I was reading this article and while it contains a lot of progressive thinking, the movement back to nuclear energy may be at hand.
https://www.resilience.org/stories/2004-10-16/nuclear-energy-making-global-comeback/
It’s from 2004 but I think it just may be something whose time has come…
“With uncertainties increasing about supplies of natural gas and oil, nuclear energy is making a powerful global comeback, prompting concerns about atomic terrorism in the post-Sept. 11 era.”
“A number of countries around the world, from China to Finland and the United States, are gearing up to build new reactors as demand for electricity grows. Governments are also viewing nuclear power as a way to curb emissions of greenhouse gases, given intensifying concern over global warming.”
With 17 years hindsight how did this turn out?
I understand politicians are worried about the next election but do they honestly not care about the predicament of lack of expensive power or carbon emissions if they a global warming inclined?
Or is it a case of just incompetence like California who can’t keep the lights on?
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LOL. You’re in Australia. No chance. I accidentally just caught a few minutes of Question Time. We’re in wonderful shape. “Resilient. Batter than any other…” and so on.
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I’ve heard that the animalistic squeals of the Unvaxxed as they are being herded over great heights might be an another morally acceptable energy source.
(Sorry about being a smartarse. Thanks for putting a post forward, Winston).
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No.
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What happened to Spurgeon Monkfish III? 😉
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Victorian Government once earmarked the northern coast of French Island for a nuclear plant, but sold it off, apparently. Perhaps they could put one next door to the desalination plant.
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I note Biden is backing nuclear.
The Australian prog-left either hasn’t caught up* or has decided to keep shtum.
Mind you, neither has the Coalition.
Birds of a feather…
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Gaiatology has a lot to answer for, but never will, because we don’t play the psych game nearly as effectively as our opponents.
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Just published at Quadrant: The case for weeny modular reactors:
https://quadrant.org.au/opinion/doomed-planet/2021/08/clean-green-and-absolutely-sustainable/
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With the push to electric vehicles and the blowing up of coal power stations, Australia, and indeed the world faces an energy imbalance. China is building coal to address this.
But it is also doing nuclear and – interestingly – thorium.
The first prototype reactor should be ready in August, with the first tests due in September. A full-scale commercial reactor should be ready by 2030.
https://www.engadget.com/china-molten-salt-thorium-clean-nuclear-reactor-214210381.html
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“The case for weeny modular reactors”
The greenfilth and labore (and no doubt the stupid forking gliberals) will outlaw these quicker than you can say “elf & safety”.
You have to accept the real agenda here – they us want to all (except themselves, of course) to have the same standard of living as dark ages peasants.
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Birds of a feather…
Roger, don’t ever mention that word here.- not even the plural. It’s haram
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I cannot imagine any circumstances that Australia will turn to nuclear energy for domestic power. Labor, the Greens and the rabid Left will choose that hill to die on if necessary. Figuratively and literally.
In this country we are not even mature enough to have a hypothetical discussion such is the sway that the Left hold on the subject.
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On the OT someone put up James Allan’s column in the Spectator. The argument was that there are no politicians with an ounce of principles.
And that is the problem: with no principles there is nothing to fight for. Each day simply is a “treading water affair,” a desire to hold on, not for the good of the constituency/country, but for one’s own personal benefit.
I doubt there will be anymore dams built and never will we see nuclear power or a real and concerted effort to reign in spending and the national debt, because these all require political capital to be spent and few in the current crop have any interest in making that case.
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Muddy:
(Sorry about being a smartarse. Thanks for putting a post forward, Winston).
That’s cool – I took it as a genuine question although.
One of the reasons I feel nuclear power will make a comeback is:
1. The availability of SMRs,
2. The fragility of our power networks due to excessive boutique energy like wind and solar,
3. The utter dependency of the city centres now pushing for the boutique energy systems.
There was an article several years ago that showed just how much power is used by the large office and residential buildings in the cities. IIRC (and there’s a fair chance I am wrong.) but there was a >25% rate per head of power usage in a large/multiple residence facility. I’m suggesting the size of The Toaster in Sydney. These blocks become damn near uninhabitable if there is a power breakdown that takes just a few days to restore. The power usage is for ventilation and cooling – something a suburban block can achieve by opening windows. Yes, the Toaster has windows and balcony doors that can be opened, but very limited potential for cross ventilation.
Whether we like it or not, the inhabitants of our city centres tend to vote Green, and are the backbone of the antinuclear movement. They are the ones who we have to target for major change to take place.
I would suggest a SMR installed in a couple of parking spaces in the bowels of one of these behemoths would be a good bet after a week of no power, and the opportunity to recharge their electric vehicles at little cost would be just the ticket to parade their Green credentials.
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“The availability of SMRs”
For those concerned about the consequences if things go wrong, these are designed as “walk-away safe” – in other words, even where the automatic control systems stop working and any “operator” runs away screaming, the thing will just slowly run down and then stop. No “meltdown” etc. No external sources of anything required (no external cooling water, eg). They are typically containerised, sealed, and have several layers of “walls” so piercing the container wall doesn’t result in a leak of anything. Designed to be put in place, wired up, turned on and then left to their own devices for several years until the fuel runs out. Then back to the manufacturer they go, to be tested, re-fueled and tested again, then resold.
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Kneel:
One type of SMR that is on the drawing board is the TWR – Travelling Wave Reactor – which can use depleted U238:
“Depleted uranium is widely available as a feedstock. Stockpiles in the United States currently contain approximately 700,000 metric tons, which is a byproduct of the enrichment process.[20] TerraPower has estimated that the Paducah enrichment facility stockpile alone represents an energy resource equivalent to $100 trillion worth of electricity.[19] TerraPower has also estimated that wide deployment of TWRs could enable projected global stockpiles of depleted uranium to sustain 80% of the world’s population at U.S. per capita energy usages for over a millennium”
Now those are pretty damn good numbers.
TWR here at Wiki…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traveling_wave_reactor
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Those uncertainties are price-linked, ie. the higher the price for oil in the ground, the greater the reward for going after the more risky sources which are currently identified as “probable” or “possible” reserves.
But even at prices as low as $US30-40 per barrel equivalent (BBLE), shale oil or fracking oil is viable – except for the insanity of regulations preventing fracking (hear that, Diktator Dan?).
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Thank you Winston.
Nuclear is too good an idea, which means the pollies here will not consider it.
Video on Nuclear Safety myth, just released:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1QmB5bW_WQ
I have brought this up as a tongue-in-cheek comment before, but we need to get Turnbull on board, like seriously!! He and his buddy, Billy Gates (TWR), and get the usual suspects on board (John Hewson . The ABC love their mega-rich lefties. If these three say nuclear is green and good, the rest will be easy.
I am sure dot will come back with his 5 minutes Thorium LFTR video any time now, but on a more practical note, our neighbour in Indonesia is pursuing Thorium with Thorcon
And bloody Bangladesh is building 2 Ruski New-Clear power stations!!
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“For those concerned about the consequences if things go wrong”
I have argued that SMRs have been used safely in navy ships for many years. The response was ‘of course there were accidents. We just didn’t hear about them’.
The fear of nuclear power in Australia is so deep it will never be overcome.
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Thorium powered yes! Uranium powered I’m not so sure about, it seems ridiculous to employ such a complicated and dangerous process to boil water.
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Winston Smith says:
August 4, 2021 at 11:19 am
I like your phrase ’boutique energy systems.’ Very apt.
Until now, I’d not heard about SMRs, so I appreciate yourself and Kneel introducing those to my list of further enquiries to make.
I’ve mentioned previously (on Cat2) about my concerns for our electrickery grid stability, and I fear we will have to learn the hard and expensive way. There is a difference between a willingness to learn and a capacity to learn.
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Muddy:
“I’ve mentioned previously (on Cat2) about my concerns for our electrickery grid stability, and I fear we will have to learn the hard and expensive way. There is a difference between a willingness to learn and a capacity to learn.”
Yes – there’s the hard way, and there’s the other hard way. Greens want a third option with fluffy bunnies and rainbow unicorns.
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Have you heard of liquid fluoride thorium reactors?
LFTRs in 5 minutes – Thorium Reactors
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK367T7h6ZY
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Test: In moderation.
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Bugga. Wrote a lot earlier and prophesised that Dot will come up with LFTR. Anyways, not sure what the offending word was. Turnbull!
Did try linkinglink Thorcon https://thorconpower.com/
Bill Gates is into nuclear with the travelling wave reactor. I was thinking out aloud. If we can get Turnbull, Hewson and Bill to come together for the good of the world , and convince the ABC to convince the sheeple, we may have a chance! After all, nuclear is no debil debil CO2.
I am rooting for these blokes: link Moltex Energy
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Bugga. In moderation again!
Wrote a lot earlier and prophesised that Dot will come up with LFTR. Anyways, not sure what the offending word was. Turnbull!
Did try linking https://thorconpower.com/
Bill Gates is into nuclear with the travelling wave reactor. I was thinking out aloud. If we can get Turnbull, Hewson and Bill to come together for the good of the world , and convince the ABC to convince the sheeple, we may have a chance! After all, nuclear is no debil debil CO2.
I am rooting for these blokes: https://www.moltexenergy.com/
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Bugga. In moderation again! Hmmmm, trying single link only.
Wrote a lot earlier and prophesised that Dot will come up with LFTR. Anyways, not sure what the offending word was. Turnbull!
Did try linking https://thorconpower.com/
Bill Gates is into nuclear with the travelling wave reactor. I was thinking out aloud. If we can get Turnbull, Hewson and Bill to come together for the good of the world , and convince the ABC to convince the sheeple, we may have a chance! After all, nuclear is no debil debil CO2.
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I will go wash my mouth out now!
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