A nuclear reactor in my back yard
I’ve long said I’d prefer a nuclear reactor in my back yard to a coal-fired power plant next door, since the former is safe and clean, while the latter emits lots of smog and radiation. Looks like I could soon have one!
Noted on Slashdot is a remarkable story in Next Energy News about a tiny nuclear power plant, developed by Toshiba. Tiny, but developing 200kW nonetheless — enough to drive a workshop full of power tools, several computers, a pool pump, as many home appliances as I can afford, all the 100W incandescent lightbulbs my heart desires, and have enough left over to sell to the neighbours to cover the hire-purchase agreement.
The device measures two by six (by something, presumably) metres, which is roughly the size of a car. It will produce enough power for a cluster complex, a block of flats, or a city block. Says the news report:
The 200 kilowatt Toshiba designed reactor is engineered to be fail-safe and totally automatic and will not overheat. Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy.
And it’s not pie in the sky, either. Toshiba claims it will install the first units in 2008, and begin marketing the idea worldwide by 2009. If the price per kWh is to be relied on, a unit will cost about $3 million, or R21 million. That’s not cheap, but it’s not unreasonable either. And taking everyone who can afford a BMW off the national grid will be music to The Bolt’s ears.
This could put Gore Inc. (and the Gorebusters) out of business for good. It’s party time!
