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File Under "Cool": Mini nuclear plants to power 20,000 homes


Thunderbroom

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That gasmask and painter's suit isn't gonna do a {censored}ing thing for you in the event of a radiation leak. Sorry.
:D
C7

 

That's my pajama's, you should see my formal wear. :D

 

It does it's job to keep the flesh from peeling too far back so they can identify my body later. :thu:

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They need to fast track this {censored}. It will create thousands of high paying jobs for people who have a rare skill set, like me.
:thu:

 

Don't hold your breath, homey. You know that Big Oil is going to buy the technology and bury it. Then, in a couple of years, we're all going to have neighborhood-sized gasoline generators spewing millions of tons of pollutions into our atmospheres. It's all a huge conspiracy.

C7

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Don't hold your breath, homey. You know that Big Oil is going to buy the technology and bury it. Then, in a couple of years, we're all going to have neighborhood-sized gasoline generators spewing millions of tons of pollutions into our atmospheres. It's all a huge conspiracy.

C7

 

 

Either way I win. I'm good with fossil fuel generation and emissions management too.

 

The big issue is pushing for compartmentalized power generation.

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Either way I win. I'm good with fossil fuel generation and emissions management too.


The big issue is pushing for compartmentalized power generation.

 

I always knew you hated the Earth and wanted it to die.

 

But hey, if you're gonna be an Earth Killer, you might as well make a bunch of money off of it.

 

Personally, I think we can power our homes on Hope.:idea:

C7

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My town is about this size. We drop two (to cover expansion and businesses) of these in town at a cost of ~$50m and each homeowner pays $500. This covers our cost of power until it needs refueling in 7 - 10 years?!?

 

 

Depending on the design, refueling cost could be less than half the cost of the new units.

 

Although, given the low from end cost, simple drop in replacement with a trade in voucher would be very feasible.

 

The big problem is that without energy deregulation, the savings will never be passed on to the customer.

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Depending on the design, refueling cost could be less than half the cost of the new units.


Although, given the low from end cost, simple drop in replacement with a trade in voucher would be very feasible.


The big problem is that without energy deregulation, the savings will never be passed on to the customer.

 

 

Interesting. Any idea what it might cost to maintain and operate something like this?

 

The article seems to suggest you buy it, plug it in, bury it and forget about it for a decade or so. That doesn't seem realistic to me.

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Depending on the design, refueling cost could be less than half the cost of the new units.


Although, given the low from end cost, simple drop in replacement with a trade in voucher would be very feasible.


The big problem is that without energy deregulation, the savings will never be passed on to the customer.

 

 

I could understand my bill not going down that much, because there are other costs involved with energy transmission, like line maintenance and repairs, etc., but it would really suck if these units were able to bring the cost down substantially, and that savings was translated only into profit.

C7

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Interesting. Any idea what it might cost to maintain and operate something like this?


The article seems to suggest you buy it, plug it in, bury it and forget about it for a decade or so. That doesn't seem realistic to me.

 

 

No, it would require maintenance and monitoring. The monitoring can be done remotely with a single technician responsible for a region as defined by the NRC. These units will require, at a minimum, quarterly environmental reports, which could also be remotely generated.

 

The steam turbines for power generation clearly have moving parts and will require monitoring despite the fact that they are probably designed as maintenance free.

 

I'd speculate that one tech could easily service 10 of these units as a full time job. Even at the premium cost of the skill set, it wouldn't significantly add to the cost of the power production.

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They need to fast track this {censored}. It will create thousands of high paying jobs for people who have a rare skill set, like me.
:thu:

 

Question, burdizzos:

 

For someone like me, 27 years of age, who has a college degree and is stuck working in retail world, what kind of education would be a good prerequisite to get involved with upcoming high tech jobs? The nuclear, solar, and wind power industries will be growing by leaps and bounds in the next few decades. My company already told me they would pay half my tuition if I get my MBA, but I'm wondering if a dual degree involving something completely different might serve me better.

 

I guess with the uncertain economy I've been thinking hard about making a career change into something more secure and high paying.

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I guess with the uncertain economy I've been thinking hard about making a career change into something more secure and high paying.

 

 

Energy and water. Those two fields will always be in demand, and are recession-proof.

I'm starting to hate my job, and I'm applying for school starting next year, hopefully in the spring. I'm torn between pursuing a degree in graphic design, or a degree in Water Quality Management. One would satisfy me personally, the other would provide job security.

C7

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There is no reason this same technology can't be scaled up (say 10X output) and mounted on barges. That could eliminate many of the licensing/siting issues and make the installation/swap in/out process very easy.

 

Decentralizing generation makes a lot of sense all the way around.

You could probably power a small country with the transmission losses in the United States alone.

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