Thread: Nuclear power plants

Originally Posted by garrycol

...........
2. If all the worlds power requirements were to be met by nuclear power the raw uranium in the ground would only last 50 years before it was all gone - ......

As with all such figures, it refers to known reserves. In Australia, for example, there has been no significant exploration directed at finding uranium for at least the last fifty years, and this would probably apply to much of the world. Exploration techniques have markedly improved in that period, so it could be expected that major discoveries would result from exploration - but nobody is going to spend money on it when existing reserves are so large. (Some major discoveries of uranium have been made while looking for other minerals - Olympic Dam is an example).

John

There is one other resource that hasn't mentioned here yet.

Tidal Energy.

Ref; WA approves 40 MW tidal energy plant for Kimberley

.

Originally Posted by JDNSW

As with all such figures, it refers to known reserves. In Australia, for example, there has been no significant exploration directed at finding uranium for at least the last fifty years, and this would probably apply to much of the world. Exploration techniques have markedly improved in that period, so it could be expected that major discoveries would result from exploration - but nobody is going to spend money on it when existing reserves are so large. (Some major discoveries of uranium have been made while looking for other minerals - Olympic Dam is an example).

Ref; Uranium Deposits WA by Robin Chapple MLC

Map of sites in WA.

https://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=U...z=5&dg=feature

Originally Posted by garrycol

Some old information (I cannot reference it at the moment) but maybe of some interest.

1. As of a couple of years ago the total amount of nuclear waste amounted to 20,000 tonnes ....

2. If all the worlds power requirements were to be met by nuclear power the raw uranium in the ground would only last 50 years before it was all gone...

Originally Posted by JDNSW

As with all such figures, it refers to known reserves. In Australia, for example, there has been no significant exploration directed at finding uranium for at least the last fifty years, and this would probably apply to much of the world...

The other thing to remember is technology has a habit of evolving. The current state of the art may be at the same stage of development as the 'Rocket' loco was to the evolution of the train.

Present day reactors don't utilise a great deal of their potentially available fuel. There are reactor designs proposed which burn the waste from present reactors. By some accounts there is enough stored waste to fuel these reactors to produce electricity for hundreds of years at current electricity consumption rates.

Little new large scale uranium mining may be needed and final waste production is said to be ~7x lower than current designs.

TED - Bill Gates: Travelling Wave Reactors

People need to keep an open mind on all issues. The technology is there to sit along side renewables. Mining coal releases radioactivity too. Too much to explain here,but forget Uranium totally. Watch below:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK367T7h6ZY]LFTRs in 5 minutes - Thorium Reactors - YouTube[/ame]

Just a note for people advocating fusion reactors ...

They haven't gotten them to work at anything above a small scale experimentation level as yet. Certainly they are many years off being a commercial reality although the potential if they do get it to work is fantastic.

Originally Posted by Chucaro

One among many of the reasons why I am against nuclear power it is because if it is run by a private company profit it is the number one priority and adding to that the "common fault" of humans greed (which regardless of the implications that can cause is always present) we have a recipe for disaster.
Do not forget the factor corruption as well which is present when regulatios are to tight to make possible a "reasonable" profit.
No, I will not risk the planet when negligence is always blamed for disasters and are quickly fixed by a simple sorry and assurances that it will never happen again.

I think that the regulations, the red tape, the green tape, the protests, the time it will take before the first 1000kg of concrete foundations will be so expensive that it will be prohibitive. I think that other countries build reactors, like in Taiwan, because they don't have the amount of red tape, green tape and protestors.

Hay Ewe

Originally Posted by Hay Ewe

...I think that other countries build reactors, like in Taiwan, because they don't have the amount of red tape, green tape and protestors.

Oh they have protesters, hundreds of thousands of them.

Focus Taiwan, March2013: 200,000 take part in Taiwan's anti-nuclear protest