[Arm-netbook] How about an opensource nuclear reactor?

[David Niklas]

On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 23:02:56 +0100
Paul Boddie <paul at boddie.org.uk> wrote:

> On Monday 9. March 2020 23.02.30 David Niklas wrote:
> > On Tue, 10 Mar 2020 00:07:44 +0000 Luke Kenneth Casson Leighton   
> <lkcl at lkcl.net> wrote:
> > > 
> > > 100 megawatt.  err.. where do you source the uranium or plutonium?
> > > 
> > > err.....  
> > 
> > AFAIK, you buy it from the US gov. in the USA. For other countries you
> > may have to trade to obtain some as not every country produces their
> > own.  
> 
> In other words, you either have to be on a list or get yourself onto a
> list. One of those kinds of list isn't the kind you want to be on. And
> the uranium and plutonium is on a different kind of list altogether,
> but that's the reason for those other lists. :-)
> 
> Meanwhile, some related reading just came up:
> 
> https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200309-are-small-nuclear-power-plants-safe-and-efficient
> 
> I guess we're all on someone's recommended reading list.
> 
> Paul

I had to respond to this:
"Some are arguing that nuclear power just can’t compete as renewable
prices plummet."

That's such wrong headed thinking! The competition of "green solutions"
is not about pricing, it's about getting more energy and less pollution
out of a device then you have to put into manufacture, fuel, and recycle
it.

For wind:
"In January of 2015, wind speeds remained 20 to 45 percent below normal
on areas of the west coast..."
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/15/09/03/205217/slowing-wind-energy-production-suffers-from-lack-of-wind
Now they're cheering that wind speeds are almost back to normal, having
gone up 37%:
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-50464551
And the more resistance to wind you have (like turbines), the less wind
that there is.

As these things age they produce less power due to lack of maintenance
and then they need decommissioning:
https://www.energycentral.com/news/retiring-worn-out-wind-turbines-could-cost-billions-nobody-has


In general:
We seem to be short on resources for producing the favorite renewable
solutions:
https://www.metabolic.nl/publication/metal-demand-for-renewable-electricity-generation-in-the-netherlands/


For solar:
Panels require recycling and currently, they're just polluting the
landscapes for the most part:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/10/25/18018820/solar-panel-waste-chemicals-energy-environment-recycling
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2014/11/141111-solar-panel-manufacturing-sustainability-ranking/
I also remember solar panels requiring more power to manufacture plus
recycle then they produce in their lifetime, but I can't find the article.


A cleaner solution:
With nuclear being a much less toxic problem comparatively:
http://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/2017/6/21/are-we-headed-for-a-solar-waste-crisis



If it boils down to pricing, then we're doomed from an environmental
perspective.

David