When its first nuclear power plant went online in 1957, America seemed poised to embrace nuclear energy. But by the 1990s, with accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island souring public opinion, enthusiasm plummeted. Over the next three decades, research and construction of new reactors stalled.
In recent years, however, interest in nuclear power has resurged as America's energy demands continue to rise. But unlike the massive behemoths of the nuclear age, some of today's reactors, called microreactors or nuclear batteries, are small, and can easily fit inside a truck. And they just might help solve America's energy conundrum, according to experts. Several in tandem, for example, might power a college campus or a remote mining community. They could be installed on barges and serve as floating nuclear power plants, bringing power where it's needed by ocean or sea. |
When its first nuclear power plant went online in 1957, America seemed poised to embrace nuclear energy. But by the 1990s, with accidents at Chernobyl and Three Mile Island souring public opinion, enthusiasm plummeted. Over the next three decades, research and construction of new reactors stalled.
In recent years, however, interest in nuclear power has resurged as America's energy demands continue to rise. But unlike the massive behemoths of the nuclear age, some of today's reactors, called microreactors or nuclear batteries, are small, and can easily fit inside a truck. And they just might help solve America's energy conundrum, according to experts. Several in tandem, for example, might power a college campus or a remote mining community. They could be installed on barges and serve as floating nuclear power plants, bringing power where it's needed by ocean or sea. |
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