US to help Thailand develop small nuclear reactors

[Photoguy21]

Please no. It is hard enough for them to keep the internet running or the electric supply going. Nuclear would be devastating.

[Liverpool Lew]

Could they use these in the submarines?

[Maejo Man]

This is like giving a five year old and box of matches, and saying be careful.

[soi3eddie]

Not surprised to see all the cheap shots at Thailand when it comes to safely running nuclear power generation. Thailand has fairly good industrial standards when it comes to things such as aviation safety so why not power? The current grid system is fairly reliable too - not heard talk of brownouts or blackouts here, unlike California in the USA for example. Even India and Pakistan have existing nuclear power generating stations - how many disasters there? The new nuclear SMRs are potentially game changing in cost, safety and scalability. They appear to be ideal for countries such as Thailand. The US projects and that by Rolls Royce in the UK, look promising. The likes of Chernobyl and Fukushima were old technology and are not being replicated in the safer new designs. 

 

From Wikipedia: Nuclear

Main article: Nuclear power in Thailand

Thailand has no nuclear power plants. Earlier plans to produce five gigawatts of electricity by 2025 using nuclear technology were scaled back to 2 GW in the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster.^[12]

As memories of Fukushima recede, interest in nuclear power has revived. Seven ASEAN nations, including Thailand, have signed cooperation agreements with Rosatom, Russia's state nuclear energy agency. EGAT is working with China, Japan, and South Korea on nuclear power generation technology and has sent 100 specialists to train for nuclear power plant projects. EGAT plans for up to five percent of the country's power generation to be generated from nuclear by 2036.^[13]

 

[soi3eddie]

30 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Please no. It is hard enough for them to keep the internet running or the electric supply going. Nuclear would be devastating.

Where do you get that from? Internet and power grid here in Thailand is generally very reliable (except when some bozo truck driver takes down a power pole as happened in our soi last Sunday). The MEA had a new pole installed in a few hours and 3BB were still working at 7pm to splice in new fibre optic lines to all the street by end of the night. 

 

 

[Adventurer1]

It’s a joke, right ? 

[Screaming]

While VP Harris is not the sharpest pencil in the bunch, this is good news for Thailand and its environment. Nuclear is much cleaner than fossil fuel and generates much more power than wind or solar. More countries need to explore this clean alternative to fossil.

[Srikcir]

2 hours ago, FritsSikkink said:

Clean nuclear energy? What is clean about radioactive waste?

Recycle to make new fuel and byproducts, ie., such as done by France.

[Photoguy21]

7 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

Where do you get that from? Internet and power grid here in Thailand is generally very reliable (except when some bozo truck driver takes down a power pole as happened in our soi last Sunday). The MEA had a new pole installed in a few hours and 3BB were still working at 7pm to splice in new fibre optic lines to all the street by end of the night. 

 

 

Surprising ly enough I get from living here for over 30 years, what is your excuse?

[Tarteso]

US to help Thailand develop small nuclear reactors
 

 

A Nik noi 

[ukrules]

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Not one word of that contradicts anything I said so pull your head in and stop flaming. That document is only a procedural guide. It doesn't address the problem of radiation leakage over or after the next 10,000 years.

This won't happen until new safer reactors with a different type of fuel are used.
 

We're talking decades from now and reactors that are nothing like those in use today.

 

There won't be any fuel that requires 10,000 years of storage involved either.

[Lemsta69]

2 hours ago, Boomer6969 said:

You just made Mother earth cry.

I don't think she's got any tears left after what we've subjected her to so far.

[Flink]

2 hours ago, SpaceKadet said:

SMR are the future of nuclear. Even for Thailand, as they require no maintenance throughout their lifetime, which can be be longer than 30 years. Just dig a hole, dump the reactor in it and forget about it for the next 30 years. No refueling, no direct maintenance, passive reactor safety. Designs already exist for sizes up to 50MWe, difficult for solar to beat that.

 

Additionally, being modular, you can easy connect more if you need more power. Also there are external "plug-ins" developed that will do desalination or H2 generation.

What's "clean" about massive graveyards of windfarm turbine blades and solar panels?

[IAMHERE]

It's FREE. USA is giving Thailand a Small Nuclear Reactor. Heck, maybe they can trade it for some submarine engines. Win Win for Thai's again.

[Moonlover]

2 hours ago, ozimoron said:

Not one word of that contradicts anything I said so pull your head in and stop flaming. That document is only a procedural guide. It doesn't address the problem of radiation leakage over or after the next 10,000 years.

Unless some very urgent and dramatic action is taken soon, it's likely there won't be any of our species left to worry about what is happening in to spent radioactive fuel in 10,000 years time. Probably a lot less in fact.

 

Head in sand attitudes are not going to prevail for much longer.

[Flink]

3 minutes ago, IAMHERE said:

It's FREE. USA is giving Thailand a Small Nuclear Reactor. Heck, maybe they can trade it for some submarine engines. Win Win for Thai's again.

Meanwhile in the USA the ecofarts and climate activists are fighting against nuclear as an option. Touch of the NIMBY from the US then.

[ozimoron]

11 minutes ago, Flink said:

What's "clean" about massive graveyards of windfarm turbine blades and solar panels?

Where are the toxic chemicals, CO2 emissions, other greenhouse gas emissions?

[SpaceKadet]

7 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Where are the toxic chemicals, CO2 emissions, other greenhouse gas emissions?

There has already been plenty in the manufacturing process of the solar panels and the blades. And there will be more once we start "re-cycling" those parts. Or we can maybe just use them as landfill...

[Rimmer]

Some off topic and troll posts removed also replies

[Archie Baker]

4 hours ago, Emdog said:

my "line in the sand" for leaving Thailand is them getting a reactor. We know how things are "maintained" here...

 

They cut corners do things their own  way and have no idea of consequence.  Why give them something they will undoubtedly get wrong.  They cannot develop solar in the LOSun let alone nuclear power 

[allanos]

Nuclear is safe, clean and cheap when costs are amortised over a 

project's life, with none of the problems associated with renewables,

like lack of wind for turbine generation, or lack of sunlight for solar.

 

This is being recognised the world over. Germany is bringing some

shuttered plants back online, (partly through need, it is true)  and

the majority of Japanese people are again in favour of nuclear

energy, despite the Fukushima catastrophe of eleven years ago.

 

Hence, the price of uranium, where stockpiles are diminishing and

demand is outstripping supply, is rocketing. 

[Moonlover]

59 minutes ago, Flink said:

What's "clean" about massive graveyards of windfarm turbine blades and solar panels?

Can you provide any evidence that these are in fact 'graveyards' and not newly produced items awaiting delivery?

[TKDfella]

I'm still on the fence with regard to SMRs. Initially I thought they were more beneficial than the gigawatt type. But then I read a research paper on PNAS which studied three types of SMR and the conclusion was that they would/did suffer more from neutron leakage. However, it was quoted that many designs exist that they had not considered. And when I looked at a WNA list, I was surprised at the many designs. Seems that China has at least a couple of designs for offshore floating SMRs.

As far as Thailand is concerned they will need to clear up the many illegal fires that pollute before considering building more NRs as surely there would be an additional risk.   

[ozimoron]

13 minutes ago, allanos said:

Nuclear is safe, clean and cheap when costs are amortised over a 

project's life, with none of the problems associated with renewables,

like lack of wind for turbine generation, or lack of sunlight for solar.

 

This is being recognised the world over. Germany is bringing some

shuttered plants back online, (partly through need, it is true)  and

the majority of Japanese people are again in favour of nuclear

energy, despite the Fukushima catastrophe of eleven years ago.

 

Hence, the price of uranium, where stockpiles are diminishing and

demand is outstripping supply, is rocketing. 

You're ignoring the problem of having to keep nuclear waste safe forever.

 

There is never going to be a world shortage of uranium.

[Aussieroaming]

Oh well, it should be about as interesting as a parody of  Homer Simpson running the nuclear reactor at Springfield. Donuts for all.

[allanos]

24 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

You're ignoring the problem of having to keep nuclear waste safe forever.

 

There is never going to be a world shortage of uranium.

There are creative answers with nuclear waste disposal.

 

There is already a shortage of uranium, and fast-growing!

Are you aware of just how long it takes to bring a new

mining project of sufficient magnitude to production?

I think not.

 

 

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, allanos said:

There are creative answers with nuclear waste disposal.

 

There is already a shortage of uranium, and fast-growing!

Are you aware of just how long it takes to bring a new

mining project of sufficient magnitude to production?

I think not.

Nuclear waste can't currently be used for anything except enriching into weapons.

[soalbundy]

3 hours ago, wombat said:

JFC...

what could possibly go wrong?

Nothing........the truth will never get out.

[off road pat]

3 hours ago, Bert got kinky said:

spent fuel rods taken outside of Thailand !!!!

Surely a local scrap yard would be able to handle this matter.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samut_Prakan_radiation_accident

 

Thank you for this good interesting information !

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The United States will help Thailand develop nuclear power

No wonder Prayut got snubbed by Xi!