I had no idea that (a) nuclear energy is the path to zero carbon emissions; (b) that it's safe; and (c) building has come to a halt. Very informative and concise post, and your research questions make a lot of sense. I'm wondering whether other countries have made great advances in the past 40 years while we've been under a moratorium?
A lot of scientific progress has happened in the last 40 yrs in the US and abroad.
In the US the most significant gains came from learning to make existing reactors (there are about 100) more efficient. They used to of run 50-60% of the time. Now, reactor downtime schedules are choreographed precisely, like a dance, and thus we get power 90-95% of the time. This of course is in the best interest of the plant owners, who get paid for producing more electricity.
Abroad, many reactors were built; China in particular is making a significant push to build new reactors. Russia and the US remain the centers of expertise and supply chain globally. But the science is global enterprise. In France, the country’s electric grid is the most green in the world, 90% from carbon-free sources, thanks to a huge buildout of nuclear (though nuclear remains a controversial topic there too).
One exciting development from the research community is the concept of “inherent safety” — a new design philosophy that drifted over from the Chemicals industry and promises to make reactors safer and less risky.
I had no idea that (a) nuclear energy is the path to zero carbon emissions; (b) that it's safe; and (c) building has come to a halt. Very informative and concise post, and your research questions make a lot of sense. I'm wondering whether other countries have made great advances in the past 40 years while we've been under a moratorium?
A lot of scientific progress has happened in the last 40 yrs in the US and abroad.
In the US the most significant gains came from learning to make existing reactors (there are about 100) more efficient. They used to of run 50-60% of the time. Now, reactor downtime schedules are choreographed precisely, like a dance, and thus we get power 90-95% of the time. This of course is in the best interest of the plant owners, who get paid for producing more electricity.
Abroad, many reactors were built; China in particular is making a significant push to build new reactors. Russia and the US remain the centers of expertise and supply chain globally. But the science is global enterprise. In France, the country’s electric grid is the most green in the world, 90% from carbon-free sources, thanks to a huge buildout of nuclear (though nuclear remains a controversial topic there too).
One exciting development from the research community is the concept of “inherent safety” — a new design philosophy that drifted over from the Chemicals industry and promises to make reactors safer and less risky.
very cool! I'm excited to see where this leads