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Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by Spooky23 on Saturday July 30, 2022 @07:36PM (#32291463)
The capital costs of nuclear are so high the current model of marketing electricity doesn’t work.

The same will be true of fusion. Set a target level of service and make electric generation a government service. The government is better at capital projects anyway and if energy were a taxpayer funded service it would transform society in many ways.

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by thrown_22 on Saturday July 30, 2022 @08:01PM (#32291640)
> The capital costs of nuclear are so high the current model of marketing electricity doesn’t work.

It doesn't work because nuclear is the only power where all the externalities are accounted for. The average coal plant kills more people with radiation released from burning coal every year than all nuclear accidents combined.

But because it's nicely diffuse no one cares.

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by VintageCool on Saturday July 30, 2022 @11:22PM (#32292851)
Coal is dying in the United States for economic reasons, anyway.
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by thrown_22 on Saturday July 30, 2022 @11:35PM (#32292913)
Yes, because natural gas is cheaper.

Amazing.

When people said we'd be using renewables I somehow didn't think dinosaur farts would be the largest slice of the pie.

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by scaredginger on Saturday July 30, 2022 @09:19PM (#32292185)
Sorry, what radiation is released from coal? Do you mean gas emissions?
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by SECProto on Saturday July 30, 2022 @09:27PM (#32292242)
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by scaredginger on Sunday July 31, 2022 @04:31AM (#32294217)
Thanks

The link you provided indicates the level of radiation is negligible, so I'm not sure what your point is.

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by danielheath on Sunday July 31, 2022 @08:56AM (#32295201)
It's higher (IIRC, orders of magnitude higher) than the amount of radiation released by an operating nuclear plant.
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by aperson_hello on Sunday July 31, 2022 @11:31AM (#32296222)
And that number includes all nuclear accidents as well iirc
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by tomohawk on Saturday July 30, 2022 @07:57PM (#32291609)
Can you name any capital projects in the last 30 years where the US government did a great job of a) controlling costs, b) meeting the stated design goal, c) on time?
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by pyuser583 on Saturday July 30, 2022 @08:38PM (#32291869)
I’m very happy with the massive road construction and maintenance in my area.
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by tomohawk on Sunday July 31, 2022 @06:27PM (#32299459)
I have a family member who was an engineer in the Federal Highway Administration for many years. The amount of waste and excess cost on these projects is really hard to exagerate.

Comparative costs to other OECD countries for similar infrastructure - there really isn't one, as the US is way out of line in terms of cost and quality.

My family member communicated with counterparts in other countries, impressed with what they were doing. When asked what the research was that they based their projects on, they all said it was the US funded research (which the US doesn't take advantage of).

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by pyuser583 on Sunday July 31, 2022 @10:38PM (#32301313)
The roads I’m talking about aren’t federal highways (“I-*”).

I’m sure the interstate highway system is the best the 1950s has to offer.

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by Godel_unicode on Monday August 01, 2022 @02:31PM (#32310253)
If you’re not talking about federal roads then I don’t think your comment is relevant to a discussion of US Government projects.
Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by Spooky23 on Saturday July 30, 2022 @08:42PM (#32291898)
A few that come to mind:

- Alaskan Way Viaduct

- Tappan Zee bridge replacement

- Billions in highway projects.

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by cpwright on Sunday July 31, 2022 @09:17AM (#32295292)
I might not hold up the new Tappan Zee Bridge as a beacon of meeting design goals.

https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/mario-cuomo-bridge-s...

Re:US regulators will certify first small nuclear reactor de... by pyrale on Sunday July 31, 2022 @06:53AM (#32294723)
Maybe you should stop electing people whose campaign talk is that US agencies are a big mess?

I mean, these people basically gain popularity when government is shown to be inefficient, but at the same time, they're the ones tasked with running the government.