If we lived in a world where everyone was (a) smart and (b) trustworthy, Toshiba's micro-sized nuclear reactor, small enough to fit in the basement or a large shed, would be a slam-dunk solution to the energy/climate crisis.
Twenty foot long by six foot wide, the reactors produce 200kW of energy and run themselves: the entire thing is manufactured with the fuel within, and when it runs out, they can just send a truck to pick it up.
"Unlike traditional nuclear reactors the new micro reactor uses no control rods to initiate the reaction. The new revolutionary technology uses reservoirs of liquid lithium-6, an isotope that is effective at absorbing neutrons. The Lithium-6 reservoirs are connected to a vertical tube that fits into the reactor core. The whole whole process is self sustaining and can last for up to 40 years, producing electricity for only 5 cents per kilowatt hour, about half the cost of grid energy."
Waste, you say? Throw it in a mile-deep pit in New Mexico, or something.
Unfortunately, with the way nukes have been run, it's unlikely they'll be replacing every neighborhood' s electricity substation with one of these any time soon. It's claimed there are buyers in Japan and Europe. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, I recall, makes something similar, but bigger.
Toshiba Builds 100x Smaller Micro Nuclear Reactor [Nextenergynews via Gizmodo]
