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Buffett and Gates are building nuclear plant in coal country
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have chosen a top U.S. coal-producing state as the location for a new kind of nuclear reactor, using Natrium as its power sou
wisconsin.statenews.net
Cliff notes:
Bill Gates and Warren Buffet (the former who is heavily invested in the Natrium reactor through TerraPower) are working on re-powering a coal plant, using all of the existing generating bits, but changing the power source to a high temperature MSR nuclear unit.
The unit will provide a nominal output of 345MW, with the ability to ramp up to 500MW for peaking purposes.
While the exact plant is yet to be chosen we can expect the selection of a 500MW nominal coal-fired unit as the logical choice (given peak output) which, when utilized in this manner will allow load following. This is a 1:1 replacement, recycling existing generation components but changing the power source and is a game changer for the industry.
If successful, existing coal plants could be readily converted to run on small nuclear reactors, retaining jobs, and power output, while reducing direct emissions to zero.
China is also in the process of pursuing a similar endeavour, however, if this project sticks to its timeline, the US will likely beat China to the first successful demonstration.