Monday, November 10, 2008

NIMBY: Nukes In My Backyard

Image shows nuclear power plants in the U.S. (not an adequate number).


Good news at IBD about energy prospects in America:

Energy: Al Gore says the same fervor that elected Obama president can be used to save the planet. Actually, a new type of nuclear power plant the size of a garden shed might do the trick....

Using technology developed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory and licensed from the U.S. government, New Mexico-based Hyperion Power Generation Inc., has taken its first orders for miniature nuclear power plants that could literally fit in your backyard.

The module produces about 70 megawatts of thermal energy or 27 megawatts of electricity via steam turbine, enough to power about 20,000 American-style houses.

"Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world," says John Deal, chief executive of Hyperion. They will cost approximately $25 million each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very comfortable $250 per home...."

This seems like a rational, market-based solution to our problem.


Update: Just saw this story at FOXNews.com: Portable Nuclear 'Hot Tubs' Could Power America



Yes, I DO want a nuclear reactor in my backyard.

That's what Hyperion Power Generation, a small Santa Fe, N.M.-based startup, hopes lots of utility and energy companies say over the next few years as it prepares to build and market small, self-contained, portable nuclear reactors that need almost no oversight or maintenance.

"Our goal is to generate electricity for 10 cents a watt anywhere in the world," Hyperion CEO John Deal told Britain's Observer newspaper in an article published Sunday. "They will cost approximately $25 million each. For a community with 10,000 households, that is a very affordable $2,500 per home...."

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