Nuclear Energy: (OCT 27) Past, Present and Future

Commercial nuclear power first appeared in the United States, Russia, and United Kingdom in the 1950s as an outgrowth of secret military technology. The U.S. and Germany, while racing to build atomic weapons, used nuclear reactors to make plutonium for the nuclear bombs that ended WWII. This dependency—reactors for plutonium—has stifled civilian use of nuclear power for fear that reactors—like bombs—can explode killing thousands of people in hours. This fear is unfounded. Accidental melting of civilian man-made reactors and nature-made reactors has killed about 100 people in recorded history, all in the Soviet Union. 

Modern reactors have advanced far beyond large legacy reactors still running today—in the USA supplying 20% of US electricity, 24/7 versus a similar amount from unreliable, intermittent solar and wind. Modern designs are being built around the world—but slowly beginning in the U.S. due to regulatory framework that cannot address innovation. New designs are already running that can’t explode, can’t melt down, are impractical for weapons development, and are buildable on assembly lines like car engines. China leads the world in these Small Modular Reactors having copied U.S. technology.

Why has this happened? Can the U.S. catch up to China, India, France, Denmark and others to produce inexpensive Small Modular Reactors on assembly lines, to power everything day and night, 24/7 with an environmental footprint thousands of times smaller than solar, wind and battery farms?

Michael Armenia is a graduate of Worcester Polytechnic Institute: Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering and graduate degrees in computer science and business. He was an executive engineer, 30 years at Raytheon Company evaluating energy R&D projects in solar, wind, hydro, batteries, wave, fossil and nuclear energy.

Captain Armenia served 30 years in the U.S. Navy, active and reserve, including 20 in energy applications for ships, submarines, battlefields, and ocean systems. He commanded research units at the Naval Sea Systems Command and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command. In both civilian and military roles, he worked in design, production and repair of nuclear reactors and propulsion systems. Since retirement he has advocated energy solutions that are practical, effective, and safe rather than theoretical or politically inspired. He is a founding member of The Energy Council of Rhode Island.