Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire

Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry.

Friday, October 4, 2013

Twitter Nuclear Resource from Breakthrough,org


Twitter Nuclear Resource


Nuclear Facts

Nuclear provided the US with about 180 times more energy than solar last year

The US has the equivalent of about 63,500 quads of potential energy in its nuclear “waste” 

The amount of energy stored in US nuclear waste could power the entire country with zero emissions energy for six centuries

Using uranium in fast reactors rather than LWRs would lower the fuel footprint of nuclear by more than 100 times

1 pound of uranium contains as much energy as more than 2 million lbs. of coal

Sweden deployed nuclear in the 1970s/1980s 7x faster than Germany is deploying wind/solar today

If one 500MW nuclear reactor is taken off grid, 100,000+ solar home installations/750 wind turbines would need to be installed to fill void

I am surprised...that idealistic, intelligent people who want to clean up air & limit global warming are opposed to nuclear -Richard Rhodes

Success of 1970s antinuclear movement guaranteed increased use of coal for decades, as proposed nuclear plants were replaced by coal plants

Austria burns coal & oil for 1/3 of its electricity; w/ proposed nuclear plants they would've had carbon-neutral electricity for past 35 yrs

The total capacity of all the cancelled nuclear plants is about 140 GW; roughly 1/2 entire of current installed coal capacity in US

From 1965-1999 propor. of carbon-free energy in global consumption more than doubled, coincident w/ nuclear pwr increasing by factor of 100

To reject nuclear...is not to hold firm to principle; it is to put dogma of environmentalism above vital interests of ppl – Archie Bland

It’s happening: 69 nuclear power plants under construction around the world right now

How to make nuclear cheap: 1) invest in innovation 2) innovate across advanced designs 3) licensing reform

4 factors determine if adv. nuclear reactors become cheap 1) inherent safety 2) modularity 3) high thermal efficiency 4) high readiness

Inherent safety characteristics eliminate the need for expensive and redundant safety systems

Modularity allows whole reactors or their components to be mass-produced and assembled uniformly

High thermal efficiency enables reactors to generate more electricity from a smaller physical plant

Ready designs will utilize existing supply chains & not require development or commercialization of new or unproven materials & fuels

Benefits of small nuclear reactors: faster learning curves for manufacturers; lower upfront costs; & faster cost reductions

Pass the molten salt, says @bryanwalsh. Nuclear can play a signif. role in decarbonization

Only country that decarbonized at fast enough rate to meet climate targets was France during massive nuclear buildout
 

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