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Small modular nuclear reactor that was hailed by Coalition as future cancelled due to rising costs (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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So, it appears the first SMR project in the US was scrapped due to rising costs.

An Aussie SMR would take 10-15 years before even being online and we'd be the guinea pigs.

Perhaps it's time to pivot to technology already available and that can be implemented in the short term?

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[–] [email protected] 0 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (2 children)

There numerous projects out there, for example Ge Hitachi & Terrapower's Natrium Development Project.

https://www.terrapower.com/our-work/natriumpower/

This will be a big one that's supposed to work synergistically with renewable energy, able to scale up and down it's power supply on demand.

Not the end of the world...yet.

Edit: This comment was talking about Nuclear Initiatives in general to the world, not specifically Australia, apologies. Once implemented and the efficiency is demonstrated, I believe that the plan is to build these around the world.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago (1 children)

supposed to work synergistically with renewable energy

Well, there's your problem. They don't want something to work alongside renewables. They want to delay renewables for as long as they possibly can to keep the mining gravy train chugging along for as long as possible.

I think we do need to keep developing new technologies, because there are always going to be situations where renewables aren't ideal, but that's not the "problem" that SMRs in Australia are supposed to be solving.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 10 months ago

You know what also works synergistically with renewables? More renewables!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Are there any working now?

How long to build one?

How long before one could be up and running and adding to our power supply?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Construction to begin in 2025 is Wyoming. It's not expected to be operational this decade.

https://natriumpower.com/frequently-asked-questions/