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NN Asks: What hurdles stand in the way of nuclear power’s global expansion?
Jake Jurewicz
Nuclear technology is mature. It provides firm power at scale with minimal externalities and has done so for decades. The core problem isn’t about the technology—it is how the plants are built. Nuclear construction has a well-documented history of cost and schedule overruns. Previous nuclear plants often spent more than twice what was first budgeted, making nuclear among the power technologies with the largest average cost overruns worldwide.
Recent projects illustrate how severe the problem can be. In South Carolina, the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion saw projected costs rise from roughly $10 billion to more than $25 billion before the project was abandoned in 2017, by which time more than $9 billion had already been spent and customers were stuck paying for a site they have yet to benefit from.
W. M. Stacey, J. P. Aldridge, R. L. Beilke, L. G. Bryson, E. P. Davidson, T. A. Deterding, J. G. Evans, E. M. Fort, R. D. Jeffcoat, S. Klima, M. T. McLain, A. D. Nielsen, M. J. O'Neill, G. Y. Poe, H. U. Rehman, B. H. Rose, G. M. Roach, A. O. Rodriguez, R. T. Still, D. D. Thomas, M. P. Valenzano
Fusion Science and Technology | Volume 33 | Number 4 | July 1998 | Pages 443-455
Technical Paper | doi.org/10.13182/FST98-A43
Articles are hosted by Taylor and Francis Online.
A design concept for a fusion neutron source-based tritium production reactor has been developed, where liquid Li is used as the coolant and tritium breeder and V-4 Cr-4 Ti is used as the structural material. The fusion neutron source is predicated on the physics and technology that will be demonstrated in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The present design can produce 2 kg/yr excess tritium for weapons replenishment operating at fusion power levels of 300 to 750 MW and with corresponding plant availability factors of 25 to 10%. No structural component should fail as a result of radiation damage during the 40-yr lifetime of the reactor, and it should be possible to dispose of the radioactive waste created upon decommissioning as low-level waste that qualifies for shallow land burial. A fusion tritium production reactor based on ITER physics and technology would seem to be a realistic option for satisfying the nation's tritium production needs.