The United Kingdom's Chiltern Vital Group and Freepan Holdings Corporation recently established a partnership to consider the development of a floating power station in the Humber Estuary near Saltend, Yorkshire.
According to the BBC, the two companies intend to generate power through liquefied natural gas on the barge in tandem with a small modular reactor (SMR) based in a nearby building, using nuclear fission as a means to "address critical energy shortages currently facing U.K. industrial regions," per Chiltern Vital.
While there are fewer than 80 SMRs in construction around the world, the United Kingdom is eager to jump on the bandwagon. The country's government agreed a deal with Rolls-Royce in June that will see the luxury automobile maker build three SMRs.
Optimizing nuclear fission — the process of splitting atoms in order to release massive amounts of energy — for commercial energy is still a work in progress, with SMRs and similar innovations relatively new to the scene.
While opponents cite its radioactive waste byproduct and potential safety issues as critical concerns, nuclear fission could be a game-changer when it comes to cleaner energy production because it doesn't release any of the carbon pollution that conventional fuel-based power plants generate.
By acting as a cleaner alternative — along with renewables such as solar, wind, nuclear fusion, and others — to dirty energy, nuclear fission can drive down energy costs for consumers while helping offset the effects of carbon pollution on our planet, from rising global temperatures to unstable weather patterns to resource shortages. It still has its downsides, with nuclear waste that must be stored carefully and several other safety risks, but the stats show that only solar is safer historically among electricity power generation options.
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"Grid connection delays can stretch into the 2030s," one Chiltern Vital spokesperson reported regarding the upcoming floating nuclear power station project.
They added that the liquefied natural gas barge should be in operation by 2028.
"There is much excitement about the potential of small modular reactors or SMRs to help address our energy needs," added the BBC's Paul Murphy. "The Government says this developing nuclear technology offers a new golden age of nuclear in the U.K."
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