A Mini Thorium Grand Plan

There are two major weakness of all of the national energy plans that I have seen to date. One is that to some extent they are dependent on continued use of some fossil fuels. This is is not satisfactory if our goal is to control global warming. The other major flaw is a complete failure to explore the potential of Alternative Nuclear Power. By Alternative Nuclear Power I mean alternatives to building ever larger and more expensive Uranium Fuel Cycle Light Water Reactors. Alternative Nuclear power can include Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors, other Thorium Fuel Cycle reactors, and Pebble Bed Reactors. It would include small factory built reactors, that can be built cheaply and quickly through mass production assembly lines. Alternative Nuclear would include innovative siting approaches. Under ground and underwater sites, for example, would provide high degrees of accident related safety, plus protection against terrorist attacks.

The Pebble Bed Reactor is currently being developed in both South Africa and China, small PBR can be mass produced. Small PBRs can can be grouped to produce as much power as desired, with plants producing powers within months of the first unit order. Cost per unit of power would be smaller than for Light Water Reactors. The PBR is highly safe, and it can be air cooled, With mass production thousands and even tens of thousands of PBRs can be factory built in the next 40 years, Large scale factory production will dramatically lower unit costs.

Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors have more advanced features than the PBR. Because LFTRs are closed fuel cycle reactors they use a tiny fraction of the fuel used by Conventional reactors. The do not produce nuclear waste. Fission products after a nuclear cool down period can be us in Industry, medicine, food preservation, or sanitation. Most thorium cycle byproducts will be safe within a generation or two. Thus the long term problem of nuclear waste will be largely eliminated.

Like the PBR, the LFTR is highly safe, safer than conventional reactors. It can be placed in unconventional sites. The LFTR can be mass produced on assembly lines at costs that should be lower than conventional reactors. Like the PBR is can be set up in groups of units. The LFTR can follow the load of electrical demand. Given high volume production, LFTRs prices may be lowered enough to use LFTRs as peak power producers.

There is enough assured thorium reserve in the United States to power the entire economy for at least 400 years, the probable thorium reserve is huge will power the United States for as long as we need energy. Except for solar water heating, and some solar space heating, virtually all energy requirement can be meet through LFTR produced electricity. LFTR’s are proliferation resistant, but not proliferation proof, and therefor should not be sold to rogue states.