Nuclear defenders are calling for keeping things in perspective — fossil fuels, they point out, have many more costs and risks associated with them than nuclear power; and newer
generation reactor designs are far safer than those built in Japan many decades ago (a number of US plants from the same era have the same or similar designs).
In its efforts to develop safer, cheaper, and more efficient nuclear reactors, the Idaho National Laboratory has researched half a dozen next -
generation reactor designs; these two (the sodium - cooled fast reactor and the very - high - temperature reactor) are the most promising.
It is a 4th
generation reactor design that uses depleted uranium.
A fourth
generation reactor designed by GEH, PRISM incorporates the groundbreaking features of the Argonne Laboratory's project, representing a technological leap that could power the UK or similar countries for hundreds of years with used nuclear fuel that is already on hand.
Not exact matches
There is almost no work going on in the United Kingdom on future alternative
reactor designs, such as
Generation IV
reactors and small modular
reactors and their associated fuel cycles, so Beddington's ad hoc board says the government should actively foster research in these areas.
The
design is Westinghouse's take on a third -
generation pressurized water
reactor, and each one produces about 1,000 megawatts of electricity.
JAEA engineers are also
designing a next -
generation fast
reactor, but there has been no decision on actually building it.
In partnership with the Universities of Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, and the Open University, the programme will examine issues such as the
design of next -
generation nuclear
reactors,
reactor performance,
reactor monitoring, materials for nuclear
reactors that can withstand high temperatures, and nuclear waste disposal.
Yet it remains to be seen whether the AP1000 will herald nuclear's next
generation, especially because the
reactor is on its 18th
design revision and a couple of key safety questions remain unresolved.
A new era for nuclear power is taking shape as third -
generation reactors,
designed to be simpler and safer, inch through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC)
design certification process.
A possible strategy for freeing nuclear power from its current impasse would be built around a new
generation of lower - power, centrally fabricated nuclear
reactors designed for inherent safety
The SMR - 160 small modular
reactor is a next
generation design prioritizing safety, simplicity, reliability and affordability to meet the world's growing energy needs.
It is
designed as a modular
reactor for factory fabrication, and could be used for electricity production and industrial process heat
generation.
One is found in a new
generation of meltdown proof nuclear like some of the pebble - bed
reactor designs.
To my mind, the Fukushima failure also builds the case for the kind of push under way in China, which is moving forward with construction of the first two of a new
generation of nuclear
reactors — cooled by helium, not water, and
designed in a way that can not produce a meltdown of the fuel.
The isotope mix is not suitable and would be extremely difficult to extract from the spent fuel from civil
reactors (including breeder
reactors designed for electricity
generation (so I understand) http://bravenewclimate.com/integral-fast-reactor-ifr-nuclear-power/).
For this to be carried out in a LWR - the prevalent
reactor design for electricity
generation - the
reactor would have to be shut down completely for such an operation; this is easily detectable.
What's needed now is a new national commitment to the development, testing, demonstration, and early stage commercialization of a broad range of new nuclear technologies — from much smaller light - water
reactors to next
generation ones — in search of a few
designs that can be mass produced and deployed at a significantly lower cost than current
designs.
The company pointed out that its own mPower
reactor is based on pressurized water
reactor technology using standard enriched uranium as fuel, whereas TerraPower's TWR «is a larger
reactor based on
Generation IV technology and
designed to use depleted uranium as fuel.»
Subtitle C: Next
Generation Nuclear Plant Project -(Sec. 641) Instructs the Secretary to establish the Next
Generation Nuclear Plant Project consisting of
design, construction, and operation of a prototype plant, including a nuclear
reactor: (1) based on
Generation IV Nuclear Energy Systems Initiative research and development; and (2) used to generate electricity or produce hydrogen, or do both.
The EPR is a third -
generation reactor,
designed to be safer, more efficient, and less susceptible to a terrorist attack.
One
design, by MIT professor Charles Forsberg, called the AHTR, combines a flouride - salt - cooled
reactor with a gas turbine; one variation on it incorporates injecting gas to the turbine for high temperature turbine
generation, so that the power plant can operate for both baseload and peak power.
But «off - the - shelf builds» are pure vapourware: every nuclear enthusiast has their own pet type of
reactor — «4th
generation», thorium - fuelled, fast breeder... which will (supposedly) solve the fuelling, safety and proliferation problems of previous
designs, but we have no «off - the - shelf builds» for any of them.
``... research on the next
generation of nuclear energy systems that can be made available to the market by 2030 or earlier, and that can offer significant advances toward these challenging goals; in particular, six candidate
reactor system
designs have been identified.
China has no experience in operating these more advanced models; several of the
Generation - III
reactors it has currently under construction are already facing delays due to post-Fukushima
design changes or supply chain issues.
However, all of these
designs must demonstrate enhanced safety above and beyond current light water
reactor systems if the next
generation of nuclear power plants is to grow in number far beyond the current population.