Billionaire and Microsoft founder Bill Gates spoke to CNN about the TerraPower nuclear plant in Wyoming, US, the challenges it faces and the future of nuclear power, seeking to allay concerns about radioactive waste and costs associated with the plant.
He stressed that “billions more dollars” will continue to be invested in next-generation nuclear power, saying global cooperation and the scale-up of projects would ultimately drive down costs.
What Bill Gates said…
upon Cost reduction“We’re going back to basics,” Gates said. “We’re going to go back to basics and do what people have always said we should do, which is cool nuclear plants with metal instead of water. So the problem of high pressure and excess heat at shutdown is completely solved. And the complexity means that nuclear is going to get more complex and more expensive. As we move from first generation to third generation, we’re going to completely change that.”
upon Fuel for the power plant could come from RussiaGates said that the construction of the nuclear power plants was delayed for this reason, as the original plans had changed: “The original plan was to be completed in 2028, but we had to change it because we were dependent on fuel manufacturing in Russia, which, of course, is now unacceptable. So all the fuel for these nuclear plants will come from the United States or friendly countries,” he added.
upper The politics and prospects of nuclear powerAfter Fukushima, and as Germany phased out similar plants, Gates sought to offer reassurance: “The safety features we have here are very impressive. Nuclear power, despite its problems, actually has a pretty good track record.”
“It’s not a separate system, and it doesn’t require operators to take appropriate action. Essentially, the heat is just completely absorbed without being released. So, you know, there are a lot of countries that are very accepting of nuclear power, such as France, the UK, Japan, South Korea, and in fact, these countries realize that they need nuclear power, but Japan is not as blessed with land for solar and wind as the United States. So to go green, in that case, you need to have a higher share of nuclear power. So by working with these countries, we can show that we can reduce costs. And I think even countries like Germany will look at this next generation and reconsider,” he said.
Gates also recalled his desire to find an energy source. Zero emissions and cheaper than coal.
“With coal, you have the health hazards of emissions, among other things, but coal is being overtaken by natural gas. So what we have to do now is compete effectively with natural gas. So we can’t build a 10th unit, bring down the component costs and expect people to pay a higher price for electricity. The risk is on the private investors and the U.S. government. We believe we can meet these very aggressive cost targets. That’s why we run this company and why we think we can help the climate change problem, not just in the U.S. but globally,” Gates said.
his Nuclear Energy InvestmentsGates said innovation can be profitable. “The amazing thing is, if a company is successful in innovating, they can make money. Every climate change investment I make, if we’re successful overall, that money goes to the Gates Foundation, so we can do more to tackle problems like malaria and tuberculosis,” he said.
Gates echoed those sentiments on CBS’ “Face the Nation,” saying he would “put billions more dollars” into the next generation of nuclear energy. “I’ve put over a billion dollars into it, and I’m going to put billions more into it.”
About TerraPower
TerraPower LLC, a startup founded by Gates, broke ground last week on building the first commercial nuclear reactor in Wyoming, a site chosen after a coal-fired power plant there closed.
TerraPower has been working on a simpler, cheaper nuclear reactor since 2008, Bloomberg reported. The company added that the plant is backed by the Department of Energy and aims to have the new reactor ready by 2030.
The report added that TerraPower plans to source reactor fuel from the United States and its allies. The design would include using liquid sodium instead of water as a coolant and incorporating molten salt for heat storage to boost power output.
(With inputs from Bloomberg)
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