The 500Mw Molten Salt Nuclear Reactor: Safe, Half the Price of Light Water, and Shipped to Order
15th March 2013
Nuclear power basically comes down to two issues: Safety and cost. Nobody denies that mass nuclear has the raw production capacity to provide for our energy needs through the remotely foreseeable future, but some argue that doing so would either bankrupt us, sicken us, or both. While this is certainly a disputed interpretation, it’s one that has been gathering support in the wake of the Fukushima disaster and a prolonged PR campaign from coal, natural gas, and certain wings of the environmentalist movement. As a result, the conventional nuclear industry, floundering due to widespread public unease and growing legislative opposition, seems to be begging for a revolution.
Pebble-bed reactors solve all of these problems, but nobody appears to be interested.
Transatomic is not hedging its bets: the researchers claim their design is production-ready, and stand behind their numbers. “I wish someone would build this thing,” said one early investor. The project has raised about $1 million, so far.
Heh. If someone is so foolish as to try to build one, the enviro-nazis will tie it up in the courts during the rest of my lifetime, at least. The only nuclear reactor they like is 93 million miles away.