DSC, Mitsubishi, PBMR, Toshiba, Shaw Group, Italy
Strange blog post title today. I have been having some difficulty juggling a number of activities recently, and I find that I have missed commenting on a several recent events and updates associated with the NuClear renaissance.
One of my activities has been a continuing conversation with Adam Curry on the DSC. If you have been listening to his recent shows, you will already know that he has been making some impassioned comments stating that he is pretty sure that nuclear power is a useful and valuable path for the future. He is also recognizing that there has been a lot of "programming" by people opposed to nuclear power to make sure that people remain uncertain about things like waste and safety.
Mitsubishi has announced a major expansion of its capacity to produce large components for nuclear power plants. Its new plant will be built in central Japan and be capable of producing two pressure vessels and reactor internals each year. Mitsubishi is also continuing to contemplate a financial investment in the PBMR project - it is already a major supplier in the effort. If Mitsubishi does invest in the South African PBMR, it will add to the list of recent decisions by major Japanese corporations build up their interests in African companies and African development.
One aspect of the Mitsubishi participation in PBMR that is fascinating to watch is the fact that Toshiba and Mitsubishi are major rivals, but Mitsubishi also has a long time relationship with Westinghouse as a licensee of their Pressurized Water Reactor technology. Westinghouse is now part of Toshiba and also part of the PBMR project. In one more twist, Toshiba had a long term...
