News Nuclear-Powered Crypto Plant Planned for PA Next Year. What Could Go Wrong?

[frogr]

They are talking about using power from the existing nuclear reactors. No new reactors are proposed.

Every watt hour of "carbon friendly" energy used for crypto mining must be replaced by some other energy source which is usually "dirtier."

 

[maik80]

3.6 terahashes/sec. Not great, but not terrible.

you are a genius lol

 

[digitalgriffin]

Talen Energy reportedly plans to build a nuclear-powered cryptocurrency mining operation in Pennsylvania.

Nuclear-Powered Crypto Plant Planned for PA Next Year. What Could Go Wrong? : Read more

Oh hell no. What this article likely ISN'T telling you is this is 3 mile island near Harrisburg of infamous fame (USA's worst meltdown) that shut down in 2019 because they said they couldn't make a go of it and asked for millions in bailouts even though it was just a bluff. They said it would be way to expensive to start back up safely after a shutdown. That was their direct quote and what they tried to blackmail the state with.

Nuclear power plants are LICENSED to produce power for people and outside companies. They are not LICENSED to make private corporations who own them rich while they produce nuclear waste.

 

[digitalgriffin]

What's the hash-rate of an RBMK reactor?

About 30,000 terabecquerel

 

[digitalgriffin]

Pennsylvania? Out of all states to try this? I hope they don't put it on another island!

This is 3 mile island. It's the only nuke plant that is recently decommissioned in 2019 and sitting on the Susquehanna river. Yes that 3 mile island of nuclear melt down fame.

 

[CerianK]

This should never be allowed

IMO, nuclear power should be used to help liberate people and help end the welfare state. At least, perhaps, 67% of capacity should be reserved for that goal, otherwise I would consider it a breach of public trust. I hope that ultimately the NRC sees it that way, since it is one of the agencies that the public agrees must exist, but I am not sure how current code affects how power gets used/distributed.

 

[CerianK]

This is 3 mile island. It's the only nuke plant that is recently decommissioned in 2019 and sitting on the Susquehanna river. Yes that 3 mile island of nuclear melt down fame.

No... proposed location at Susquehanna Steam Electric Station is two hours away from 3 Mile Island.

 

[danlw]

I'm calling BS on this story. There is NO WAY a company could get regulatory approval for a nuclear power plant in just one year. It involves extensive safety reviews, environmental impact reports which necessitates studies of the area, multiple hearings, and they are all government processes which means they take forever.

https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/fact-sheets/licensing-process-fs.html

Edit: The story reeks of a satire piece to me. Volcano powered crypto? I get that geothermal power is a thing, but the word selection makes this story seem less like a factual piece of journalism and more like a work of satire.

Edit 2: Ok, I see. The original story includes the important piece of info that the "Susquehanna Steam Electric Station" is an existing nuclear power plant. The Toms article is deceptive in that it frames the story as if a new nuclear power plant was being built just for crypto.

 

[gggplaya]

The future of Nuclear is SMR(Small Modular Reactors). They are self contained and can self mitigate a meltdown passively by design with no mechanical controls or electronics needed.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

The future of Nuclear is SMR(Small Modular Reactors). They are self contained and can self mitigate a meltdown passively by design with no mechanical controls or electronics needed.

And the government will take 20+ years (if ever) to approve them for use.

 

[gggplaya]

And the government will take 20+ years (if ever) to approve them for use.

NuScale is the closest SMR to being built. It was awarded design approval by the NRC, then some local utilities in Utah backed out due to cost estimates. Then the state stepped in with more funding. So now they're waiting to submit a combined license application in 2023 and wait another 2 years for approval from the NRC to build. Once that's complete in 2025ish, construction should begin shortly after.

With the push for climate change fixes, I think this is a good path to explore. I'm sure many others feel the same, so the government shouldn't drag their feet on this. Let's pray they don't.
https://world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/NuScale-and-UAMPS-agreements-progress-plans-for-SM

 

[Integr8d]

In the event this crypto-co goes broke, how do you ensure that the cost of cleaning the plant up isn't borne by the taxpayer?

Mandatory sale of the first crypto generated and put into a trust. Or pre-funded.

 

[Integr8d]

Where and how do you store the spent fuel, with a cost that isn’t borne by the taxpayer?

Largely solved. The Scandinavians are digging super deep channels, installing tanks, filling w/ the spent material and backfilling with concrete. We will be long gone from this planet by the time… well… the sun will probably die out before it becomes an issue.

 

[Integr8d]

I'm so glad I'm old enough and don't have kids so I don't care about the destruction of the planet.

Righteous words, presumably typed on a laptop made exclusively from bamboo and hemp.

 

[bobert4249]

Wow - that'll give the anti-nuke and environmental folks a soft easy target and will do nothing but create negativity even further to virtual funny money. Will also provide cannon fodder for regulation of it.

 

[King_V]

Largely solved. The Scandinavians are digging super deep channels, installing tanks, filling w/ the spent material and backfilling with concrete. We will be long gone from this planet by the time… well… the sun will probably die out before it becomes an issue.

"We will be gone from this planet by the time..." does not at all sound like "largely solved."

It would be nice if the design could outlast the duration that the spent rods are radioactive... outlasting both the radiation, as well as not drawing any future cultures exploring the ruins of the ancients.

As far as outlasting the sun? Hardly.

 

[gggplaya]

Nuclear is significantly more efficient today than many years ago. The amount of Nuclear waste that the U.S. has produced since the 1950's is the size of a football field and 10 feet deep. It's really not that much.

The bigger looming problem is climate change, and Nuclear is the only true way to produce clean consistent power in the short term. Wind and Solar are great, but they don't produce on-demand power. Especially when the power grid will start seeing significantly more electric cars on the grid in the next decade. Nuclear is the technology we have today, which can do the work we need.

The only real drawback of Nuclear are safety concerns, and localized nuclear waste(not atmospheric). As well as the price tag to build a nuclear plant. It's not really economically viable in the U.S. because electricity prices are so cheap. Once you start charging 30-40 cents per kwh, then nuclear plant financials make more sense.

In this article, I guess this power company has found a way to make their Nuclear plant more economically viable, using crypto to supplement income from unused capacity.

 

[Sippincider]

Largely solved. The Scandinavians are digging super deep channels, installing tanks, filling w/ the spent material and backfilling with concrete. We will be long gone from this planet by the time… well… the sun will probably die out before it becomes an issue.

Throwing it into a hole someplace and hoping the stuff stays there until it decays, is not the answer. A deep hole with concrete is still a hole.

 

[vern72]

This is 3 mile island. It's the only nuke plant that is recently decommissioned in 2019 and sitting on the Susquehanna river. Yes that 3 mile island of nuclear melt down fame.

Damn! Let's hope they manage it right this time around.

 

[yman8433]

In the event this crypto-co goes broke, how do you ensure that the cost of cleaning the plant up isn't borne by the taxpayer?

It's borne by the ratepayers that buy the electricity and the plant owner is required by federal law to have a properly funded decommisioning fund.

 

[yman8433]

This is 3 mile island. It's the only nuke plant that is recently decommissioned in 2019 and sitting on the Susquehanna river. Yes that 3 mile island of nuclear melt down fame.

It's not TMI, it's Susquehanna near Berwick, PA. It's been in operation since 1985, this is just building a data center next to an existing nuke plant.

 

[yman8433]

'Nuclear Powered' is a dumb way to say it. The data center uses electricity just like every other one built. My home is "Nuclear Powered" since my utility buys electricity from the local nuke plant.

 

[digitalgriffin]

It's not TMI, it's Susquehanna near Berwick, PA. It's been in operation since 1985, this is just building a data center next to an existing nuke plant.

Gotcha. Still not in favor of it.