Peter Lang; not picking winners mate. Just the only oxide reactor type, to my knowledge, able to be mass produced and trucked on site.
Not in favour of privatisation or the "so-called competition" among suppliers.
I also understand that thorium reactors are traditionally small and safe enough to be placed onsite in any defence or similar facility? That's where the natural competition, and supply side could conceivably evolve.
The past problem with public ownership has been the huge monopolies and the lack of competition/British disease, that that then created.
We could, even in a public model, create fully incorporated duopolies, who could then be tasked with competition for both market share and their very survival/future contract terms, whatever?
Given the proof of the pudding is in the eating! All one can observe at this time, is quite massive price gouging, by debt laden/debt servicing private players, with most of it blamed on the carbon tax.
Carbon free power would never ever be subject to a carbon tax.
And one should never ever overlook the huge social benefit of lower cost, publicly owned and supplied power, and the quite massive boon that would be once again, delivered to business and our now almost derelict manufacturing industries.
We should do what we need to do to reverse recent trends; and privatisation; to once again supply very cheap energy to our manufacturing industries; and or, the Australian entrepreneurs, who will once again get busy growing their/our enterprises, and our national prosperity!
Very small pebble reactors could be trucked onsite to any industrial precinct, and then supply much more reliable, much lower cost, carbon free power direct to the industrial users.
Virtually eliminating transmission line losses would virtually halve the cost of energy, and create a super reliable format that would keep it the least costly in the world?
Keeping our manufacturing alive and kicking, while it affordablly transitions to the high tech future waiting for it; is clearly in the national interest and that of every Australian; even those that allow others to do all their thinking for them?
Cheers, Rhrosty.