LLAW’s All Things Nuclear #658, Tuesday, (06/11/2024)
“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
Bill Gates shakes the hand of Wyoming governor Mark Gordon (in the cowboy outfit) at the TerraPower groundbreaking ceremony a few miles south of Kemmerer, Wyoming. /image courtesy of WyoFile.com
LLAW’s NUCLEAR ISSUES & COMMENTS, Tuesday, (06/11/2024)
Here is the latest on TerraPower’s intent to build this 1st of its kind plant and hopefully “mass produce” future ones by employing a new kind of state-of-the-art small nuclear reactor power plants (SMRs) that will cool the plant with, Natrium (the plants name), a sodium-based cooling system along with a molten salt waste storage system.
But there are plenty of pros and even more cons, including ensuring the kind of nuclear fuel it will use, which is refined uranium to near nuclear bomb standards. Russia (and perhaps a few military facilities) is the only market for this rare uranium fuel, and Russia may well refuse to sell the fuel to TerraPower — in fact Russia has already delayed TerraPower’s plans for two years by withholding the sale of this fuel to operate the planned 1st demonstration of the new power plant. And so it goes, but TerraPower says they are beginning construction now regardless of fuel availability and regulatory approval of the plant design, partly because the cooling system has never been used before.
But no matter how we frame, color, or present nuclear poser plants, nuclear bombs, and all other things nuclear, the unredeemable element is that they all use nuclear fuel (refined uranium), which I believe is the most dangerous product ever created by mankind, and if we continue to use it (in any form), it will eventually destroy humanity and other life on a global scale, and we are right now, this very day, staring it in the face. We ought to know better. We were put on notice in August of 1945. ~llaw
(My comments above are a refresher for those of you who may have read one or more of my Posts on this very subject in previous evenings of my “All Things Nuclear” blog. But there are also numerous related links, as well as two other same subject news stories in the “Nuclear Power” nuclear news section of today’s news below, to this and other stories, of course, at the end of this article.)
Bill Gates is breaking ground on a nuclear power plant in Wyoming
Nation Jun 10, 2024 6:34 PM EDT
Bill Gates and his energy company are starting construction at their Wyoming site for a next-generation nuclear power plant he believes will “revolutionize” how power is generated.
Gates was in the tiny community of Kemmerer Monday to break ground on the project. The co-founder of Microsoft is chairman of TerraPower. The company applied to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in March for a construction permit for an advanced nuclear reactor that uses sodium, not water, for cooling. If approved, it would operate as a commercial nuclear power plant.
The site is adjacent to PacifiCorp’s Naughton Power Plant, which will stop burning coal in 2026 and natural gas a decade later, the utility said. Nuclear reactors operate without emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases. PacifiCorp plans to get carbon-free power from the reactor and says it is weighing how much nuclear to include in its long-range planning.
The work begun Monday is aimed at having the site ready so TerraPower can build the reactor as quickly as possible if its permit is approved. Russia is at the forefront for developing sodium-cooled reactors.
Gates told the audience at the groundbreaking that they were “standing on what will soon be the bedrock of America’s energy future.”
“This is a big step toward safe, abundant, zero-carbon energy,” Gates said. “And it’s important for the future of this country that projects like this succeed.”
Advanced reactors typically use a coolant other than water and operate at lower pressures and higher temperatures. Such technology has been around for decades, but the United States has continued to build large, conventional water-cooled reactors as commercial power plants. The Wyoming project is the first time in about four decades that a company has tried to get an advanced reactor up and running as a commercial power plant in the United States, according to the NRC.
It’s time to move to advanced nuclear technology that uses the latest computer modeling and physics for a simpler plant design that’s cheaper, even safer and more efficient, said Chris Levesque, the company’s president and chief executive officer.
TerraPower’s Natrium reactor demonstration project is a sodium-cooled fast reactor design with a molten salt energy storage system.
“The industry’s character hasn’t been to innovate. It’s kind of been to repeat past performance, you know, not to move forward with new technology. And that was good for reliability,” Levesque said in an interview. “But the electricity demands we’re seeing in the coming decades, and also to correct the cost issues with today’s nuclear and nuclear energy, we at TerraPower and our founders really felt it’s time to innovate.”
A Georgia utility just finished the first two scratch-built American reactors in a generation at a cost of nearly $35 billion. The price tag for the expansion of Plant Vogtle from two of the traditional large reactors to four includes $11 billion in cost overruns.
READ MORE: Bill Gates and top investors launch $1 billion clean energy fund
The TerraPower project is expected to cost up to $4 billion, half of it from the U.S. Department of Energy. Levesque said that figure includes first-of-its-kind costs for designing and licensing the reactor, so future ones would cost significantly less.
Most advanced nuclear reactors under development in the U.S. rely on a type of fuel — known as high-assay low-enriched uranium — that’s enriched to a higher percentage of the isotope uranium-235 than the fuel used by conventional reactors. TerraPower delayed its launch date in Wyoming by two years to 2030 because Russia is the only commercial supplier of the fuel, and it’s working with other companies to develop alternate supplies. The U.S. Energy Department is working on developing it domestically.
Edwin Lyman co-authored an article in Science on Thursday that raises concerns that this fuel could be used for nuclear weapons. Lyman, the director of nuclear power safety with the Union of Concerned Scientists, said the risk posed by HALEU today is small because there isn’t that much of it around the world. But that will change if advanced reactor projects, which require much larger quantities, move forward, he added. Lyman said he wants to raise awareness of the danger in the hope that the international community will strengthen security around the fuel.
NRC spokesperson Scott Burnell said the agency is confident its current requirements will maintain both security and public safety of any reactors that are built and their fuel.
Gates co-founded TerraPower in 2008 as a way for the private sector to propel advanced nuclear energy forward to provide safe, abundant, carbon-free energy.
WATCH: Bill Gates on vaccine equity, boosters, climate, his foundation and Epstein meetings
The company’s 345-megawatt reactor could generate up to 500 megawatts at its peak, enough for up to 400,000 homes. TerraPower said its first few reactors will focus on supplying electricity. But it envisions future reactors could be built near industrial plants to supply high heat.
Nearly all industrial processes requiring high heat currently get it from burning fossil fuels. Heat from advanced reactors could be used to produce hydrogen, petrochemicals, ammonia and fertilizer, said John Kotek at the Nuclear Energy Institute.
It’s significant that Gates, a technological innovator and climate champion, is betting on nuclear power to help address the climate crisis, added Kotek, the industry group’s senior vice president for policy.
“I think this has helped open people’s eyes to the role that nuclear power does play today and can play in the future in addressing carbon emissions,” he said. “There’s tremendous momentum building for new nuclear in the U.S. and the potential use of a far wider range of nuclear energy technology than we’ve seen in decades.”
Left: File photo by Ritzau Scanpix/Mads Claus Rasmussen via Reuters
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Go Deeper
ABOUT THE FOLLOWING ACCESS TO “LLAW’S ALL THINGS NUCLEAR” RELATED MEDIA:
There are 6 categories, including a bonus non-nuclear category for news about the Yellowstone caldera and other volcanic and caldera activity around the world that play an important role in humanity’s lives, as do ‘all things nuclear’ for you to pick from, usually with up to 3 links in each category about the most important media stories in each category, but sometimes fewer and occasionally even none (especially so with the Yellowstone Caldera). The Categories are listed below in their usual order:
All Things Nuclear
Nuclear Power
Nuclear Power Emergencies
Nuclear War
Nuclear War Threats
Yellowstone Caldera (Note: There are no Yellowstone Caldera bonus stories available in this evening’s Post.)
Whenever there is an underlined link to a Category media news story, if you press or click on the link provided, you no longer have to cut and paste to your web browser, since this Post’s link will take you directly to the article in your browser.
A current Digest of major nuclear media headlines with automated links is listed below by nuclear Category (in the above listed order). If a Category heading does not appear in the daily news Digest, it means there was no news reported from this Category today. Generally, the three best articles in each Category from around the nuclear world(s) are Posted. Occasionally, if a Post is important enough, it may be listed in multiple Categories.
TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Tuesday, (06/11/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
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NEWS
Bill Gates is breaking ground on a nuclear power plant in Wyoming | PBS NewsHour
PBS
Gates and his energy company are starting construction for a next-generation nuclear power plant he believes will “revolutionize” how power is ...
Microsoft's Gates breaks ground on novel nuclear power plant in Wyoming - WyoFile
WyoFile
The pilot Natrium nuclear power plant in Kemmerer will be the first of what TerraPower officials hope will be a worldwide fleet of new nuclear ...
What's New About America's Next Nuclear Power Plant? Everything - Bechtel
Bechtel
Located near a retiring coal-fired power station, Natrium is an advanced nuclear reactor that uses a sodium-based technology developed by ...
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Jordan hosts first meeting of regional project to improve response to nuclear emergencies
Arab News
AMMAN: The Jordan Atomic Energy Commission, in collaboration with the International Atomic Energy Agency, on Monday hosted the inaugural meeting ...
Amherstburg running training exercise for nuclear emergency - CTV News Windsor
CTV News Windsor
The worker centre would be utilized during any local large-scale emergency, including a Nuclear Emergency at the Fermi II Plant. The Emergency ...
Nuclear War
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Russia's New Threat To Attack NATO Military Bases If…: Nuclear War Risk Rising? | Ukraine | F-16
YouTube
Russia issues a severe warning to NATO as Ukraine prepares to receive U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets. Andrey Kartapolov, chairman of the Russian ...
Russia Doubles Down On Threat to Change Nuclear Doctrine - Newsweek
Newsweek
The warnings come amid rising tensions between Russia and the West over Putin's ongoing war in neighboring Ukraine. Russia's nuclear doctrine lays out ...
Russia begins second stage of tactical nuclear weapon drills with Belarus - Reuters
Reuters
... War Two will not escalate into a nuclear war. Advertisement · Scroll to continue. Putin also said he did not rule out changes to Russia's nuclear ...
Nuclear War Threats
NEW
Russia Doubles Down On Threat to Change Nuclear Doctrine - Newsweek
Newsweek
"Putin stated that Russia's nuclear doctrine calls for Russia to only use nuclear weapons in the event of 'exceptional cases' of threats to Russia's ...
How the Battle of Khasham Fueled Russia's Nuclear War Threats in Ukraine - 19FortyFive
19FortyFive
How the Battle of Khasham Fueled Russia's Nuclear War Threats in Ukraine. The Battle of Khasham, initiated by Russian mercenaries, only heightened ...
Putin issues chilling threat as he claims Europe 'defenceless and unprepared for nuclear war'
GB News
Putin issues chilling threat as he claims Europe 'defenceless and unprepared for nuclear war' ... threats posed to both our country and the Union State ...
Thank you, Lloyd.