In the past, there have been few options for isolated areas to generate electricity. For small, out of the way towns and large industrial complexes located off the beaten path, combustion generators powered by natural gas or diesel have been the only choice.

But recently, the engineers at Toshiba have presented a new option, miniature nuclear reactors. Small potatoes when compared to their 1,500 MW cousins, these tiny 50 MW units would still be able to supply power to as many as 40,000 homes in areas far from the existing power grid.

With no need to refuel and no need for the expensive power lines required to deliver energy over long distances, these small nuclear reactors offer an environmentally friendly, cost effective, and above all reliable means to power these remote areas with little to no environmental footprint.

But these are not your Grandfather’s fission reactors. These units are self contained and use liquid Lithium-6 as a moderator instead of the Control Rods used by the larger reactors we are used to. For those of you who are new to the technology, in this case a moderator is a substance with a neutron affinity or ‘appetite’ for neutrons. They regulate the rate of fission in the same way regulating oxygen controls the rate at which a fire burns. No air, no fire – no neutrons, no fission. The fail safe design of these reactors causes the unit to automatically flood with Lithium-6 during a transient in order to “snuff out” the reaction by depriving it of the neutrons needed to continue fission.

Obviously, any new technology will have to endure the fears and lack of understanding by the under-informed. However, since 9/11 and the dramatic rise in oil prices, public opinion is finally warming to a technology that has been unjustly loathed for decades. With this waning fear and opposition to clean, safe nuclear power, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is expected to consider this type of reactor sometime within the next ten years.

~Man Overboard

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