Posted on 06/10/2009 2:25:52 PM PDT by Islander7
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Babcock & Wilcox Co. announced plans Wednesday for a new class of mini nuclear reactors to be built in North American factories and shipped by rail to generating sites, and the Tennessee Valley Authority is evaluating what could become the first reactor location in Tennessee.
(Excerpt) Read more at sunherald.com ...
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Cross your fingers and say a prayer that their application will be approved.
Why do we still have the TVA???
Well, we’ve been building small reactors for many years now ....
On the one hand, I’m happy to hear about any progress in our use of nuclear energy. On the other hand, I do worry about the security issues associated with highly portable nuclear reactors.
“...Why do we still have the TVA???...”
Are you kidding? You don’t actually believe a federal agency ever dies do you?
I suspect enviro-moonbats will tie it up in court for 20 years.
(No, I'm not going to tell it. Babcock and Wilcox made boilers. If any old squids want to try to come up with a clean version, have at it.) :-)
Integral nuclear system design
Passive safety systems
Underground containment
Five-year operating cycle between refueling
Scalable, modular design is flexible for local needs
Multi-unit (1 to 10+) plant
Used fuel stored in spent fuel pool for life of the reactor (60 years)
North American shop-manufactured
I'll start my own power company---BIG BOB'S POWER & LIGHT
OUR MOTTO: We'll light you up, when the wind and solar let you down.
from what i’ve read before on this kind of technology, the small reactors are buried deep under ground encased in tons of concrete. They require no maintenance and last 30 years.
Anyway it would be rather hard for someone to secretly dig down and steal something encased in tons of concrete. The weeks of jackhammer noise would be a good indicator of funny business...
I still want a nuclear powered fishing boat.
Northrop-Grumman announced recently that they were building a new facility at their Newport News, VA shipyard that will start producing smaller, state of the art nuclear reactor vessels.
I wonder if that is part of this project...
Yes ... a fact which boosts my confidence that their safety systems will work as designed to prevent injury or loss of life, despite the incompetence and inadequate training of the operators.
What about NASA applications? Like, a lunar or Martian base?
I am praising B&W's ability to build an idiot-resistant system. That's a good thing.
The anti-nuke-kooks don't want you to remember that NOBODY WAS KILLED OR INJURED in the TMI incident. A very small amount of radioactive material was released under control, during favourable wind conditions.
I want their nukes right here on Earth. (Luna and Mars are fine, too, though.)
No doubt, NuScale Power has a pretty good design as well. They are using a design from Oregon State University.
What happens if you just walk away from one of these things?
How this could work is to go to the site of an existing nuclear plant and expand it with of couple of these small units, inside the gate, and have the transmission, siting requirements, security, and technical know how all in one place.
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