Obama is down for nuclear power, can I get a hell yea?

[cubeless]

As much as I love Texas hate'in from other areas of the country (helps minimize the constant flow of idiots moving here from those areas), except for available land area and a desire to dump a percieved hazzard in our great state building new nuke plants in Texas doesn't make much sense. We have the best and most reliable power grid in the country and in my area especially already get most of our power from a nuke plant. Seems to me it would make more sense to build power plants where you need the power

i wasn't dissin' tx, i was lauding it... i have business interests and my mom in tx...

 

[dguy6789]

There has never been someone who was informed and had a reasonable understanding of nuclear power that opposed it.

 

[hal2kilo]

They can store it in my state, if they want. Anyone that actually understands radiological waste would agree. In fact, they already do store high-level waste in my state. And every other state that has a commercial nuclear power plant.

You know damn well that most of it is the spent fuel that is siitting on site at the power plants precisely because there is no approved national storage facility. Until that issue is answered and resolved, it's irresponsible to promote more nuclear power.

 

[rcpratt]

You know damn well that most of it is the spent fuel that is siitting on site at the power plants precisely because there is no approved national storage facility. Until that issue is answered and resolved, it's irresponsible to promote more nuclear power.

Yes, all of it (except DOE waste, perhaps) is spent fuel that is either in the spent fuel pool or dry cask storage on site. We've been doing it that way for 40 years. Have you ever heard of an issue? Would Yucca Mountain be nice? Sure. But we can keep doing it like we have been for a long, long time. Our 104 commercial power plants produce just 200 cubic meters of high-level waste per year. It's almost nothing.

 

[wiretap]

tornado vs nuclear reactor....who wins?

Reactor wins. You've obviously been watching too much television. The entire plants themselves are designed to withstand more than what a mere tornado can throw at it. Ever hear of Turkey Point being hit by Hurricane Andrew? There were over 150mph winds for extended periods of time just raping the plant, with big chunks of heavy debris bombarding it. None of the plant structure was damaged or compromised. A cooling tower did need replacing though.

Maybe you should read up on what not just the outside structure can handle, but also the reactor within the supporting structure. (good info at NRC.gov) Ever wonder why we developed the bunker buster weapons technology? Because conventional bombs are not strong enough to penetrate the walls and hulls of reactors and their supporting structure. Hint: Iraq war 1.

 

[K1052]

You know damn well that most of it is the spent fuel that is siitting on site at the power plants precisely because there is no approved national storage facility. Until that issue is answered and resolved, it's irresponsible to promote more nuclear power.

The waste shouldn't be stored....it should be used to make more power.

The DOE should license and build a fleet of Advanced CANDU reactors, dry reprocess the spent LWR fuel, and run it back through the CANDUs to burn off the vast majority of the actinides. If we use Hanford and Savannah River there is no local approval required to do this.

Burying the spent fuel monumentally stupid and expensive.

 

[wiretap]

Agree.. we should be reprocessing the fuel and re-using it. It can be used many of times over again in various type reactors. But there also needs to be a national repository to store it. There is tons just sitting in on-site storage facilities around the US. Hell, our plant just had to build a dry-cask outdoor storage lot because our fuel pool is full.

 

[K1052]

Agree.. we should be reprocessing the fuel and re-using it. It can be used many of times over again in various type reactors. But there also needs to be a national repository to store it. There is tons just sitting in on-site storage facilities around the US. Hell, our plant just had to build a dry-cask outdoor storage lot because our fuel pool is full.

On site dry cask is an acceptable solution until a plain is finalized. There is no reason to ship it about the country unnecessarily until that happens.

 

[wiretap]

I know. It's just the public perception.. it would be more widely accepted if there was a safe national repository to store the "waste" in. (even though it isn't waste and can be re-used) I'm not worried about shipping it. I've watched videos where dry cask storage cylinders are dropped out of airplanes, hit with trains, and subjected to fire for hours and they go unharmed.

 

[K1052]

I know. It's just the public perception.. it would be more widely accepted if there was a safe national repository to store the "waste" in. (even though it isn't waste and can be re-used) I'm not worried about shipping it. I've watched videos where dry cask storage cylinders are dropped out of airplanes, hit with trains, and subjected to fire for hours and they go unharmed.

I'm not concerned, it's just expensive and time consuming.

 

[ForumMaster]

for all the clueless (and i do mean that) people who are so against nuclear power, please read about the advances that have been made and understand a little before shutting your ears and shouting "LA LA LA LA LA"...

new reactors today are of a type called Breeder Reactors.

most nuclear power plants that exist today in the states aren't that new and may not use that newest technology but see this. Back in 1986, scientists had already proved passive safety systems. that laws of nature protect that reactor, not out safety systems. man made systems are the primary protection systems. that laws of nature that the backup.

a standard nuclear reactor's concrete cooling towers are built to withstand a hit from a boeing 747. seriously. combine all this together...and you create the cheapest, cleanest and yes, overall most environmentally friendly forms of generating electricity.

 

[Carmen813]

How about a collective HELL, NO! WE WON'T GLOW!

Until there's a way to provide 100% guaranteed failsafe protection against sabotage and operator stupidity and to deal with leaks and radioactive waste, one failure can kill thousands if not millions of people and render an area the size of a mid-sized state uninhabitable for centuries.

It may be possible... someday, but it is not, now.

It's the best of a bunch of bad options. What we really need to do is fix the energy grid, especially in the NE. That would probably result in more net gain for energy than all the "Drill Baby Drill" crowds solution would.

 

[RyanPaulShaffer]

You can tell if an "environmentalist" is serious about "going green" or if they are just a partisan ideologue by whether they support or oppose nuclear energy.

Nuclear is by far the best technology currently available to get us off of fossil fuels. It is clean, it is safe, and it is economically feasible. Any "nuclear holocaust" incidents (except Chernobyl, which was just a perfect storm of Russia being cheap, cutting corners every step of the way and having untrained and inadequate staff) is just blown way out-of-proportion by the media.

 

[wiretap]

I'm not concerned, it's just expensive and time consuming.

Then politically, you'll get nowhere because the 'other side' will continue using the safe storage argument to block legislation and build sites for new plants.

 

[K1052]

Then politically, you'll get nowhere because the 'other side' will continue using the safe storage argument to block legislation and build sites for new plants.

Actually congress already passed a package of loan guarantees and incentives for utilities to start construction again. Several of these companies have filed build and operate license applications with the NRC. This hasn't happened in about 30 years.

 

[Zargon]

yeah the grids out west and out east are total garbage.

 

[rcpratt]

Actually congress already passed a package of loan guarantees and incentives for utilities to start construction again. Several of these companies have filed build and operate license applications with the NRC. This hasn't happened in about 30 years.

Yup, loan guarantees and tax credits. About 30 applications have already been filed with the NRC, the first about two years ago. They should start being approved in about another two years.

 

[wiretap]

Actually congress already passed a package of loan guarantees and incentives for utilities to start construction again. Several of these companies have filed build and operate license applications with the NRC. This hasn't happened in about 30 years.

Yes.. I know. My plant is going through the COLA process right now, and so are many other plants. It still has to be approved. Everything can still be stopped, even after a new plant is finished being built.

 

[K1052]

Yes.. I know. My plant is going through the COLA process right now, and so are many other plants. It still has to be approved. Everything can still be stopped, even after a new plant is finished being built.

It is unlikely this time around since nuclear power is again considered a favorable choice by the public and the new reactors will be built at existing sites.

 

[AyashiKaibutsu]

Like all great ideas in government what things start as usually end up totally different by the time they come to an agreement everyone will vote for even though half of what'll be changed will be done just to screw the other side not to actually improve the country.

 

[QuantumPion]

How about a collective HELL, NO! WE WON'T GLOW!

Until there's a way to provide 100% guaranteed failsafe protection against sabotage and operator stupidity and to deal with leaks and radioactive waste, one failure can kill thousands if not millions of people and render an area the size of a mid-sized state uninhabitable for centuries.

It may be possible... someday, but it is not, now.

How about we ban all commercial airline travel until we have a 100% guaranteed failsafe against terrorist attacks while we're at it. And Ban all automobiles until we have a 100% guaranteed failsafe against car accidents. And close all schools and force all children to remain at home until we can 100% guarantee that children won't be harmed by whatever. These make far more sense then your blather.

 

[QuantumPion]

When will the President tell Harry Reid to suck it up because we're going to use the Yucca Mountain storage facility we've sunk billions of dollars into? Without a plan for long-term storage of spent nuclear materials, new reactors are not a clean power source.

The President himself cut funding for Yucca Mountain to essentially scrapped the whole deal.

Nuclear power is still clean. It doesn't matter whether the spent fuel is stored under ground at Yucca or above ground in casks, either way its still safe and contained and the power generated is clean.

 

[woolfe9999]

Deeds, not words.

Let's see something get accomplished in this area and then I'll celebrate.

I tend to agree. His has been cool to the idea in the past, though never dismissive. I hope he'll follow through on it, but I'll believe it when I see it.

- wolf

 

[QuantumPion]

Hell yeah.

Whether or not Obama meant what he said, it's coming. Yucca Mountain would be nice, but if the government wants to continue to pay utilities billions of dollars to store waste on site, that won't stop anything.

I think you have that backwards. Utilities pay the government to take possession of their waste and store it at Yucca (which the government does not, in breach of contract, hence the utilities have been suing the government for the cost of operating dry fuel interim storage).

 

[evident]

nuclear seems like the greenest energy option for us right now, aside from wind and solar, which doesnt' produce nearly as much power as a nuke plant would.

these are legit questions that i dont know the answer to-

isn't it true that pollution from a coal powerplant is an order of magnitude worse than pollution from automobiles? and how clean is clean coal power plants?