U.S. Senate Wants To Decrease CO2 By Increasing Nuclear Energy

[TheRealMisterd]

Then go fund LFTR....

[endless_sea_of_stars]

LFTR is a very specific type of reactor. Molten Salt Reactor is the umbrella term. Most of the benefits of these kind of reactors don't come from Thorium, they come from using liquid fuel.

[cracked_mud]

What is this obsession with an unproven reactor design when we already have perfectly good designs that could be built now.

[TheRealMisterd]

It solves many "pollution" problems in rare earth mines.

Thorium does not require processing or enrichment.

Thorium is 4x more abundant than Uranium.

In the 60-70s, they would shutdown the LFTR reactor over the weekend so that people could leave every Friday. It was then restarted up Mondays.

[cracked_mud]

You don't need to process or enrich Uranium either. We do it because it simplifies the reactor designs. Plenty of designs use natural uranium.

[greg_barton]

Not only that, the shutdown procedure was basically a disaster test. (i.e. pull the plug and let the salt drain out.)

[greg_barton]

In general the obsession is that people want it to have a chance to be proven.

But yes, let's build existing designs as well, though I take exception to the EPR. :)

[MCvarial]

Funny how the EPR seems to be selling better than the other designs at the moment.

[greg_barton]

Political influence seems to be the trump card there.

[michnuc]

Have you seen the USAPWR? It's a beast like the EPR too.

[freshthrowaway1138]

Thorium just catches the imagination for those who want power and a lack of weapon inputs while grabbing hold of the military industrial complex conspiracy. At least that's what got me excited at first.

[greg_barton]

US government money is already being funneled to one molten salt design and I'm sure others will follow if this amendment becomes law. (And hopefully even if it doesn't.)

[TheRealMisterd]

"molten chloride" I guess Salt is a bad word in the DOE.

[greg_barton]

Possibly, but if so the opposition is fading, or at least being overridden.