Nuclear’s Model T

Abstract

This article discusses that the future of nuclear energy could lie in plants that can be factory built, shipped to a site, and operated 30 years without refueling. The scope and timing •of the “nuclear renaissance,” however, remain somewhat uncertain. All that is known is that in countries around the globe, including the United States, significant numbers of new nuclear energy projects are under way or in various stages of planning, and this activity represents a departure from that of recent decades. The broad interest in developing new small reactor system concepts seems to be in conflict with the trend toward ever-larger central station power plants, which is driven by the principle of economy of scale. The Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor (STAR) concept and the Small Secure Transportable Autonomous Reactor (SSTAR) reactor in particular provide good examples of additional design features that could make the introduction of such reactors more readily accepted while offering the potential for economic performance that makes sense in comparison to other alternative sources of energy.