For every one of us who worries about the future of meeting the
UK's energy needs, there are several thousand self-centred individuals who don't care one iota about carbon targets and climate change, as long as the energy is there 24/7.
There
is only one technology that can supply every individual on the planet with an
energy-rich lifestyle, for all of time, even when there are 9 billion of us. It
is that of the breeder-reactor, fuelled from inexhaustible uranium resources. In the not too distant future, our lives will
be dominated by the decline of hydrocarbon resources and many other resources also. To avoid international confrontations from energy, water or food wars, worldwide
deployment of breeder-reactors becomes inevitable. Global warming may prove not be the most important driving issue of Government policy.
Breeder reactor technology is here and now, in the form of the GE Hitachi PRISM Power Block. The Government is ignorant of, or is choosing to ignore its potential, even though the path is clear for adopting this power generation system. Only ridiculously expensive
and ineffectual renewables and 'yesterday’s’ nuclear power are under consideration. GEH say they can build the first one in 5 years and authorities have already stated that there is
no significant impediment to its UK licensing.
So an
enlightened Government, prepared to drop the mollifying mish-mash of its current energy policy, could have the first of this unique type of nuclear
power plant up and running in under 10 years. At the moment, one is under
consideration to 'burn' our plutonium stockpile, as it generates 622 MW of
commercial electricity, over a period of 50 years plus. So the first one will solve the proliferation problem.
We
then have 35,000 tonnes of depleted uranium plus all of the existing, and still
to be created, spent nuclear fuel, which these power plant can also 'burn'.
That's enough fuel to power the UK for 500 years, using a fleet of these
reactors. So that's the energy security
problem solved.
They
emit no greenhouse gases. So that's the carbon targets met, with ease.
The
minuscule amount of nuclear waste they produce, decays to background radiation
levels in 300 years - easily, cheaply and safely stored. So the problem of
storing long-lived nuclear waste, for mega-thousands of years, is also
resolved.
These
reactors are inherently safe - under accident conditions, such as complete loss
of power, they shut down according to the laws of physics. They are passively
safe - under accident conditions, such as the disabling of all safety systems,
they shut down without human intervention. Natural or man-made conditions experienced
at Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima, would result in these reactors
undergoing benign shutdowns.
What
a unique opportunity for the UK to lead the rest of the world into the era of the breeder-reactor. The
plant and equipment is made from stainless steel and operates at
atmospheric pressure, so that UK companies with the expertise and capacity, such as Rolls-Royce, could
manufacture these reactors in their entirety. We are so well placed to
negotiate manufacturing licences with GEH, to take us into a period
of manufacturing growth and prosperity, we have not seen in at least 3
generations.
I would like to know if you are prepared to take the Government to task on this issue.
I await your reply with interest.
Regards,
Just wondering, have you heard any new news about how the research in 2013 went?
ReplyDeleteI know Prism and the UK National Laboratory had a "Memorandum of understanding" exploring prism in the uk and then I haven't heard anything new
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