The headline should probably be, “Meta invests in nuclear startup” and leave it there. My guess is this deal is quietly swept under the rug when the first reactor fails to go fully online by 2032.
And they have received NRC approval.
https://thebreakthrough.org/press/release-the-nrc-issues-con...
So not sure what additional regulatory hurdles you see. Can you enlighten us?
> TerraPower must still complete construction, submit an operating license application, and satisfy all applicable safety and regulatory requirements before loading fuel and beginning operations.
Superphenix in France (1973-1998) and Monju in Japan (1994-1995, 2010-2016) have both had significant technical challenges. The Soviets built have some sodium reactors.
I used to be very for a PRISM style reactor like TerraPower is working for, especially with something like Integral Fast Reactor's on-site non-proliferation-safe pyroprocessing. But man, over the years, I just appreciate more and more how hard it is to build and maintain well. I'm both rooting for TerraPower, but also, it low key feels like an "if not when" situation, that this an incredibly energetic unsafe system to be dealing with, and it seems hard to imagine this being a safe long term cost effective solution. I hope the inspections are very very for real, very in depth, very detailed, given the scope of what is being built. It's not even a big reactor! But that much very high temperature sodium going around, right by a big nuclear reactor (smartly TerraPower has separate nuclear and energy "wings), is deeply concerning, and needs incredibly detailed inspections if this is to provide the lasting safe value it is purporting to deliver.
But with MSRs of a scalable size you could just pipe the fuel to a replacement reactor when the current vessel reached its operational life.
There used to be separate construction and operating permits, and sometimes you got the building permit, built the plant and then never got the operating license.
This has now been streamlined with a combined construction/operating license. If you built what you promised to build, you get to operate it.
The only recent nuclear buildouts that I personally have knowledge of are expansions to existing plants and thus have a lower barrier to get going.
With the combined license, that case simply cannot happen, no matter what else happens.
I’m familiar with the reactors built on other previous ‘expedited’ processes that ended up being anything but fast. We’ll see how it goes eh?
The oppressive economics of alternative energy right now is compared to all the other forms of generation is that they simply have a lot more runway just on economies of scale but also in technological development to increase their economic advantage. And keep in mind that alternative energy has already won the price war even over combined cycle natural gas
I just don't think solid fuel rod smrs are the way to go. I think the past the price competitive nuclear involves molten salt reactors with their inherent safety, inherent scalability, breeding, an online reprocessing that uses almost all the fuel.
Granted China has about the only one that's ever gone into semi-production. That reminds me, it's been about a year since I heard it went online and I haven't read anything about it
Of course I am assuming you're not going to cheat by using your right to sell to your solar electricity at fixed price to your local utility, let them figure out production and distribution issues and pretend you are consuming your own solar electricity.