Just a blurb -- i'll try to find a bit more solid info... At any rate - build it. _________ Nuclear power plant eyed in Amarillo A developer is interested in bringing a nuclear power plant to this Panhandle city. Amarillo Power is proposing the plant that, pending regulatory approval, could be completed and online within a decade, according to a story in Tuesday's Amarillo-Globe News. The proposal calls for a two-unit, 2,700-megawatt advanced boiled water reactor designed by General Electric Co., according to documents obtained by the newspaper through the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and other sources. Amarillo Power is controlled by developer George Chapman, who did not return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday. link
Excellent news. I consider myself very "environmentally-friendly", but the env. groups in the US are absoultely r****ded when it comes to nuclear power. Sometimes it seems like they get all of their information on nuclear technology from "The Simpsons"...
In what way? Even though the waste must be managed for what seems like eternity, some environmentalist groups have now put their backing behind nuclear power.
If there had been no sloppiness and ineptitude leading to such disasters as Three Mile Island accident, the environment groups would have been a lot more quiet.
A few years ago, I was 100% against nuclear power. I lived within 5 miles of one, and I protested frequently the inherent dangers of the energy. Now, not so much. Oil and coal are choking the planet's ability to sustain human life. It's simply not sustainable for our species. That's a pretty big matzo ball there. Nuclear energy is clean, proficient and virtually limitless. I'd much prefer windmills and solar power, but there's just no way for corporations to get rich on those technologies -- a requirement Big Government would demand for any large-scale energy shift. Hence, the quiet ascension of nuclear power back up the food chain. Yes, a nuclear meltdown is bound to happen eventually. Fortunately, Amarillo sucks so hard that none of the radiation would leave the area.
Three mile island was hardly a disaster. And referencing antiquated designs is fairly misleading anyhow. True.
New nuclear systems are catalyst-driven, i.e., they require a catalyst to react - cut-off the catalyst and the reaction stops. No risk of meltdown. EDIT: Here we are, negative feedback PBRs Thorium reactors are even more promising.
