Terry Blanton <hohlr...@gmail.com> wrote: They should reawaken the Toshiba 4S project > > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_4S > > But they better hurry before Fukashima bankrupts Toshiba; which, BTW would > be a disaster for Southern Company which has about 1.7 TW of Toshiba large > reactors underway here in Georgia. >
I do not think Fukushima has anything to do with the Toshiba bankruptcy. The Fukushima reactors were made many decades ago by G.E., not Toshiba. Toshiba has no liability in the matter. Toshiba is facing bankruptcy for a variety of reasons, but I think the gigantic loss is in the nuclear power business. Toshiba bought Westinghouse and then lost $9 billion, so far, in the Georgia nuke. And one other plant under construction, I think. Not sure. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-toshiba-accounting-idUSKBN16V04G The Atlanta Journal reports that the entire project might be abandoned, or converted to natural gas. I hope not! Even though the cost overruns have been horrendous and it may take years longer, I hope they finish the plant and put it on line. It is the best way to reduce CO2 emissions in Georgia. There are very few wind resources in this part of the country, and even solar is not that great, with frequent cloud cover. Nuclear is the best alternative. Although after Fukushima, anyone awake will be nervous about nukes. Most of the nukes in Japan are still turned off, I think. It is difficult to keep score: https://www.nei.org/News-Media/News/Japan-Nuclear-Update This is adding lots of CO2 to the atmosphere, which is terrible. Yet it is understandable that communities in Japan want to see the reactors turned off and decommissioned. It is a choice between bad and worse. One thing I predict with confidence is that they will never build another nuke in Japan. There is quite a boom in solar energy in Japan lately. Then again, that may be fading, and Japan seems to be going back to coal, which should warm the hearts of U.S. GOP. (I assume they buy coal from us.) http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/11/30/business/sun-setting-japans-solar-energy-boom/#.WTG_bWgrJ3g - Jed
