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small reactors

Small reactors roll at Savannah River

October 28, 2010 by Dan Yurman
with 1,033 views
0

GE-Hitachi inks deal to demonstrate PRISM technology. Former ANS President Tom Sanders, an expert on SMRs, will lead an energy park project. The Department of Energy lab at the Savannah River Site (SRS) has some exciting developments in the realm of small modular reactors (SMRs). It will be the new home of a project to demonstrate the... [read more]

Small Reactors, Safety Culture, Safe Design, and Lessons Learned From SL-1

October 6, 2010 by Rod Adams
with 1,358 views
0

The United States has been operating small nuclear power plants continuously since the early 1950s. These reactors have been used for research and development, power generation, and ship propulsion. There have been tens of thousands of people associated with the design, development, manufacture and operation of these smaller reactors.... [read more]

NRC thinking about licensing issues for small reactors

April 12, 2010 by Dan Yurman
with 1,267 views
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A workshop with industry leaders explores the issues The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, as part of its commitment to transparency, does a lot of its thinking out loud and in the light of day.  One of the latest iterations of this practice is a recent Commission meeting on small reactors held at the NRC offices April 6th.... [read more]

Gates and Chu talk small reactors

March 28, 2010 by Dan Yurman
with 453 views
0

How a billionaire and a Nobel Prize winner can come up with better ideas by putting their heads together Billionaire Bill Gates and DOE Energy Secretary Steven Chu have something in common. Both are getting ink in the Wall Street Journal for their support of small reactors.  Gates is supporting one through his foundation. It is... [read more]

Nukes: Why small is beautiful

February 21, 2010 by Marc Gunther
with 533 views
5

If anyone tells you they know what building a new nuclear power plant is going to cost, be skeptical. No one has built a commercial nuclear power plant in decades in the U.S. During the 1970s and 1980s, cost overruns derailed more than 100 reactors. (Ever-increasing regulatory burdens and sky-high interest rates drove up costs, too.) In... [read more]

Post Meeting Report Platts Nuclear Energy - February 17-19 Held in Bethesda, Maryland

February 20, 2010 by Rod Adams
with 362 views
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I was fortunate enough to attend a sampling of sessions at the Platts Nuclear Energy 2010 meeting held in Bethesda, Maryland from February 17-19. Due to other commitments, I missed the first day, but I did make it to a series of insightful talks by key participants in the resurgent nuclear energy plant construction industry. It is an... [read more]

The Challenge of Scale

February 18, 2010 by Geoffrey Styles
with 154 views
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This morning's Wall St. Journal featured a front-page article on small-scale nuclear power, highlighting how reactors a tenth the size of current commercial designs could significantly reduce the financial risks associated with these mega-projects. This is one example of the need to think in new ways about scale when addressing our... [read more]

Wall Street Journal - Small Reactors Power Nuclear Industry

February 18, 2010 by Rod Adams
with 206 views
2

There is a terrific, must read article by Rebecca Smith in the February 18, 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journal titled Small Reactors Generate Big Hopes. It may not be there when you check it, but right now, that article is occupying a prominent place on the landing site for one of the most widely read and respected business... [read more]

Will the nuclear renaissance start with small reactors?

November 21, 2009 by Dan Yurman
with 325 views
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A panel of vendors makes the case for it at the ANS winter meeting It is the burden of all senior executives when serving on panel discussions at industry conferences to walk a fine line between being interesting and engaging with a skeptical audience on one hand and on the other hawking the daylights out of their product with... [read more]

Energy costs and advanced nuclear technology

November 4, 2009 by Charles Barton
with 296 views
3

Energy costs are a major concern for Nuclear Green. I am on the lookout for cost data on renewables, and one of my stated concerns is lowering nuclear costs. I contend that renewable generated electricity cost more than nuclear generated electricity, but that the cost of conventionally generated nuclear power, while lower than cost of... [read more]

Small reactors get Senate support

November 1, 2009 by Dan Yurman
with 554 views
1

Two leading senators sign on with Colorado Sen. Mark Udall Colorado Senator Mark Udall, (right) has introduced a bill to authorize federal R&D for small, modular reactors. Udall said in a speech on the Senate floor he believes nuclear energy is an important part of the nation's response to global warming. "Given the economic,... [read more]

Small reactors offer big rewards

September 18, 2009 by Dan Yurman
with 86 views
0

A nuclear engineer with an entrepreneurial spirit may do well with oneWhat’s of interest to a nuclear engineer who doesn’t want to get swallowed up in the bureaucracy of a mega utility is that small reactor projects are organized like Silicon Valley start-ups. Venture capitalists are willing to roll the dice on small reactors. Two of... [read more]

The Right Size Reactor and the Human Future

September 1, 2009 by Charles Barton
with 161 views
1

Sandia National Laboratory is the latest entrant in into the small reactor game. The Sandia “right-sized reactor” concept was discussed on Next Big Future yesterday, and was mention by"Axil" in an Energy from Thorium discussion several days ago, so this is not exactly a scoop. Sandia is interested in a range of reactor sizes from... [read more]

India enters the nuclear renaissance

May 16, 2009 by Dan Yurman
with 144 views
0

A Man from Mars Offers Advice In October 2008 India's relationship with the global nuclear industry changed fundamentally after the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG), the international body that controls commerce in uranium for nuclear reactors, agreed for the first time to allow India to acquire nuclear fuel for its civilian reactors. In... [read more]