- Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have designed the first of its kind floating nuclear plants, developed on the lines of those used in offshore oil drilling, which will be tethered several miles offshore, anchored in about 100m of water and in which the surrounding sea water will cool the plant in case of tsunamis,thus preventing nuclear contamination.
- Tsunamis striking nuclear plants result in contamination due to the absence of cooling for the reactor cores owing to power shut down. In this case, any melting of fuel rods or escape of radioactive material will be prevented by the enclosing sea water.
- Potential markets include countries such as Japan, China, Chile, Indonesia and Africa which have a looming threat of tsunamis, and also require alternate sources of energy.
- Advantages:
- Can be built in a shipyard and then towed offshore, thus allowing better standardisation.
- An all steel design will help avoid delays and overruns typically caused when using concrete.
- Plants at the end of their lifetime can be towed back to central facility and be restored to working condition.
- The size of the plant could be anywhere from small, 50-megawatt plants to 1,000-megawatt plants.
- Read at: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.aspArchive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2014/04/18&PageLabel=17&EntityId=Ar01700&ViewMode=HTML
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