Chris Levesque on Our Modern Energy Needs

They are working on a new nuclear power plant in the US – the $4 billion project is being built in the city of Kemmerer and has the support of the US government, as well as the company TerraPower founded by Bill Gates.

Why were nuclear energy efforts resumed?

The New York Times recently covered this project, speaking with TerraPower CEO Chris Levesque about the context and significance of the project.

We (at Imagination in Action) also had multiple conversations with Levesque following his TED talk on this topic.

Levesque noted that in the face of today’s transition to renewable energy, we are applying a complex calculus that requires a more sophisticated response.

He added that renewable energy sources are essential for the future, but their production is unstable, therefore, to ensure a stable supply of electricity to the grid, increasing the use of renewable energy sources should be considered.

“Nuclear power is about density, and that’s important when you look at the numbers because we want to make good use of the materials,” he said. “We also want to make good use of the land.”

To do that, Levesque explained, we can modernize our nuclear infrastructure, which was designed in a “not risk-free” way and could be much more efficient.

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Calling the modern electric grid a “miracle,” Levesque noted that we will be putting huge demands on our grid, with electrical infrastructure, things like electric vehicles and industrial electrification. Nuclear power can provide a bridge to renewables and balance the variability of renewable energy supplies.

“TerraPower is based on the idea of ​​the need for innovation in nuclear science,” he said. “It’s … a field of science that, because of the stigma and because of the bad experiences in the ’70s, a lot of people said, … just shoved that whole field of science into the corner, and that doesn’t make sense.”

Mentioning the need to close many hydrocarbon power plants, Levesque once again stressed the importance of wisely managing resources.

“Nuclear energy is all about density, and that’s important when you look at the numbers because we want to make good use of the materials,” he said. “We also want to make good use of the land. … Nuclear energy has that density characteristic. It has dense fuel. And it makes really good use of materials like steel, concrete and land. A nuclear power plant like the one we’re building in Wyoming, which will generate up to 500 million watts of electricity during the day, would only take up about 60 acres. If you compare that to a solar field, … (a solar plant) that size would take up thousands of acres.”

He believes that nuclear energy should ultimately cover 20% to 30% of our needs.

“We shouldn’t be competing in some way, one source against another,” he said. “We need to think about what the optimal mix is.”

NewtimesRadical restart of nuclear power

This issue is likely to be at the forefront of ongoing debates about where we should get our electricity from in the post-carbon era. Let’s start thinking about it now, so we’re ready to create a sustainable mix soon that will power energy for generations to come.