
The Forgotten History of Small Nuclear Reactors - jonbaer
http://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/the-forgotten-history-of-small-nuclear-reactors
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donttrustatoms
Interesting article.

The nuclear industry does indeed have a selective memory, and much of this
interesting legacy is nearly lost.

But perhaps most rightly so. You cannot compare the designs of today with the
reactors of the 1950s any more than you can compare the computers of 2015 with
those of 1960.

The cost numbers are also dramatically incorrect because you are comparing
apples to oranges. Wind and solar may produce a kw cheaply, but for correct
pricing, storage that can fully levelize their production over a full day, a
full week needs to be accounted for, and it frankly simply does not exist. The
truth is that levelizer, with fracking's cheap prices, is natural gas. So for
every solar and wind plant you have the same size of natural gas plant,
regularly turning on and off. The other part not included in the price is
carbon and emissions costs externalities. Natural gas is effectively "coal
lite" and biomass burns more dirty than coal.

Let's restart this article/conversation with at least some correct bases.

