U.S. Regulators Approve First Nuclear Power Plant Since 1978

[eduardo89]

U.S. regulators on Thursday authorized plans to construct the nation’s first nuclear power plant in three decades, despite concerns stemming from Japan’s 2011 earthquake that led to a meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant last March. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted 4-1 to grant Atlanta-based Southern Company a license to begin operating two new reactors at its existing Vogtle plant in Georgia, which will cost about $14 billion and are expected to*enter service as early as 2016 and 2017.

The Georgia plant will introduce the first American versions of the "third-generation" reactors that have been emerging in China, and they are purported to be safer, with resilient and longer-lasting batteries and gravity-powered cooling systems that can operate longer during emergencies. The landmark vote is not a "nuclear renaissance," but rather a "first wave" for new reactors, contended Scott Peterson, vice president of the Nuclear Energy Institute. "It’s obviously a critical event for the industry in terms of moving forward with the next generation of reactor technology."

U.S. Regulators Approve First Nuclear Power Plant Since 1978 (http://thenewamerican.com/tech-mainmenu-30/environment/10831-us-regulators-approve-first-nuclear-power-plant-since-1978)

The New American
WRITTEN BY BRIAN KOENIG
FRIDAY, 10 FEBRUARY 2012 18:11

[FrankRep]

In Defense of Nuclear Power (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmBFvSuOVM)

Dr. Douglas McGregor



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcmBFvSuOVM




A lecture by Dr. Douglas S. McGregor explaining the science of nuclear energy and also debunking the lies and myths propagated by the anti-nuclear energy movement. Recorded in 2002 and produced by The John Birch Society.

Douglas S. McGregor, Ph.D., is the director of the Semiconductor Materials and Radiological Technologies (SMART) Laboratory at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, where he designs, fabricates, and characterizes radiation detectors and systems. Dr. McGregor has over 15 years of experience with radiation detection and measurement, semiconductor physics, and semiconductor device fabrication, and he is recognized as an expert on semiconductor radiation detector design, fabrication, and characterization. He presently holds records for semiconductor detector results and designs, and has introduced novel concepts for neutron and gamma radiation detectors. Many neutron detectors developed at the SMART Laboratory are used and tested at the Ford Nuclear Reactor facility, where graduate students working with Dr. McGregor characterize their properties. Mr. McGregor has authored or co-authored over 36 research publications on radiation detectors, and presently has six patents filed on various detector concepts. He has a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Michigan. Dr. McGregor has also performed research for the Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories.

[Steve-in-NY]

If these are the kind I think they are, the Thor molten salt reactors, I am so good with that.

[XNavyNuke]

If these are the kind I think they are, the Thor molten salt reactors, I am so good with that.

They are dual loop PWR. Identical in performance to GE's AP600, however the have fewer components and therefore fewer failure points. They are not Thorium units.

XNN

[Zippyjuan]

A very fancy way to boil water.

[GeorgiaAvenger]

The best way to access energy production.

[The Gold Standard]

Imagine if we had a free market. We would have nuclear powered cars by now and they would be trying to give oil away.

[youngbuck]

They are dual loop PWR. Identical in performance to GE's AP600, however the have fewer components and therefore fewer failure points. They are not Thorium units.

XNN

I await the day that Thorium units are online. What's your opinion on the them XNN?

[daviddee]

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