We have been seeing it for some time, and the fact is that nuclear energy has enormous potential for our country, although the rest of the world is clear about its definitive prohibition. A renewable source, but not a clean or ecological one, which could now disappear throughout America. Bill Gates himself has just created a futuristic and innovative alternative that has the world in shock. This is the new generator that could give power to the whole country, with a completely new proposal that no one knew until now.
America is prepared to put an end to nuclear energy: It could be the end of the most polemic source
The United States is again in the new generation of nuclear power structures with the innovative reactor and energy storage system known as Natrium developed by TerraPower. This technology, in its embryonic stage, holds so much promise in charting the new course of nuclear power in America’s clean energy plan.
Natrium reactor is a 345 MW Sodium fast reactor with an associated molten salt energy storage system, which puts it in a league of its own from a light water reactor. This particular design makes it possible for the Natrium plant to produce a kind of electricity that is emission-free, can easily be synchronized with renewable sources of energy like solar and wind.
“As opposed to the current Light Water Reactors, the Natrium is a 345 MW sodium fast reactor and the combination of it with TerraPower’s innovation — molten salt energy storage, which means built-in gigawatt-class energy storage,” the company clarifies. This makes the plant suitable to support grids with high renewable energy penetration where the variability of the source is a problem.
Bill Gates wants to replace nuclear energy… with more nuclear energy: The idea America is thinking about
The movement of being able to store energy as molten salt and release it when required makes it be the solution to the expanding electric grid. This feature helps to ensure a strong, yet quite flexible, power that is needed to accommodate fluctuations in renewable generation, thus hopefully becoming an essential part of the decarbonized electricity system.
Creation of the Natrium reactor is the outcome of collaboration between a private firm called TerraPower and the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP). It offers a 50/50 cost-share with up to $2 billion in funding the Natrium project, as authorized.
Where is Natrium being developed in America? This state wants to change everything
The Natrium reactor and energy storage system are in the process of development in Wyoming, where applications for the next nuclear plant in America have been filed by TerraPower. This plant will be constructed at a location where a coal-fired generation station has been decommissioned, making the production of nuclear power a transition for the energy plants and stations of the country.
Currently, developers in Wyoming have only applied for permits for America’s next nuclear plant, Natrium which will use a new type of reactor that is well suited to augment the growing installation of wind and solar power, as highlighted by the Bechtel article. Taking place in Wyoming, this positioned the Natrium demonstration project to fit perfectly in a state with a significant energy focus.
The widespread application of the Natrium reactor and energy storage system represents a successful development in the future of nuclear power in the United States as well as internationally. The Natrium tackles the problems of existing Nuclear technology and adapts itself to be the perfect fit for today’s integrated renewable energy power line.
What do you think of this project to save nuclear energy? Bill Gates’ Natrium could be a desperate idea to avoid its definitive end, or really an approach that avoids the excessive dependence on photovoltaic or offshore wind sources. However, even on this occasion, it has not been accepted by environmentalists, who continue to criticize this “greenwashing” that does not convince several American states (by now, I’m sure you know which ones).
