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Nuclear is for Life: a cultural revolution : Comments
By Tom Quirk, published 8/2/2016The simple central message of this book is that we have been mistaken about the hazards of nuclear power. Some of this has been willful and some well intentioned.
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These reactors have no rods, just marbles of fuel. the fuel is coated in super tough refractory grade graphite? And the helium is piped up through the reactor, which keeps the balls up and moving around.
These things can be mass produced in factories and trucked to almost anywhere, and put into service within weeks, rather than the years needed for conventional systems.
Moreover, as need grows, more modules can be trucked out and bolted on! Decommissioning is just the same thing done in reverse. Given they can be trucked onsite, means they probably replace diesel engines in shipping and subs?
Meaning, they can probably run for up to 25 years before needing to refuel? By which time diesel powered shipping may have run into peak oil and become prohibitively costly.
The big advantage, with pebble reactors, is the fact, if these things ever run out of coolant? the graphite capsules surrounding the fissile material prevents any possibility of an accidental melt down, via a pooling of unprotected fissile material! Like Chernobyl or Fukushima!
Which by any reckoning, were the model T version of nuclear reactors! We are not limited to that technology or old type oxide reactors, nor are we compelled to use the national grid, which is extremely vulnerable and a costly great white elephant which doubles the distribution costs!
Very local supply could include allowable competition, which would force those who supply energy, be they public entities or private suppliers to compete for business. as opposed to current practise, where a single supplier can even levy a charge against a property holder, just because the service passes the property?
Free enterprise must include a truly free market and fair competition! All that's missing is the essential government regulations to enable just that competition and carbon free energy options!
Rhrosty.