In energy news….

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Pretty fascinating. Thorium is safer and has less radioactive waste than uranium.

A Thorium Reactor in the Middle of the Desert Has Rewritten the Rules of Nuclear Power

Move over, uranium. Get out of here, water. Thorium and salt are the new MVPs of nuclear power.

www.popularmechanics.com

 

[mstateglfr]

uh-oh, I think I just found a rabbit hole to go down.

 

[GloryDawg]

I would rather have that than all these reactors we have up and down the Miss River. I really don't worry about that at all but if you could build those things in the desert away from population area people who are worried about them might feel more comfortable. I say build the hell out of them.

 

[HailStout]

A

 

[thatsbaseball]

Pretty fascinating. Thorium is safer and has less radioactive waste than uranium.

A Thorium Reactor in the Middle of the Desert Has Rewritten the Rules of Nuclear Power

Move over, uranium. Get out of here, water. Thorium and salt are the new MVPs of nuclear power.

www.popularmechanics.com

After reading a bit about Thorium my initial question is "what took so long" ?

 

[GloryDawg]

After reading a bit about Thorium my initial question is "what took so long" ?

I would guess because it is 1960's technology that the US walked away from. Everyone probably figured it wasn't any good.

 

[Darryl Steight]

I know next to nothing (okay, just 'nothing') about Thorium, although it sounds promising. The other thing they mention they are using with it is a molten salt reactor, which I believe Mississippi has a good bit of salt. I just saw where Southern Co. is working on that here now.

Just wondering if this new tech is something we could add as part of the state's Power Play initiative...

 

[Ranchdawg]

After reading a bit about Thorium my initial question is "what took so long" ?

Doesn't the medical industry use thorium?

 

[jethreauxdawg]

How have you meme kids not dropped a marvel meme in here yet?

 

[beachbumdawg]

I would rather have that than all these reactors we have up and down the Miss River. I really don't worry about that at all but if you could build those things in the desert away from population area people who are worried about them might feel more comfortable. I say build the hell out of them.

Small problem - you can generate any where you want to but you have to have the wires to move that generation to the load center and you also have to be able to balance the system load

 

[johnson86-1]

Pretty fascinating. Thorium is safer and has less radioactive waste than uranium.

A Thorium Reactor in the Middle of the Desert Has Rewritten the Rules of Nuclear Power

Move over, uranium. Get out of here, water. Thorium and salt are the new MVPs of nuclear power.

www.popularmechanics.com

So is it producing net power? Or is the energy to radiate the thorium close to the amount produced (or a high enough percentage to make it far from economic)?

I guess the next question is can we build one economically? I know we won't really know until we actually build one at commercial scale, but I'd be interested to know what they think a commercial sized reactor would cost, assuming they even have a design for a commercial sized one and there aren't significant engineering problems with scaling up.

 

[BoDawg.sixpack]

Neat! Another energy fad! I wonder if this one will be as substantive as hydrogen fuel cells were?

 

[aTotal360]

We have to start producing next gen nuclear plants. The Ai market and new data centers are pushing it.

 

[dorndawg]

We have to start producing next gen nuclear plants. The Ai market and new data centers are pushing it.

I generally agree; in the meantime, Americans in more rural states can look forward to increased rates and outages due to these data centers.

I'm told these data centers create dozens of jobs each, so this must be a good thing.

 

[CochiseCowbell]

How have you meme kids not dropped a marvel meme in here yet?

 

[HailStout]

More like Borium, am I right?

 

[horshack.sixpack]

Neat! Another energy fad! I wonder if this one will be as substantive as hydrogen fuel cells were?

Interesting wording. I think that hydrogen fuel cells are still being researched/refined. Is all research a "fad"? If you hear about a potential new energy source is it a "fad" until it turns commercially feasible? Do you just not like hearing about things with potential that aren't yet proven?

 

[aTotal360]

I generally agree; in the meantime, Americans in more rural states can look forward to increased rates and outages due to these data centers.

I'm told these data centers create dozens of jobs each, so this must be a good thing.

Then coal it is.

 

[dorndawg]

Then coal it is.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Neat! Another energy fad! I wonder if this one will be as substantive as hydrogen fuel cells were?

I mean it’s an actual functioning power plant so not sure I’d call it a fad. If it gives power like a uranium powered plant with greater safety and less radioactive waste then I’d say that’s a homerun.

 

[aTotal360]

I generally agree; in the meantime, Americans in more rural states can look forward to increased rates and outages due to these data centers.

I'm told these data centers create dozens of jobs each, so this must be a good thing.

Also, allow each of these data centers to build their own power plant. Don't let them leech off the grid.

 

[dorndawg]

Also, allow each of these data centers to build their own power plant. Don't let them leech off the grid.

YES, I agree. Instead we have govenrments tripping over themselves to allow them to hog electricity which we all know will drive other ratepayer's costs sky high.

There's a reason you see these data centers popping up where the government is a bit, ahem, simple-minded. Of course, I'd never presume any corruption could additionally be at play.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

YES, I agree. Instead we have govenrments tripping over themselves to allow them to hog electricity which we all know will drive other ratepayer's costs sky high.

There's a reason you see these data centers popping up where the government is a bit, ahem, simple-minded. Of course, I'd never presume any corruption could additionally be at play.

 

[thatsbaseball]

YES, I agree. Instead we have govenrments tripping over themselves to allow them to hog electricity which we all know will drive other ratepayer's costs sky high.

There's a reason you see these data centers popping up where the government is a bit, ahem, simple-minded. Of course, I'd never presume any corruption could additionally be at play.

https://www.datacentermap.com/usa/

 

[dorndawg]

Yep, memphis comes to mind and it's a big one. If you've flown very much in the last year or two, you can see these data centers popping up all over the place.

 

[Shmuley]

Also, allow each of these data centers to build their own power plant. Don't let them leech off the grid.

Gasification. Many of these DCs will stand up their own on-site gasification using natural gas.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

It's a pretty simple article about something that I would guess is pretty complex. I would need to see a bunch more before I can comment. Must have been some reason they lost interest. I am interested in finding out more.


Here is an article from 2022 that paints a less rosy picture.

So it seems to be something that is being researched and is actively being discussed and has people on both sides.

 

[msudawg200]

I generally agree; in the meantime, Americans in more rural states can look forward to increased rates and outages due to these data centers.

I'm told these data centers create dozens of jobs each, so this must be a good thing.

I don’t follow your logic on increased rates and outages. This increases revenues for the utility significantly and while, yes, there are upfront costs to provide power, the utility only bears a portion of that and generally would recover that portion in revenue within a few years.

If you wanted to question anything, it could be the tax advantages provided by the state, but again, these are bringing in so much tax revenue that it’s hard to view that as a net negative either.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

I don’t follow your logic on increased rates and outages. This increases revenues for the utility significantly and while, yes, there are upfront costs to provide power, the utility only bears a portion of that and generally would recover that portion in revenue within a few years.

If you wanted to question anything, it could be the tax advantages provided by the state, but again, these are bringing in so much tax revenue that it’s hard to view that as a net negative either.

Electricity is effectively a commodity sold on the open market. Electric providers buy from producers. Effectively anything that increases demand without increasing production will drive up prices.

The solution will finally be to power the data centers off methane. The greater Starkville area will attract hundreds of new data centers that will power themselves off of the abundance of methane billowing out of our athletic department. In a particularly cruel modality, the data center owners will give tons of money to our rivals and not us to ensure their power source remains abundant.

17 the data centers. They took are going to ruin Mississippi State athletics.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

It's a pretty simple article about something that I would guess is pretty complex. I would need to see a bunch more before I can comment. Must have been some reason they lost interest. I am interested in finding out more.

I’m certainly no expert on this subject, but have read much and dug deep in this subject a couple years ago.

I’d bet my mortgage the tech and intellectual property the Chinese bastards used to bring this to fruition was stolen from either the US or UK.

Notice that this experiment was conducted in a country NOT named the US, UK, or the PRC. Why?

The red tape to build PROVEN technologies in nuclear power plants in the US is impossible to grasp. Building new, unproven nuclear facilities makes normal people’s sphincters pucker; but for politicians it can be, pardon the pun, radioactive, which adds to the headwinds.

Germany is currently re-activating mothballed nuclear plants at an astonishing rate. This should tell us something. For one thing, Russian energy dependence was a huge mistake, as predicted by Trump in his first term.

I hope under the current administration, the unfair negative stigma attached to nuclear power is challenged and discarded for a courageous stand in removing unnecessary barriers in favor of nuclear power.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Electricity is effectively a commodity sold on the open market. Electric providers buy from producers. Effectively anything that increases demand without increasing production will drive up prices.

The solution will finally be to power the data centers off methane. The greater Starkville area will attract hundreds of new data centers that will power themselves off of the abundance of methane billowing out of our athletic department. In a particularly cruel modality, the data center owners will give tons of money to our rivals and not us to ensure their power source remains abundant.

17 the data centers. They took are going to ruin Mississippi State athletics.

No. It could just be that they need some…

Do Cow Farts Cause Global Warming?

Methane gas is mostly released by cows’ belches rather than farts. Visit U.S. Dairy, learn about cow burps & how dairy farms reduce their emissions.

www.usdairy.com

 

[grinningmule]

@PooPopsBaldHead and I are about to put these Idaho taters to work and power the world

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

I’m certainly no expert on this subject, but have read much and dug deep in this subject a couple years ago.

I’d bet my mortgage the tech and intellectual property the Chinese bastards used to bring this to fruition was stolen from either the US or UK.

Notice that this experiment was conducted in a country NOT named the US, UK, or the PRC. Why?

The red tape to build PROVEN technologies in nuclear power plants in the US is impossible to grasp. Building new, unproven nuclear facilities makes normal people’s sphincters pucker; but for politicians it can be, pardon the pun, radioactive, which adds to the headwinds.

Germany is currently re-activating mothballed nuclear plants at an astonishing rate. This should tell us something. For one thing, Russian energy dependence was a huge mistake, as predicted by Trump in his first term.

I hope under the current administration, the unfair negative stigma attached to nuclear power is challenged and discarded for a courageous stand in removing unnecessary barriers in favor of nuclear power.

I am definitely in favor of Nuclear Power especially over most renewable solutions. I found an article with an opposing view to the Popular Mechanics article and added it to my original comment. I am just opposed to making an opinion based on a single article like so many others seemed to be ready to do. Especially on a topic I am a novice in.

 

[PooPopsBaldHead]

@PooPopsBaldHead and I are about to put these Idaho taters to work and power the worldView attachment 799592

I bet them tater farms West of Idaho Falls near the INL have the right stuff ..

SL-1

 

[RebelRH]

We have to start producing next gen nuclear plants. The Ai market and new data centers are pushing it.

Don't forget the Teslas.

 

[T-TownDawgg]

It's a pretty simple article about something that I would guess is pretty complex. I would need to see a bunch more before I can comment. Must have been some reason they lost interest. I am interested in finding out more.


Here is an article from 2022 that paints a less rosy picture.

So it seems to be something that is being researched and is actively being discussed and has people on both sides.

Hmm.
Interesting article.

Upon looking more closely, the facts in some of those documents seem irrefutable, although technology has come a long way since 1967.

Using Maggie Chong as the only primary scientific source for an article delving deep into nuclear technology seems dubious, at best. According to Maggie’s own webpage:

Learn more about Maggie's research​

My research focuses on carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites, widely used in aerospace and automotive sectors for their weight-saving benefits and improved fuel economy.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I linked this video in another thread a couple of months ago.

 

[Bulldog Bruce]

Hmm.
Interesting article.

Upon looking more closely, the facts in some of those documents seem irrefutable, although technology has come a long way since 1967.

Using Maggie Chong as the only primary scientific source for an article delving deep into nuclear technology seems dubious, at best. According to Maggie’s own webpage:

Learn more about Maggie's research​

My research focuses on carbon fiber reinforced polymer composites, widely used in aerospace and automotive sectors for their weight-saving benefits and improved fuel economy.

Some of the comments say the same that's why I still won't take a position but it does show there are other views out there. More digging.

 

[johnson86-1]

Also, allow each of these data centers to build their own power plant. Don't let them leech off the grid.

YES, I agree. Instead we have govenrments tripping over themselves to allow them to hog electricity which we all know will drive other ratepayer's costs sky high.

There's a reason you see these data centers popping up where the government is a bit, ahem, simple-minded. Of course, I'd never presume any corruption could additionally be at play.

How are they leeching off the grid? They are a customer just like everybody else. Their usage generally peaks in mid to late afternoon, so if they are being served by a summer peaking utility, then yea, they are potentially problematic as far as driving the need for new capacity. But I would not assume that utilities in the southeast are summer peaking. Because southern utilities are more likely to use electric heat pumps instead of natural gas, they are actually probably going to be winter peaking.

But even if they are driving peak load, then they are getting a demand charge. People don't seem to realize they don't pay a demand charge as a residential customer because of politics. Non-residential customers are going to be hit with demand charges and pay for their contribution to the peak.

 

[msudawg200]

Electricity is effectively a commodity sold on the open market. Electric providers buy from producers. Effectively anything that increases demand without increasing production will drive up prices.

The solution will finally be to power the data centers off methane. The greater Starkville area will attract hundreds of new data centers that will power themselves off of the abundance of methane billowing out of our athletic department. In a particularly cruel modality, the data center owners will give tons of money to our rivals and not us to ensure their power source remains abundant.

17 the data centers. They took are going to ruin Mississippi State athletics.

If we’re talking very large data centers, then in many cases, power plants are being built to meet the demand, so production is increasing through that. And the data center is paying a rate to support the cost of that fuel (plus other costs in the rate).