Powered by low-enriched uranium fuel, each Hyperion Power Module will produce enough clean, safe and environmentally friendly energy to reliably power 20,000 standard American homes for 10cents per kilowatt/hr. Linked together they have the capacity to power much larger enterprises.
Too bad the anti-nuclear crowd will likely be the biggest hurdle this technology has to hurdle. Those dopes want clean air but refuse to embrace the clean production of energy. Go figure.
I remember back in the 60s my Physics prof saying that waste was the biggest issue with nuclear power and that was something the techs should be able to solve in a very few years. We are still waiting. Carbon dioxide is not the only thing that makes a power source dirty. This is still enriched uranium and waste will still be a major issue. Trading relatively harmless CO2 for poison is not a real solution.
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Social Distancing is an Oxymoron. The correct term is Social Demonization or Social Repression. Bandits, thieves and politically correct thugs hide behind masks.
"To add to their eco credentials, each module will produce a mere softball-sized amount of recyclable waste every five years and will release nothing in the way of greenhouse gas emissions, unlike 'traditional' fossil fuels."
Underground storage of nuclear waste is the solution. For example, there are millions of dry oil wells in the world to put waste far out of reach of doing harm to any human.
People who oppose nuclear energy seldom think it through.
There are also good technologies for firing projectiles loaded with nuclear waste into space (e.g. rail guns and light gas guns).
While the attitude of "we'll just throw this stuff away" is what got us in trouble ecologically in the first place, you really can't pollute space, and if you pick a trajectory intelligently, you can be sure the stuff you get rid of this way will never come back.
But all that would be moot if we could get decent fusion reactors working. Properly controlled fusion generates helium as a waste product (or any other element you want... but for anything heavier than iron you have to put energy into the system).
With controlled fusion, our only remaining problem (apart from overpopulation, which is fundamentally the root cause of almost all problems) would be heat pollution.
SINC, the problem is most people don't have a clue what our current energy needs entail, never mind the future. If we're going to wean ourselves off fossil fuels then ALL forms of alternate energy must be on the table.
We in Canada don't live in a stable climate zone. Things like wind and solar cannot be relied upon to meet our needs in total. They are certainly part of the package but not the whole story.
This isn't simply about CO2 emissions, it's about being self reliant and not beholden to the whims of OPEC and oil speculators.