They are working on a new nuclear power plant in the United States – the $4 billion project is being built in a town called Kemmerer and is supported by the U.S. government and a company founded by Bill Gates called TerraPower.
Why this renewed push for nuclear energy?
Not long ago, the New York Times reported on this project and spoke with TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque about the context and significance of this project.
We (at Imagination in Action) also had several conversations with Levesque following his TED talk on this topic.
Levesque pointed out that the modern transition to renewable energy is a complex calculation that requires a more sophisticated response.
Collage on the concept of renewable energies
Renewable energy is crucial for the future, he said, but its availability is intermittent and to provide a stable supply of electricity to the grid it is important to consider expanding renewable sources.
“Nuclear energy is all about density, and that’s important when we look at the numbers because we want to use the materials well,” he said. “We also want to use the land well.”
Red, dry earth of a ploughed field.
To achieve this, Levesque explained, we could modernise our nuclear infrastructure, which was designed to be “risk-averse” and could have been much more efficient.
Levesque called the modern electric grid a “miracle,” pointing out that we will have a lot tied to our grid through electrical infrastructure, things like electric vehicles and the electrification of industry. Nuclear power can provide a bridge to renewables and offset the volatility of renewables.
“TerraPower is really based on the idea that innovation is necessary in nuclear science,” he said. “It’s … a field of science that a lot of people said because of stigma and because of some bad experiences in the ’70s … you should just push this whole field of science into a corner, and that doesn’t make sense.”
Isolated nuclear power plant icon on white background in cartoon style.
Levesque called for the closure of numerous hydrocarbon plants and reiterated the importance of using resources wisely.
“Nuclear energy is all about density, and that’s important when we look at the numbers because we want to use the materials well,” he said. “We also want to use the land well. … Nuclear energy has this property of density. It has a dense fuel. And it makes very good use of materials like steel, concrete and land. A nuclear power plant like the one we’re building in Wyoming, which will generate up to 500 million watts of power during the day, will only take up about 60 acres. If you compare that to a solar field, … (a solar power plant) of that size would take up thousands of acres.”
Ultimately, he suggested, nuclear energy should meet 20 to 30 percent of our needs.
“We shouldn’t play one source off against the other,” he said. “We need to think about what the optimal mix is.”
This issue is likely to be at the heart of ongoing debates about where we should get our electrical energy from in the post-carbon era. Let’s start thinking about it now so that we can soon be ready to create a sustainable energy mix that will secure energy supplies for future generations.
