A Nuke in the Backyard

[MountainDon]

Hyperion Power Generation has developed a small "prefab" nuclear power generation system. For $25 to $30 million you'd get a 30 megawatt electrical generator that could be transported on a flatbed semi trailer truck.



The company:
http://www.hyperionpowergeneration.com/

Interview with the designer:
http://www.techrockies.com/story/0017490.html

http://cleantechnica.com/2008/09/25/hyperion-power-generation-delivering-first-of-4000-reactor-modules-in-june-2013/

http://nextbigfuture.com/2008/11/update-on-hyperion-power-generation.html

[peternap]

Just think about how much you could save on your power bill

And people say solar is too expensive

[Sonoran]

At first I thought this was crazy because I figured that these things were for private use. But then I started trying to figure out how much a megawatt of power actually is. I couldn't find a definite answer for "one megawatt equals 500 homes" it was pretty generic; but I figure it could power anywhere between 15,000 and 25,000 homes!  So maybe it's not such a crazy idea. This thing is relatively small.

If you divide 30 million by 15,000.  The largest amount of money divided by the fewest amount of homes it equals out to $2,000.00 per household. 

That is not a bad deal.  I don't have time know but I will check this later unless someone else can answer it in the meantime.  How long do they last and what is the upkeep like?

[MountainDon]

How long do they last and what is the upkeep like?

They use a technology that has received approval for hands free use. But these actual units are not yet approved. A 5 year refueling cycle was mentioned. One should power 20,000 typical American homes.

Having an off the shelf design, built many times over is a good idea. Up to now in this country nukes have almost always been sit specific designs. France went the other direction years ago with designs that were built over and over... like Walgreen's store are all pretty much the same. Saves on design costs and approval fees.