I searched on Google and got an answer from Quora[1] . I wonder if anyones else on HN can shine some light.<p>>Alvin Weinberg estimated that build and operating costs would both be about 80% cheaper than existing water-moderated nuclear power technology (which he also invented in addition to the MSR)<p>Solar and Wind has become so cheap and building so fast. Even myself as an Nuclear supporter ( I said pro nuclear I mean I am not against Nuclear ) I often wonder is it worth it? Britain is expected to "<i>double</i>" its Wind Power by 2030. As things continue to accelerate Wind and Solar may take 50% of energy production in next 10 years.<p>10 years is a very short time in the world of Nuclear. I know we need base load but I am starting to question if Nuclear makes any sense given the relative speed of development both are moving at.<p>[1] <a href="https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-estimated-cost-of-building-a-thorium-Molten-Salt-Reactor-MSR" rel="nofollow">https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-estimated-cost-of-building...</a>
Earlier discussion a day ago [1] 4 comments, one comment includes a link [2] to an archived page for the full content.<p>[1] <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43720535">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43720535</a><p>[2] <a href="https://archive.is/2nQSh" rel="nofollow">https://archive.is/2nQSh</a>
The article popped up a login-wall but I was able to bypass it with a quick refresh and switch to Reader Mode. It's a short article:<p><i>Chinese scientists have achieved a milestone in clean energy technology by successfully adding fresh fuel to an operational thorium molten salt reactor, according to state media reports.<p>...<p>The development was announced by the project’s chief scientist, Xu Hongjie, during a closed-door meeting at the Chinese Academy of Sciences on April 8, the official Guangming Daily reported on Friday.<p>The experimental reactor, located in the Gobi Desert in China’s west, uses molten salt as the fuel carrier and coolant, and thorium – a radioactive element abundant in the Earth’s crust – as the fuel source. The reactor is reportedly designed to sustainably generate 2 megawatts of thermal power.
...</i><p>A reactor with a thermal power output of 2 megawatts is a long way from a commercial power reactor. A modern Chinese power reactor has a thermal output of over 3000 megawatts (over 1000 megawatts electrical output):<p><a href="https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails.aspx?current=1083" rel="nofollow">https://pris.iaea.org/PRIS/CountryStatistics/ReactorDetails....</a><p>2 megawatts is actually smaller than the original molten salt reactor experiment at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which had a 7.4 MWth output:<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-Salt_Reactor_Experiment" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molten-Salt_Reactor_Experiment</a><p>Still, it's good to see another country reviving experiments with this technology.