THE THORIUM CYCLE

The fact that Gulf Atomic, the company that produces the fuel for the HTGR has run into deep financial trouble (or has been pushed into it by prevailing anti-nuclear attitudes) cannot change physical laws, and the HGTR remains one of the best bets for fission power for more reasons than abundant fuel supply. One of them is increased safety: Improbable as a core melt is in a Light Water Reactor, it is virtually impossible in an HGTR, since it is gas-cooled and the air of the atmosphere in effect takes over in an emergency.

Another reason is its high thermodynamic efficiency: a respectable 39%, some 7% higher than the average US coal-to-electricity conversion.

The reason why Colorado's Fort St. Vrain HGTR has not yet gone on line is that miles of electric cable had to be ripped out and relayed to satisfy the NCR's new requirement of cables with fireproof insulation, which was introduced after the Browns Ferry fire. The plant is now protected even against electricians using burning candles and is expected to go on line within weeks (for NRC approval and start-up).

In his new masterpiece The Poverty of Power, Barry Commoner states "Nuclear reactors have a particularly low Carnot efficiency" (untrue even for LWR reactors), and the HTGR makes him look like a fool; of course, he accomplishes that superbly without help from the HTGR, for the book fervently and unabashedly advocates Marxist economics.