Fourth Generation Nuclear

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‘Fourth generation’ nuclear plant designs either scale down the size of a power plant to make mass-manufacturing easier and capital costs lower for each project, or use a new technology in the fission reactor itself. Fourth generation designs are usually also modular designs. 

Most of these designs would lessen concerns over weaponizable byproducts. All new nuclear designs are ‘walk-away safe,’ meaning that the design itself makes major releases of radiation impossible, without requiring action by plant operators.

Fourth Generation Nuclear plants also lower the amount of radioactive waste associated with nuclear (some can even consume existing waste as fuel), though some ecological concerns associated with mining, transport, and radioactive waste remain. 

One obstacle to fourth generation nuclear technology is that testing, demonstrating and proving a new design for a reactor core can take years. In addition, nuclear regulatory agencies haven’t usually been set up to license new reactor designs. Political efforts to create a new framework for regulation, and funding to enable demonstrations of new designs, could accelerate fourth generation nuclear as a potential climate solution.

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LEARN MORE

Generation IV reactors (Wikipedia)

TAKE ACTION

If you feel fourth generation nuclear reactors might play an especially important role in a green energy transition where you live, you could write to your political representatives urging them to invest in the development of such technologies.

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