None of the below will be too shocking if you've been following the progress of #SaintJohn company (it's actually American) #ArcCleanEnergy.
Regardless of organisational hurdles, Arc (and others) still have two big problems they haven't solved:
- where they will source fuel since Russia is out. The process for recycling spent fuel doesn't exist (at scale/cost)
- how they will handle the unique waste products
Despite all the rhetoric, #NewBrunswick does not "need" #nuclear in its mix to survive. The Arc #SMRs we're building will contribute the equivalent of about 11 #windTurbines.
So, we can spend hundreds of millions of dollars for an #smr (maybe) in 6-8 years and end up with 100MW on the grid. Or... We could spend around 50 million on wind and have 100MW online next year - with no need for poisonous fuel, and no horrific radioactive waste.
In fact, if we did that every year between now and 2030, we would have added 6-8x the output of an SMR, and equivalent to the output of #Belldune or #ColesonCove for a fraction of the cost.
The phrase "no brainer" comes to mind.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/arc-clean-energy-small-modular-reactors-1.7247328