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2007-07-21 Home Front Economy

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Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-07-21 07:08|| || Front Page|| [2 views ] Top

#1 The U.S. nuclear program has been moribund. It needs to be revived.

Posted by JohnQC 2007-07-21 10:08|| 2007-07-21 10:08|| Front Page Top

#2 Part of the problem in the past has been the non-standard design employed by independent [though with government financing and backing] power consortiums. Each one different from the next, each requiring [then] AEC inspections and upgrades and regulatory changes and etc. The power companies back then often when for bigger is better, making it more complicated and more expensive than necessary. Take a standardized, field proven design used by the French, Swedes, Germans, et al. Cut out all the 'uniqueness' and get on with building by the dozen, medium size facilities. The issue then is disposal and that is simply removing the judiciary from the process by including a provision that the loser of any challenges must pay not only legal costs but all costs associated with any delay in construction and certification, non-waiverable, with at least 20% bond posted. That'll cut out the fruits, flakes, and nuts, leaving only serious challenges to the process.

Posted by Procopius2k 2007-07-21 11:02|| 2007-07-21 11:02|| Front Page Top

#3 It'll never work, entrenched interests will defend their fiefdoms to the dying breath.

Posted by gromky 2007-07-21 11:53|| 2007-07-21 11:53|| Front Page Top

#4 When the older voters are forced to deal with rolling blackouts in cold weather, when they're eating cold canned food in the dark, when their plasma TV's are just expensive wall hangings, they will be howling for nuclear plants, anyone, no matter how entrenched, opposing them will be shouted down or stoned to death. Worry about global warming will be demonstrated as the delusion it is. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Posted by Anguper Hupomosing9418 2007-07-21 17:37|| 2007-07-21 17:37|| Front Page Top

#5 GE had a conference last spring to try to get critical suppliers lined up for the revival of the domestic nuclear power plant market. They claim the design is now standardized and that cost reductions will be expected from the efficiencies of building multiple (nearly) identical plants.
Sorry to say that this generation of plants does not breeder reactors. We throw away 99% of the energy from our refined uranium.

Good news- they had two of these type built in Taiwan recently. They were completed 39 and 36 months after concrete pour, which is amazingly quick for such a complex and critical system.

Posted by Neville Phereng4211 2007-07-21 18:51|| 2007-07-21 18:51|| Front Page Top

#6 36 mos sounds great if from start of construction. From first pour of concrete - too slow for a production line

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-07-21 18:54|| 2007-07-21 18:54|| Front Page Top

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