Midwest Chick's Place

(A.K.A. Non-Original Rants)

–Co-opting good stuff from all over the ‘Net and maybe some original thoughts—ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE

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Oak Ridge and SMRs

Google is funding a Small Modular Reactor that’s going to be built at Oak Ridge National Laboratories.

Trump’s “Ordering the Reform of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission“ executive order, issued in May, calls for facilitating increased development of Gen III and Gen IV reactors, SMRs, and sets an energy capacity target for nuclear generation of 400 GW by 2050. SMRs are a particularly attractive energy option because of their scalability and siting flexibility, which aligns perfectly with the administration’s push for practical, market-driven energy solutions.

Oak Ridge is a logical place to start considering its long history with nuclear going back to the Manhattan Project.

Denver had tried to start a feasibility study regarding SMRs on the airport property. I guess they neglected to consult with anyone in the area which caused the usual brouhaha and NIMBY-ing so it’s being put on hold for now.

Denver7 brought those concerns to the airport and asked for an interview to discuss why public outreach didn’t happen before last week’s announcement of a feasibility study. A spokesperson sent Denver7 the following statement:

To answer your questions, the Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Feasibility Study Request for Proposal was delayed, effective Friday, August 8. The delay will allow DEN the opportunity to provide an overview of the proposal to the community in District 11 and beyond based on feedback from Councilmembers provided last week in committee. Our goal is to present this idea to the community, listen to their feedback, and understand what they would like to see included in the feasibility study.

Typically, there would not be a community outreach component before or during the RFP [Request for Proposal] phase of a study. Community engagement would take place once a study has started so that we can get meaningful feedback and input. However, since it was requested, we are happy to do so.

It’s Colorado and its Denver. I doubt it’ll get off the ground there.

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Midwest Chick

6 responses to “Oak Ridge and SMRs”

  1. Matthew W Avatar
    Matthew W

    There has to be a better balance of safety and quality with nuke reactors.
    We need this kind of cheap, efficient, reliable electricity but the NRC regulations are overly burdensome.

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  2. TRoy Avatar
    TRoy

    The trick seems to be to find a balance of safety regulations that satisfy operational concerns without creating cumbersome barriers for development. There will always be a vocal minority of naysayers who say “not in my backyard”. Government isn’t good at much(with the exception of taking and spending money), but nuclear physics real world applications used to require research money that only Government had. Now that the tech has been established for more than 80 years, maybe corporations can be trusted to oversee their own energy production. Then again, I can forsee a lot of bad scenarios and unintended consequences with having a bunch of small, less regulated reactors in various locations in questionable security environments. With the number of undocumented immigrants and possible sleeper cells in our nation currently, I would think that this would have to be a “no-go”. Until that situation is addressed, I think this is a bad idea. Experience over the last several years has bourne out that our intelligence services and law enforcement are often more concerned with harassing citizens who are minding their own business than pursuing those with foreign allegiances who would do this nation harm.

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  3. Chris McDermott Avatar
    Chris McDermott

    Colorado does have a history with trying new reactor designs. The St Vrain HTGR helium cooled reactor was a failure, they could never get it above 50% power without the reactor temperature starting to fluctuate; and it ended up with the reactor being shut down and dismantled while the rest of the plant was converted to natural gas fired power station.
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Saint_Vrain_Nuclear_Power_Plant

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  4. B Avatar
    B

    The NIMBY’s have to choose though…either they get some power locally, or they pay higher prices for it.

    Those plants are gonna be in SOMONE’S backyard. why not theirs? If not theirs, then why should it be in someone elses?

    Where do they think is a good site for the plant, be it coal, or natural gas, or nuclear ….One that won’t affect someone? Or is “any place But HERE” acceptable to them….. Or are they gonna use candles instead of LED’s for lighting?

    It sure as hell ain’t gonna be solar and wind that supplies their baseline needs.

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  5. avraham Avatar
    avraham

    My question here is that “Does the US Navy have small reactors?” I thought they had done work in this direction. If so these small reactors could be used extensiely and even provide energy for a Mars colony.

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  6. Midwest Chick Avatar
    Midwest Chick

    Matthew–The Trump administration is working in that direction. The NRC has been a roadblock for decades.

    TRoy–There’re risks in everything.

    Chris–Didn’t know that. Thanks!!

    B–They want to have it both ways and they aren’t willing to give up their toys. They still believe in the wind/solar pipedream (but they don’t want those near them either).

    avraham–Yes, but they are different. And yes, SMRs could potentially be used for that purpose.

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