Energy company strikes deal to deliver next-gen nuclear power to critical US military base: 'We are honored'
Oklo Inc. has been selected to deliver carbon-free power to Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska through its advanced fission technology, according to Business Wire.
At the heart of this project is the Aurora powerhouse, Oklo's first fast reactor technology. Unlike traditional reactors, fast reactors can efficiently utilize nuclear fuel and even recycle nuclear waste into usable energy. This represents substantial progress in sustainability and energy efficiency.
Fission energy is generated when uranium or plutonium atoms are split. This process produces large amounts of heat, which can be converted into electricity. Unlike fossil fuels, fission does not emit carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases during operation, making it a valuable energy source for combating rising global temperatures.
"We are honored to support national defense resilience objectives while demonstrating the value of U.S.-pioneered fast reactor technology," Oklo co-founder and CEO Jacob DeWitte said in a statement.
The implications of this stretch far beyond the Air Force base. By providing stable, long-term pricing under a power purchase agreement, Oklo's reactors could help cities and individuals avoid spending a fortune on traditional energy sources.
Small, self-sustainable reactors offer a decentralized energy solution that can keep hospitals, data centers, and neighborhoods powered during outages. Oklo is designing, constructing, owning, and operating the power plant. If this project were to be executed in other areas, it would enable communities to adopt clean power without incurring expenses for infrastructure.
Watch now: Does clean energy really cause blackouts?
That said, nuclear does not come without downsides. Many experts point to the high cost and longer construction times of getting nuclear online compared to solar and wind, and the Union of Concerned Scientists has regularly aired reservations about relying on lightly tested small modular reactor generation in particular. In a post last year called "Five Things the 'Nuclear Bros' Don't Want You to Know," UCS Director of Nuclear Power Safety Edwin Lyman wrote of SMRs that "it is essential to have a realistic understanding of their costs and risks," mentioning Oklo directly at times.
Setting aside the difference in safety with these smaller reactors, there is nuclear waste created either way, which must be contained and stored carefully, and any water that comes into contact may contain radioactive isotopes such as tritium.
But as North Carolina State University associate professor Robert B. Hayes has said, scientific data suggests that nuclear is overall much safer for human health and responsible for fewer deaths than fossil fuel sources such as coal. And while there is some greenhouse gas pollution associated with the nuclear industry as a whole, especially for mining, it does not contribute nearly as much to atmospheric pollution as dirty energy sources, making transitions toward nuclear still stand as cleaner environmental choices on the whole.
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Energy company strikes deal to deliver next-gen nuclear power to critical US military base: 'We are honored' first appeared on The Cool Down.
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