Just in case you do not read the Alaska Journal on a regular basis, I thought it might be worth providing a link to an interesting story titled Toshiba continues efforts for Galena nuclear power plant. This story did not get much play outside of Alaska, but I think it is a very interesting development for a major company like Toshiba to continue investing in the idea that atomic fission has other uses besides being the heat source for enormous central station power plants.
Now if we could just get the NRC license fee structure to recognize that fact. (The current fee structure is based on an assumption that all nuclear plants are about the same size, so they all pay the same annual fee of more than $4 million for regulatory “services”.)
It will also be interesting to watch and participate as Toshiba explains that it would be a waste of talent to station two NRC inspectors full time at a plant where nothing much changes from day to day.
