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Three Mile Island to be restarted

Thermal said:
You can argue that point with the upthread poster who claimed reactors have a 40-60 year lifespan.
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And is this claim correct?

Yes and no. A lot of reactors were built with these sort of lifetimes in mind. And reactors are typically only licensed to operate for 20 year periods, with relicensing an option. These license extensions review the state of the reactor and any maintenance and upgrades necessary to keep the reactors operating, including for periods beyond the original planned lifespan. When granted, these license extensions are granted because the reactors are not at the end of their lifespans. As we have gained experience running reactors, we have found that we can run them for longer than 40-60 years when properly maintained and updated.
 
Ziggurat said:
...we can run them for longer than 40-60 years when properly maintained and updated.
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That was more my vibe. Virtually anything can have its life extended indefinitely if it gets repaired and improvements made. Prudent engineering usually doesn't try to build things to remain static like the pyramids at Giza (exterior siding excluded), but you want everything to be accesable to upgrade as tech moves forward. If you can't upgrade it, it surely becomes obselete.
 
Thermal said:
That was more my vibe. Virtually anything can have its life extended indefinitely if it gets repaired and improvements made. Prudent engineering usually doesn't try to build things to remain static like the pyramids at Giza (exterior siding excluded), but you want everything to be accesable to upgrade as tech moves forward. If you can't upgrade it, it surely becomes obselete.
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Wait till you find out about the B-52.
 
theprestige said:
Wait till you find out about the B-52.
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Or the endless variations of the AR 15 as the standard US Military firearm.
And it will be around for a while. Apparenly only Infantry are going to get the new Sig Sauer rifle, rest of the Army will keep the M4, the current variation of the AR 15.
 
Servers have backup power, and they will have so even with nuclear power - probably more, because a blackout would last potentially much longer than the predictable ups and downs of renewables.
 
angrysoba said:
There has to be some reason that nuclear power is being turned to rather than, say, renewables or fossil fuels. Is it just the power of lobbying?
My assumption is that there must be something about fossil fuels that make them unattractive. That is easy to explain of course, but the assumption is that the environment is being cared for on one side but not on any other. Apparently nobody, not even non-nuclear countries is making a go of renewables the way that they could, and nuclear power plants are being turned to once again.

Maybe there is more to it than simple greed or corruption.
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That and greenwashing. A lot of the fossil fuel companies got into nuclear production as a hedge against governments not believing their denialism.
 
Michigan Nuclear Plant Restart On Loan

The Palisades nuclear plant in Michigan has closed a $1.5 billion loan to support the first reactor restart in U.S. history, the Department of Energy announced Monday.

Palisades’ owner, Holtec International, hopes to restart the plant in the fourth quarter of 2025, subject to approval by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Holtec is a privately held nuclear technology company headquartered in Jupiter, Florida.
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These things have been popping up like mushrooms after a heavy rainstorm.
 
https://blog.google/outreach-initia...google-kairos-power-nuclear-energy-agreement/

Since pioneering the first corporate purchase agreements for renewable electricity over a decade ago, Google has played a pivotal role in accelerating clean energy solutions, including the next generation of advanced clean technologies. Today, we’re building on these efforts by signing the world’s first corporate agreement to purchase nuclear energy from multiple small modular reactors (SMRs) to be developed by Kairos Power. The initial phase of work is intended to bring Kairos Power’s first SMR online quickly and safely by 2030, followed by additional reactor deployments through 2035. Overall, this deal will enable up to 500 MW of new 24/7 carbon-free power to U.S. electricity grids and help more communities benefit from clean and affordable nuclear power.
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Well that's just another datapoint that makes it curious that these tech companies are turning to nuclear and not to the "cheaper by the MW" solar and wind.

Whereas with the Three Mile Island case there was an assumption that having all the bits and pieces lying around will mean it is cheaper to fire up the reactor than to build solar from scratch, in this case, things ARE being done from scratch, and new technology to boot.

Is this a case where solar is way cheaper as long as you are in Spain or Australia or is it just the case that nuclear is the most reliable source?
 
angrysoba said:
Well that's just another datapoint that makes it curious that these tech companies are turning to nuclear and not to the "cheaper by the MW" solar and wind.

Whereas with the Three Mile Island case there was an assumption that having all the bits and pieces lying around will mean it is cheaper to fire up the reactor than to build solar from scratch, in this case, things ARE being done from scratch, and new technology to boot.

Is this a case where solar is way cheaper as long as you are in Spain or Australia or is it just the case that nuclear is the most reliable source?
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I'm going to guess a little of both. Solar is probably cheaper per MW in a sunny location than a cloudy location, in part on account of reliability. Solar is almost certainly cheaper per MW in some locations than others. And of course, if you have a server farm, you want power always, not just when its windy or sunny.
 
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Solar power, whilst huge, is in theory limited in yield per day. Nuclear power in theory isn't.

given projections for the energy need of A.I., I.T. companies have to look for anything that can generate massive amounts of power on demand.
 
I found this article by Zvi on NEPA, Permitting and Energy to be pretty interesting.

(let me know if that link doesn't work, I copied it from the email version of this post*, when I looked for it on his website I couldn't find it there, which makes me wonder if he took the post down?)

In particular, look at the number of projects waiting for approval, compared to the total installed capacity in the US. There is more energy capacity waiting for approval than all the installed capacity in the US. Most of those projects will give up before getting permission to build, though. (And I'm talking mostly about solar here, though the amount of wind in the que is also very high. There are similar problems with projects to build new transmission lines.

*I can't clink though that link because China blocks substack, but I can still get the emails.
 
angrysoba said:
Well that's just another datapoint j
Whereas with the Three Mile Island case there was an assumption that having all the bits and pieces lying around will mean it is cheaper to fire up the reactor than to build solar from scratch, in this case, things ARE being done from scratch, and new technology to boot.

Is this a case where solar is way cheaper as long as you are in Spain or Australia or is it just the case that nuclear is the most reliable source?
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Locational availability and 24*7 reliability.
 
ahhell said:
I'm hoping they'll restart Rancho Seco!
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I am tempted to email SMUD..Sacramento Municipal Utilty District..about looking into that.
This, btw, was a Nuclear Plant operated by a governement agency, not a private company.
 
I can see Nuclear Power as a stopgap until Renewables can fully take up the load, which they are quite a ways from being able to do.
 
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