power the next generation of America’s nuclear reactors — small, modular power stations that are easier and cheaper to build. They require far less upkeep and physical space than the aging fleet of large nuclear power plants. . . .

 

Here is some history. The basic concept but with water cooling showed promise but there were issues when scaled up. Using molten fluoride salts solved that but funding was pulled due in part to the Vietnam War.

Zubrin, Robert. The Case For Nukes: How We Can Beat Global Warming and Create a Free, Open, and Magnificent Future (pp. 163-165). Polaris Books. Kindle Edition.

 

Investment powers nuclear energy growth.
Tennessee Leads the Way in a U.S. Nuclear Revival
Duggan Flanakin, RCEnergy

On September 3, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the city of Oak Ridge, birthplace of the U.S. nuclear energy industry, announced new details about “Project IKE,” a new nuclear energy development boosted by the new Tennessee Nuclear Energy Fund. Paris-based Orano USA has agreed to build a uranium enrichment centrifuge facility on the Roane County side of Oak Ridge. The project, said Lee, is the single largest investment in Tennessee history.

Lee explained that the fund, created by the Tennessee General Assembly with a $60 million 2023-24 budget, has been highly successful in recruiting nuclear energy projects. Orano is the second of four projects announced in the last six months, further strengthening Tennessee’s status as “the number one state for nuclear energy companies to invest and thrive,” said Lee. . . .

 

I hope you like high electric rates. Nuclear power is the most expensive power on the planet. It turns a site into a wasteland. Real estate values plummet in the erea. Let’s place one about 2 blocks from your house.

 

Information showing that the above post is not accurate. Nuclear is the future. Nuclear has an energy return on investment of 75. Wind and solar have an energy return on investment of less than 5.

 

Nuclear is the most expensive electricity on the planet! Figures lie, and liars figure!

 

And the ignorant resort to insults and personal attacks.

 

This is good for now in small doses. I think nuclear fusion is the future where they recently generated twice the amount of energy that was supplied (for a split second). Far off tech though but pretty cool.

 

Nuclear power is the cheapest, as shown here at PF.
We live 25 miles from a nuclear power plant on some of the highest-value residential real estate in Virginia.

 

The SMR will allow flexible nuclear power expansion.
Nuclear power stations can be a beautiful part of the environment.
Dr Kelvin Kemm
Since nuclear is completely clean and green, emitting no gasses, liquids, or anything else, during normal operations, there is no reason why nuclear power stations must be viewed as ugly…

". . . The emergence of Small Modular Reactor (SMR) systems onto the modern scene, essentially makes a nuclear cell system a reality. One can now place a gas-cooled SMR anywhere, and it can serve its own ‘cell.’ This ‘cell’ could be a mining complex, a municipality, a collection of factories, or an agricultural area encompassing the farm, proceeding to processing, packaging, and transport. Such a ‘cell’ does not even need to be connected to the National Grid, and can be owned by a Province, Municipality, or private company.

The SMR revolution effectively means that the fundamental planning options available for the distribution of electricity have changed significantly.

A gas-cooled SMR, such as the South African HTMR-100 is walk-away-safe. The fuel cannot suffer a meltdown under any circumstances. Such an SMR emits absolutely nothing during normal operations, no solids, no liquids, no gases. The fuel is in the form of balls, the size of a tennis ball, and each ball lasts between two and three years in the reactor. So, the amount of refuelling required is extremely small, in comparison to coal, gas, or oil plants. So no continuous refuelling structure is required, such as a conveyor belt, pipeline, or railway line.

What all this means is that small nuclear plants can be safely and effectively placed in industrial areas or agricultural areas, or near an idyllic town. One of the accusations of the extremist anti-nuclear lobby has always been that nuclear reactors are ugly industrial structures which spoil beautiful scenic coastlines

With modern SMR’s we can totally remove that accusation. Since then is a bomb, it’s nothing during operation. And what’s more? Is totally silent. It can be integrated into the Vista of any setting. With this in mind, the developers of the HTMR-100 range of reactors approached Johann Koch of Johann Koch Design Architects (JKDA) with a proposal to work together to develop SMRe complexes for a range of customers.

Stratek Global originally developed the HTMR-100 for a classic industrial setting in South Africa, such as a gold-mining complex, far inland, and far away from any large water body. However, Stratek Global has been approached by potential customers from around the world, including the Middle East, Australia, a number of African countries, and also island states.

Furthermore, site factors such as the altitude, have varied from sea level to high altitude. The prevailing weather conditions have varied from hot and dry, to cold and wet, including snow.

As a result, Stratek Global is in a position to offer any type of nuclear power complex which can be designed to fit, not only any site but which can also be skilfully designed to match the scenery or cultural nature of the people and area.

Since nuclear is completely clean and green, emitting no gasses, liquids, or anything else, during normal operations, there is no reason why nuclear power stations must be viewed as ugly industrial buildings. They can be made as attractive as a hotel complex or holiday resort. . . . "

 

Make way for new nuclear power.
Nuclear: SMR Revolution Is Arriving Soon
Robert Eccles, RCEnergy

It’s been a big year for nuclear energy in the U.S. The Department of Energy has allocated a large amount of capital to nuclear energy research and has committed $900 million to advance Gen III+ (more on them below) small modular reactors (SMRs). The Inflation Reduction Act’s inclusion of nuclear energy has opened opportunities for tax credits for investors in nuclear projects. Southern Company’s Vogtle plant’s second new reactor started sending power to the grid in April.

Most recently, on September 20, Microsoft and Constellation announced that they will reopen a reactor at Constellation’s Three Mile Island nuclear energy center in Pennsylvania to power Microsoft data centers. Microsoft agreed to pay $16 billion to restart the Unit 1 reactor which has a capacity of 835 megawatts. It was shut down in 2019 under financial pressure from growing competition with cheap natural gas. (The Unit 2 reactor was destroyed in 1979 accident and is undergoing decommissioning; however, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) noted there were no deaths or accidents, or discernible health effects from some small radioactive releases.) Microsoft has agreed to buy up to 100% of the electricity produced by Unit 1. This is part of the tech giant’s efforts to secure enough reliable, low-carbon electricity to supply its energy-thirsty data centers powering the boom in artificial intelligence. . . .

 

The future is Nuclear.
Nuclear Energy and Why It’s the Next Big Thing
Blue Energy Nation

 

Don't forget about fusion.
Fusion’s New Idea: An Off-the-Shelf Stellarator
Tom Clynes, IEEE Spectrum

 

Nuclear power is resurgent.
Nuclear Power Is Poised for a Revival
Danny Ervin, RCEnergy

 

A nuclear renaissance is coming in Italy.
Italy Overturns 40-Year Nuclear Ban
Haley Zaremba, Oil Price

 

Ours is a time of rapid change.
The Golden Age of Nuclear Energy Is Here
Daniel Turner, RCEnergy

 

Hands across the water.

U.S. CEO to Europe: We Can Unite on Nuclear Power
Nicolas Camut, Politico EU

 

Hmm... whatever is the conflict of interest here.... oh, wait, I got it... Affordable energy isn't for everyone, and if it were available to all, then how ever would the elite get to control the herd? I don't suppose the writer has even seen the wasteland that is the largest solar farm in the US...

 

related thread: Germany finally ends nuclear, Finland turns on biggest nuclear plant in Europe (in 'Environment & Conservation', April 16, 2023)

 

For some reason I'm fascinated by the small modular reactors.

Nuclear is important but I'm on the fence about developing it in Australia.

If we had a feasible battery storage solution we would be set.

 

They really stuffed up, particularly from an energy security perspective.

I don't see any turning back, so it'll be interesting how they dig themselves out of the 'dunkelflaute' syndrome.

I am amazed that Germans somewhere, somehow, didn't do the maths.

 

There will never be a feasible battery storage solution. Batteries cannot possibly compete with energy systems which store energy in the fuel such as coal, oil, or nuclear fuel rods (or the like).

 

It's because they got swept up in the Green Energy promise. Just ten years ago, Germany was the wealthiest major country in Europe, so there was probably a feeling their society could afford anything. And also the moderate progressives had more influence, under Angela Merkel's coalition government. Giving into the environmental agenda was a way to placate them.

But all the while they had become reliant on natural gas, for heating and to power their industry. The media didn't really focus on that but instead focused on the narrative of the "renewable energy success" and the priority of going off of nuclear energy. So sort of a lack of clear overall (bigger picture) thought or consistent logic.

Trump actually warned them about their reliance on Russian natural gas in 2019 but he was openly mocked at the time by mainstream German politicians. (Maybe because they didn't want to hear the message if they didn't like the messenger)

Also the nuclear disaster caused by the tsunami in Japan (2011) probably also marked the last death knell for nuclear power in Germany, enough to convince Germans who weren't sure to be willing to side with the anti-nuclear movement.

 

Somehow the Germans lost the knack of what they are meant to do best. Accurate and honest administration. You could still be a green freak, yet face the numbers suggesting that Germany needed to rely on nuclear for the foreseeable future. They also should have modelled what would happen if Russian gas was withdrawn.

Also if the politicians had obtained accurate advice they would know that the modern nuclear plants are a lot more safe.

Somehow they got sucked into the collective consciousness. Or perhaps the media as you suggested.