Andrew Crabtree

@6point626 The Guardians recent anti-nuclear reporting is awful. They need a change of writers.

Note to self. Do not read or engage with that clear Guardian clickbait

This is my kind of headline. More like it please power-technology.com/news/indonesia…

@whatisnuclear Meanwhile, an atheist fusion scientist quips, "Why wait for divine intervention when we can make it happen ourselves?"

Just heard a brutal joke: A fusion scientist goes to heaven. For all his hard work he is allowed to ask God one question. He asks 'will fusion power ever be economically feasible' and God says 'yes, but not in my lifetime'

@energybants Do we have any idea on quickly ‘soon’ is. This is a massive opportunity.

We're going to fit so much energy in this thing Soon we'll get reactors running TWO YEARS STRAIGHT by boosting enrichment and optimizing core loads. We'll get even more energy out of existing plants, watch and see. Nothing ages as well as nuclear, just gets better and better.

Do you agree? ajcrabtree.medium.com/the-top-9-nucl…

@thiesbeckers Congrats and well deserved.

@CleanPowerDave Agree we need to keep existing nuclear power plants online for as long as possible. We cannot decarbonise energy production without building new nuclear power plants. Nuclear energy is far more reliable than renewable energy.

Nuclear is the EU's biggest single source of electricity, providing 23% of EU electricity in 2023. Yet there are a small number of people that want to shut nuclear plants prematurely. I understand hesitation on building new nuclear - and to blindly extending old nuclear plants without due dilligence. But what I see is the same arguments to not build new nuclear are blindly applied to argue existing nuclear plants should be prematurely closed. The arguments are that EU decarbonisation could somehow be quicker, cheaper and more reliable. Really?! QUICKER: How can building new renewables be "quicker" than nuclear that's running today(!?) CHEAPER: Some nuclear plant extensions may be super-expensive and ask for support, but generally they are not. The portfolio effect of EU's 24/7 nuclear fleet reduces the hourly/weekly/seasonal balancing costs substantially, compared to 100% RES, and this needs to be factored in. MORE RELIABLE: Safety issues aside, I can't see how a system powered by 1/4 nuclear + 3/4 RES is less "reliable" than a system of 100% RES? Nuclear isn't 100% reliable, but nor is the wind and sun; and again, portfolio effect helps. If nuclear is a "dangerous distraction" to decarbonisation by slowing the build rate of renewables, then I can't see how the answer would be to close the EU's biggest source of clean electricity. The only logic I see is if "100%-RES" becomes more important than "rapid decarbonisation". I understand (but I don't agree) with those that want to close down all existing nuclear plants on safety grounds. If safety arguments are so powerful to demand a closure of existing plants, then focus on that. If new nuclear is such a problem, then focus on that. If there REALLY is a case to prematurely close nuclear closures to speed up decarbonisation, then please present some honest evidence specifically on this. The evidence I see at the moment for this is confused with safety and confused with new nuclear, which do little to answer the question.

When I’m a cyclist, I hate cars. When I’m in a car, I hate cyclists.

@Ecologicmichele @weplanetint @_HannahRitchie @WeplanetDACH @WePlanetDenmark @WePlanetBE @WePlanetNL @RePlanetFR @fota4climate @Ekomodernism @Ekomodernistit @WePlanetPT Can’t agree with one word of this

The wins keep coming this week! Europe appears to be throwing off the shackles of anti-science fearmongering and embracing the technologies which will help us become, in the words of @_HannahRitchie, the first sustainable generation. Nuclear alongside other sources of clean energy will help us end our reliance on fossil fuels. Articles: 1.euractiv.com/section/energy… 2. euractiv.com/section/energy…

@Kaikenhuippu It was the climate I was thinking about but, yes, infrastructure and industry in the respective country will have a big impact on demand also.

@ajcrabtree Demand per capita data would offer additional perspective for sure! For example Denmark has similar population as Finland but maybe 40% of electricity consumption. Finland has heavy industry, climate also matters

We all know "per capita" is the ONLY was to measure these things… Now, Who’s your Daddy? 😁 #nuclear

Cristiano Ronaldo couldn’t hold back his laughter as The Undertaker presented to Riyadh Season trophy during Al-Nassr and Al-Hilal 😂🏆

@thiesbeckers 😮

@Kaikenhuippu True. You don't see other technologies feeling obliged to tell everyone how safe they are.

My #nuclear #HotTake for the day🔥 Public acceptance of nuclear has been improving at dramatic speeds all around the world. Take: The nuclear industry will be the last ones to stop calling their tech controversial, some 10 years after everyone else has normalized nuclear. 😇

@Dr_Keefer The term Advanced Modular Reactors (AMRs) has always baffled me. Does something under development know if it is modular or not? And by modular I mean fully manufactured off-site and assembled on site.

NEW RULE: When we talk about "Advanced Reactors" let's reserve that term for the reactors that actually have "advanced." The discourse in the "advanced reactor" ecosystem has resulted in a denigration of reactors that have actually "advanced" and a focus on saddling up zebras instead of workhorses when the survival of the nuclear industry is at stake. Current definitions of “advanced nuclear” are akin to an inappropriate superiority complex. The reason that PWR, BWR and PHWR are the leading nuclear technologies around the world is not due to some conspiracy against more exotic concepts and designs but rather because these water moderated/cooled reactors proved themselves to be superior in terms of reliability, operations & maintenance and therefore long term economics. This is obvious when we look at the number of reactor years of operation of each technology. Water moderated/cooled: ~17,000 reactor years Na Cooled: ~500 years Magnox/AGR: ~1000 years HTGR: ~40 (very vew commercial) Lead Cooled: ~5 years mostly soviet subs (none commercial) Molten Salt: ~4 years (none commercial) I have no problem with ongoing R&D into HTGR, Sodium, Lead, Molten salt reactors but they are far from being commercially mature and do not merit the title "advanced." Their advancement will be (far) bumpier than their watery brethren with regards to sorting out operations & maintenance with resulting poor capacity factors for quite some time but I do wish them luck! anchor.fm/chris15401/epi…

@gplondon The time and cost estimates for HPC were always optimistic. Particularly for a first of the kind mega project. We need to get better at being realistic from the get-go. Over promising and failing is not a sustainable delivery model. Hopefully SZC and R-R SMR will learn from this.

@keithward329 @HopfJames Would be nice to be able to plug into the existing infrastructure

@HopfJames Good idea 💡 as I think Oldbury as well, because I think they're still connected at 132kv to Iron Acton?

The Berkeley site in the UK, which had a MAGNOX reactor that closed in 1989, is being considerd for a new SMR plant. It's part of a plan with Rolls Royce to turn the site into a "low-carbon energy super cluster". (Article link in reply.)

@ThebombBob @HopfJames I’ve never been too clear on what the £2bn buys you.

@HopfJames The RR "SMR" will be around three times the output of Berkeley. If they really can build them for £2bn though, ten will produce more power than an EPR for half the cost.

@jrmygrdn Agreed. Using an SMR to power other facilities is going to be very attractive. Hopefully we can find some sensible ways to licence them.

The shape of things to come: Polish oil major Orlen promoting its small modular reactor plans alongside its renewables, biofuels, CCUS and EV charging points. The first of up to 79 small reactors in operation by 2030.

@PieEatinGooner Top film choice. Yul Brynner is top class in it too.

@ajcrabtree Haha the actual film pal…just sheer coincidence

Sometimes, when you’re in a sticky patch..you have to enjoy the small things. Tonight I’m enjoying a decent enough take away, whilst watching The Magnificent Seven. Hope you’re all having as good a one as you can 🤍