Um…. What? There is still no fusion technology that generates net positive power. We’re nowhere close to that goal, either. Like, it’s 100 years away.
In other news, Canada is looking to scale up nuclear in a big way
Of course the anti-nuke folks are up in arms about why we’re not going all solar and wind. Everyone likes to pretend grid storage is somehow a solved problem, when in fact we’re not even close.
Now look here, when Jacob Rees-Mogg says there will be a British fusion reactor within 17 years then there will be a British fusion reactor within 17 years. Or, more to the point, an English one.
The Honourable Member for North East Somerset and the 18th Century is one of the intellectual giants that made sure that Brexit not only went as smooth as silk, but also catapulted Britain back to Her rightful place as the political, economical and moral world leader She is destined to be as it was, is, and shall be, forever, per the Divine Order of things; leaving any other nation trailing in Her wake.
How dare you doubt the words of this Prince amongst mere men, this new Prometheus, with your so-called “scientific facts” and “expert’s opinions”.
This just the typical petty niggling we have come to expect to spew forth from the chattering classes, especially [starts foaming at the mouth] those ingrate former colonies who didn’t know when they had it good; the worst kind of Johnny Foreigner there is!
About half of the UK’s planned civil nuclear capacity could be reviewed as the government struggles to fill a £40 billion ($45 billion) black hole in its finances.
Sizewell C, a new nuclear power plant planned for Suffolk, is now under evaluation as the government considers delaying or even canceling the project it is helping to back, the BBC was told.
The project could provide up to 7 percent of the UK’s total electricity, and joins the delayed and over-budget Hinkely Point C as the only new-build nuclear projects in the pipeline.
[…]
Preparing for blackouts
Tabloid Ilta-Sanomat urges its readers to begin preparing for the possibility of rolling power outages during the coming winter months.
Fingrid’s communications manager Marjaana Kivioja tells IS that even short power cuts, of up to two hours at a time, may cause unexpected challenges — especially in urban areas.
“Elevators won’t work, cash registers won’t work, refuelling [vehicles] won’t work,” Kivioja notes.
However, she adds that two hours is not a very long time to be without electricity, especially if consumers are given advance notice, and gives some advice to IS readers about how to cope.
“Get a radio or use a car stereo. You can hear more information there. Get a lamp with good batteries. The house won’t cool down in two hours, no matter how cold it is. Do not open the freezer or the refrigerator. Think about what you will eat within the two hours or what you can make without electricity, for example something that does not require an electrical appliance to prepare,” Kivioja advises.
Ah, nuclear district heating. A real classic.
Zurich had plans for that in the 1960ies. The basic idea was to build an underground plant beneath the city and use it as central heating. But in the end the project was scrapped and Zurich ended up owning a share in the Gösgen NPP.
In recent years China has been proposing deep pool reactors for this sort of thing. Slide deck:
I’ve been waiting for a while now for some nuclear agency or research lab to propose to develop a smaller Castor-type casket. That would fit into the average garage for a private car. You know, solve heating homes and storing waste in one go.
The deep end of my swimming pool is 8 feet, that would be the place to start to switch this house to nuclear. There’s lots of energy left in a spent CANDU bundle. Help solve the nuclear waste problem and heat a hot tub. /s
Members of my family worked on the nuclear district heating idea… heady days.
Tsutomu Yamaguchi, the man Robert Oppenheimer could not kill.
The UK government today confirmed it would take a joint stake in the Sizewell C nuclear plant, allowing for “China General Nuclear’s exit from the project,” which it said was “set to generate reliable, clean electricity for 6 million UK homes.”
The UK will spend £700 million ($843 million) on Sizewell, a funding figure that will be matched by French partner EDF.
The move cuts out China General Nuclear from construction of the new power station, with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak saying in his first foreign policy speech yesterday that Britain’s “golden era” of China relations is over.
[…]
