According to the NRC, this is the first commercial reactor to get approved in about a decade, and the first for a non-light-water reactor in more than 40 years.
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In the beginning the article states:
TerraPower got the green light from the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission to start building its first-of-its-kind sodium-cooled nuclear power plant near Kemmerer, Wyoming.
Later in the article it states:
TerraPower officials told Cowboy State Daily they did not have any figures on how much concrete and steel it will take to build the TerraPower nuclear plant.
Gates told … the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times that he hired an engineering team of hundreds to reimagine safer, less-expensive nuclear power back in the early 2000s.
My questions:
1. How does the NRC issue a construction permit when the applicant does not know how much concrete and steel it will take to build the TerraPower nuclear plant that they have been working on for over 20 years?
2. How did they do their cost estimate for the plant without knowing how much concrete and steel is required?
3. The article does not even mention how many years it will take to finish the detailed design, procurement and construction.
I guess this is the new NRC approach to issuing a construction permit?
Residential buildings must submit detailed drawings, specifications and calculations to obtain a building permit. I would not issue a construction permit and allow construction to start on any new residential building without detailed drawings, specifications and calculations.
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