Current thinking pro-nuclear fission

[Cycloloco]

For a recent summary of the prospects for a new generation of nuclear plants worldwide and a bit about associating those with other operations, including generating hydrogen as a fuel, see:

http://www.raeng.org.uk/events/details. ... etail=True

The supporters believe modern designs are simpler, so less likely to go wrong, and produce less waste than earlier designs.

[Adam1]

Part Four [edit - it may have been Pt. 3] of the talk covers reserves of uranium. She's not saying anything new to show that there will be enough EROEI positive resource.

[Cycloloco]

Part Four [edit - it may have been Pt. 3] of the talk covers reserves of uranium. She's not saying anything new to show that there will be enough EROEI positive resource.

Agreed she doesn't mention EROEI but she does talk about fuel costs being a small proportion of total costs. She thinks there is more uranium to be found if we look for it. She implies that she wants reprocessing to use more of the fuel and she expects breeder reactors to be made to work later this century.
No wonder this has got the politicians thinking nuclear has to be pushed ahead now.

[Adam1]

[rant]If I was the person making the decision to commit many tens of billions to this, I'd want independently audited data (with another set of auditors checking the auditors' numbers) to check how much of the stuff there is left and what inputs (energy and material) the mining and fuel rod fabrication process relied on. I'd want lots of data that comes from sources uncorrupted by the nuclear industry. Their track record of secrecy and (in the UK at least) incompetence doesn't inspire confidence that they'll do any better next time. I'd want to see how much all that money would buy us in alternatives and compare that with what nuclear is likely (conservatively) to deliver. In short, nuclear is nothing but a king-sized boondoggle until it can be proved otherwise.[/rant]

[RenewableCandy]

Ever since I heard that nuclear waste, at least for the first few years, needs power input to prevent over-heating, I have totally gone off nuclear. I did, to be fair, once think the pebble-bed thingie might be a goer (because of the passive-shutdown advance. Except now I find that's only safe if air-tight-ness is maintained...), but no. If it needs input to keep it safe, it (no matter what the "it" is), is, in these times of uncertainty, simply not a goer.