1y ago

Bill Gates-backed nuclear contender Terra Power aims to build dozens of UK reactors

www.cityam.com Bill Gates-backed nuclear contender Terra Power aims to build dozens of UK reactors - CityAM

A Bill Gates-backed clean energy player is hoping to build dozens of nuclear reactors in the UK and will compete with global rivals.

Bill Gates-backed nuclear contender Terra Power aims to build dozens of UK reactors::A Bill Gates-backed clean energy player is hoping to build dozens of nuclear reactors in the UK and will compete with global rivals.

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131 comments

Rolls Royce SMRs are more likely to get govt support in the UK
https://environmentagency.blog.gov.uk/2023/04/03/taking-the-rolls-royce-small-modular-reactor-smr-to-the-next-step/
- General rule of thumb - if the current UK government is in favor of something it's probably a really terrible idea.
  
  I trust RR to build an SMR more than some tech bros.
  They literally grow aerospace parts from crystals
  https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/in-depth/jewel-in-the-crown-rolls-royce-s-single-crystal-turbine-blade-casting-foundry/
  
  I'm not suggesting that a SMR can't be built, I'm saying that they're a massive waste of money, unless you hold RR stock.
  
  SMRs are great for decentralization of the power grid.
  Which makes the viability of renewables like wind and solar much more viable, as you can have the reactor for each mini grid throttle down based on current renewable yield, and throttle back up when the sun goes down or the wind stops.
  It also means that issues like Texas had in the winter of 2021 would be a lot smaller in magnitude, as having one SMR and renewables go offline would only cause a local power outage, instead of entire cities suddenly being without heat or power.
  
  I can't find any sources that support SMRs being used as peaker plants, conventional nuclear certainly can't behave this way. Do you have any links?
  
  You can do this but it makes them even more expensive, because you’ve built an expensive plant for operational capacity that you don’t use.
  We should be load following with storage, not nukes.
  
  Do you have a source on that? I can't find anything supporting SMRs for peak use. How quickly can they come online? How much notice to take offline? How long to reach peak generation?
  
  Why would you get a small unit when you can get big one.
  
  Well, this Tera Power project is also for SMRs...
  
  Why?
  
  Dismissing all ideas of those you don't like is a stupid idea and leads to you becoming dissociated from the views of the population at large but you do you I guess
  At least break ideas down into categories small enough that you form a viewpoint on it to compare to theirs, as it's near impossible to find a group you agree or disagree with on everything
  
  It's called, "paying attention". I've been watching these crooks dismantle the UK for the past 13 years.
  
  If 90% of their ideas are stupid, you'd still be missing out on a tonne of at least ok ideas
  Sounds like you're not paying attention but instead thinking you know best and so there's no need to pay attention to anything else
  
  If you want to filter through a mountain of bullshit in order to possibly find a few OK ideas, you're free to waste your time. You sound like you really don't have anything interesting to say but you'd like to tone police anyway.
  
  It's not like you're looking retrospectively... You sound like a late teen who thinks they've got the world all figured out and so have shut everything out, including the things that would make you realise that you actually haven't
  
  Counterpoint: I've actually done the research on this, have you?
  
  What research? On how every single idea the Tories have had in the past 13 years has been bad with no redeeming features, as I think at least the one in this post certainly has at least shades of good.
  If you are suddenly bringing the original post in after shunning it to moan about politics then it's not much of a counterpoint as it just goes to show that you're ignorant to what's actually going on around you
  
  So enlighten me.

131 comments