Quote Originally Posted by mello_collins View Post
SCE&G can’t build a nuclear reactor but, the US government can. They have a small design for aircraft carriers and subs. Line the coast, mississippi, and the great lakes with them. Make hydrogen. Energy crisis solved.
Yep. NRC is the problem. Think NCAA on steroids.

The Navy picks a design and builds it over and over. It’s a simple, no frills design and it works. Very well.

Another problem with civilian plants that isn’t their fault but that adds to their problem is the fuel they use. Navy plants use, well, a higher grade uranium than civilian plants. The boat I was on first put to sea in 1977 and was refueled for the first time in 1993. 7 figure mileage on a single tank of gas, pretty good.

Civilian plants use a much lower grade of uranium and therefore have to be refueled much more often, about every 18 months. Because of this, their design has to be drastically different to save on refueling costs. Still, each plant manufacturer needs to submit plans for their best design with the criteria of simple, effective design from building, operation and refueling criteria and the NRC needs to approve one from each. Once that’s done the providers can select which design they want and build it.