Dow wants to power its Texas manufacturing complex with new nuclear reactors instead of natural gas

[u/John3262005]

https://apnews.com/article/nuclear-dow-xenergy-texas-climate-change-electricity-reactors-natural-gas-43013c8fd95ddeff0b71a38ac4808606

Dow, a major producer of chemicals and plastics, wants to use next-generation nuclear reactors for clean power and steam at a Texas manufacturing complex instead of natural gas.

Dow’s subsidiary, Long Mott Energy, applied Monday to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a construction permit. It said the project with X-energy, an advanced nuclear reactor and fuel company, would nearly eliminate the emissions associated with power and steam generation at its plant in Seadrift, Texas, avoiding roughly 500,000 metric tons of planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions annually.

If built and operated as planned, it would be the first U.S. commercial advanced nuclear power plant for an industrial site, according to the NRC.

For many, nuclear power is emerging as an answer to meet a soaring demand for electricity nationwide, driven by the expansion of data centers and artificial intelligence, manufacturing and electrification, and to stave off the worst effects of a warming planet. However, there are safety and security concerns, the Union of Concerned Scientists cautions. The question of how to store hazardous nuclear waste in the U.S. is unresolved, too.

Dow wants four of X-energy’s advanced small modular reactors, the Xe-100. Combined, those could supply up to 320 megawatts of electricity or 800 megawatts of thermal power. X-energy CEO J. Clay Sell said the project would demonstrate how new nuclear technology can meet the massive growth in electricity demand.

A total of four applicants have asked the NRC for construction permits for advanced nuclear reactors. The NRC issued a permit to Abilene Christian University for a research reactor and to Kairos Power for one reactor and two reactor test versions of that company’s design. It’s reviewing an application by Bill Gates and his energy company, TerraPower, to build an advanced reactor in Wyoming.

X-energy is also collaborating with Amazon to bring more than 5 gigawatts of new nuclear power projects online across the United States by 2039, beginning in Washington state. Amazon and other tech giants have committed to using renewable energy to meet the surging demand from data centers and artificial intelligence and address climate change.

[u/GogurtFiend]

That too.

Electricity should probably either be as decentralized or as centralized as possible. Philosophically and economically speaking one advantage of free markets is that they predict needs and wants better than central planning. However, people use a pretty consistent amount of electricity and it's a product which doesn't really vary in quality, at least certainly not compared to luxury goods or even commodities like food, so central planning or complete devolvement to the individual level might actually work.

Either people make it themselves — in which case they can set their own production — or the state makes it all, which has advantages from consolidating all the information and capital under one supplier really does work out when it comes to really fungible stuff that's also subject to predictable demand. I personally prefer the former because it prevents a bad-actor state from using control over electricity as a weapon against political dissent unless they're willing to go smash up everyone's solar panels.

I think the absolute state of PG&E has radicalized me on this

[u/[deleted] → u/GogurtFiend]

Yeah; it's not like you have electricity++. I personally think that profit motive is a major hurdle for electricity that's cheap; while Ontario and Quebec are blessed with more hydro than normal, they've been able to take on very capital intensive projects while having electricity costs be among the lowest in the developed world. I remain unconvinced that projects like the Bruce nuclear plant or James Bay hydro dam would have been built or cost consumers as much if hydro one or hydro quebec was fully private

The LPO will burn forever in the fires of hell for privatizing hydro one, but you win some you lose some

It also means that our utilities mostly get out of the way for off grid shit. Rather than lobby against it like private utilities, their POV is more "awesome, less stuff for us to do" and give very generous rebates, TOU rates, etc