Small scale reactors that require almost no maintenance and produce enough power for a single city are the hot topic right now due to what you just mentioned. As a side product, they provide hot water for the city.
Lots of people know virtually nothing about nuclear even tho they’re avid supporters of it. So when you point out a downside, they get mad.
As a side product, they provide hot water for the city.
Hot water (technically superheated steam) is the main (and only immediate) product of a nuclear reactor…
Trying to directly use secondary coolant as hot potable water just makes zero sense though. It’s waaaaay more efficient to move the electricity and then heat different water.
I mean, you’re talking about an open loop nuclear system…
No sane engineer would ever do that. A small primary loop leak and your dosing everyone, all to just essentially lose efficiency.
Imagine living in a snowy city where hot water is pumped through the sidewalks to people’s homes. No frozen pipes, no shoveling snow. No people freezing to death…
You still need to clear snow and ice. The hot water pipes are insulated to ensure that the hot water remains hot until it goes into radiators and faucets. You’d lose all that heat if you use it to heat sidewalks.
My city does this. Hot water is pretty cheap here if you’re hooked up to the municipal network. If you have an electric water heater you’ll go bankrupt in the winter.
SMRs are still being developed and won’t be ready to deploy en mass like that before 2030. The Biden Administration’s goals are to have 80% of energy generated by non-carbon based sources in that very year. This timetable is arguably too slow as it is.
Even that assumes SMR development goes smoothly. Given the history of nuclear development projects, that’s far from certain. The big project in Utah is already showing signs of not meeting its initial promise.
There is no scenario where nuclear can help us achieve our goals in the timespan alloted. Plants take too long to build, and SMR can’t be developed fast enough. If we started getting serious 20 years ago, it’d be different.
(What’s with the downvotes?)
Small scale reactors that require almost no maintenance and produce enough power for a single city are the hot topic right now due to what you just mentioned. As a side product, they provide hot water for the city.
Lots of people know virtually nothing about nuclear even tho they’re avid supporters of it. So when you point out a downside, they get mad.
Hot water (technically superheated steam) is the main (and only immediate) product of a nuclear reactor…
Trying to directly use secondary coolant as hot potable water just makes zero sense though. It’s waaaaay more efficient to move the electricity and then heat different water.
I mean, you’re talking about an open loop nuclear system…
No sane engineer would ever do that. A small primary loop leak and your dosing everyone, all to just essentially lose efficiency.
Where did you even see that suggested?
Imagine living in a snowy city where hot water is pumped through the sidewalks to people’s homes. No frozen pipes, no shoveling snow. No people freezing to death…
You still need to clear snow and ice. The hot water pipes are insulated to ensure that the hot water remains hot until it goes into radiators and faucets. You’d lose all that heat if you use it to heat sidewalks.
My city does this. Hot water is pretty cheap here if you’re hooked up to the municipal network. If you have an electric water heater you’ll go bankrupt in the winter.
SMRs are still being developed and won’t be ready to deploy en mass like that before 2030. The Biden Administration’s goals are to have 80% of energy generated by non-carbon based sources in that very year. This timetable is arguably too slow as it is.
Even that assumes SMR development goes smoothly. Given the history of nuclear development projects, that’s far from certain. The big project in Utah is already showing signs of not meeting its initial promise.
There is no scenario where nuclear can help us achieve our goals in the timespan alloted. Plants take too long to build, and SMR can’t be developed fast enough. If we started getting serious 20 years ago, it’d be different.
Small scale reactors are actually more expensive than larger reactors. Even compared to Vogtle 3 and 4…