The Half-Life Report #3: Gen IV, Palisades, and 24 Years of Nuclear Waste

August 06, 2024

Welcome to The Half-Life Report, the weekly nuclear newsletter that gets right to the point and gives you golden nuggets from the world of nuclear.

Here’s last week’s biggest news from the nuclear industry.

#1: First Gen IV Nuclear Reactor in the US Breaks Ground

Kairos Power Begins Construction on Hermes Low-Power Demonstration Reactor - Kairos Power

Kairos Power has contracted with Barnard Construction Company to begin construction of the Hermes Demonstration Reactor in Oak Ridge, Tenn.

kairospower.com/external_updates/kairos-power-begins-construction-on-hermes-low-power-demonstration-reactor

  • Kairos Power began construction on the Hermes reactor, the first officially approved Generation IV nuclear reactor in the US, located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee

  • The reactor: low-power, molten fluoride salt-cooled pebble-bed design, the first non-light-water reactor in the US in over 50 years

  • Safety: The reactor has advanced safety mechanisms that allow it to shut down and cool passively without human intervention

  • Funding: $303M grant from the Department of Energy

  • When? Expected to be completed by 2027

#2: The Palisades Comeback

Palisades Power Plant, operated by Holtec International, in Covert, Michigan.

The Biden administration is providing $1.5B to restart the Palisades Nuclear Power Plant, making it the first nuclear power plant to be reopened in the US.

Key Points:

  • Why? The federal government wants to maintain the nation’s nuclear fleet + meet climate goals by decarbonizing the electricity grid by 2035

  • The loan: The loan is going to Holtec International, who owns the 800-megawatt plant based out of Covert, Michigan, which was originally shut down in May 2022

  • Deals in place: Two power generation companies, Wolverine Power Cooperative and Hoosier Energy, have already agreed to buy power from Palisades, giving a critical economic foundation for its reopening

  • Expansion: Holtec plans to expand the site with two 300-megawatt small modular reactors (SMRs) to increase the plant's capacity to 1,400 megawatts; enough power for 1.4M homes

  • Jobs: The plant used to employ 600 people with salaries averaging $117,000 annually. Restarting Palisades will create hundreds of high-paying jobs and stimulate the local economy in Van Buren County

  • Model for future restarts: This could be the blueprint for restarting other decommissioned nuclear plants in the US, which is likely faster and cheaper than building new plants from scratch

You can read more about it in the article below:

Biden administration will lend $1.5 billion to restart Michigan nuclear power plant, a first in the U.S.

The federal government will provide a $1.5 billion loan to restart a nuclear power plant in southwestern Michigan. Officials say it would be the first nuclear power plant to be reopened in the U.S.

www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/biden-administration-will-lend-1-5-billion-to-restart-michigan-nuclear-power-plant-a-first-in-the-u-s

#3: How much waste does nuclear really produce?

That’s 24 years worth of spent fuel at the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant, operating from 1972 to 1996.

I know nuclear doesn’t produce that much waste, but this picture is still pretty insane — that’s from 24 years of energy production!

Wild.

ICYMI: Instagram

The Half-Life Report is now on Instagram, and we dropped a pretty ️‍🔥 reel:

That’s it for this week!

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