when i first went into nuke plant i was astonished that the building techniques were pretty much plain jane standard.
i was expecting some kind of buck rogers building techniques and materials but with the exception of seeing much more stainless steel piping everything was pretty much standard type materials and techniques.
we certainly need something to replace all the nukes that are soon to be shut down. the last bunch built are either already in or very soon approaching their second 20 year operating license from the NRC. nukes are only licensed for 40 years total with a recertification at 20 years.
the NRC has , for the first time in 30 years, licensed new power plants and also has licensed new fuel rod building facilities, but its a drop in the bucket to the power generating capacity we are going to lose in the near future.
what do we replace it with?
lots of wind being built. lots of solar being built.
dirt burners and natural gas being built also but not in near enough numbers to replace that lost capacity. many gas burners are being upgraded to produce around twice their original capacity by placing turbines in the original exhaust stream. i recently was on one of those.
coal burning plants are unbelieveably dirty and the contamination of the environment from them is amazingly high. id rather have a nuke plant next door than a coal burner.
i used to not mind working a coal burner that much but last fall the wife and i spent around a month on a huge coal burner that was shut down for major EPA mandated upgrades. by noon of first day on the job we were both in respitory distress, coughing up black stuff. every day was like that. ive never been so scared for my health in my life with the exception of getting shot at.
remember, this was on a SHUT DOWN plant.
we left that job as soon as we could afford to leave and both of us vowed, "no more coal burners, ever!"
i guess what i am saying is that i would love to see all the nukes shut down, everything removed, the radioactives shot into the sun and this world using some other form of energy producing scheme that WORKS.
but until that day comes im liable to be in other nukes(the clean ones) making a paycheck.