Small Nuclear Reactors the Next Big Thing
下一件大事，小型核子反應爐
When most people think of nuclear power plants, massive industrial sites come to mind.
Yet several companies are now working on a new generation of reactors that are about the same size as a refrigerator.
One such company is Hyperion Power Generation.
Within a year, this Santa Fe-based company should be applying for a license for downsized nuclear reactor units that could provide electricity for small factories or towns too remote to be connected to the grid.
Hyperion claims that, provided its technology gets a US government license, it has over 150 purchase commitments from customers ranging from mining to telecom companies.
According to the International Energy Agency World, global electricity demand is estimated to grow annually by 2.7 percent until 2015, and then by 2.4 percent until 2030.
While large-scale and unpopular multi-gigawatt nuclear plants have a price tag of around $6 billion, the cost of a 25-megawatt Hyperion reactor, which could power 20,000 homes, is $50 million.
Each unit is transportable by lorry, could fit inside a small room and would require less maintenance, making it a super safe, small and simple micro-grid solution.
Environmentalists are concerned that terrorists could hijack a reactor and directly use it to cause a meltdown or use it to fabricate fissile materials for later use in a weapon.
Hyperion dismisses those concerns, saying that the units are fitted in multiple sealed chambers that would be put in an underground vault.
This would protect it from natural threats and unwanted tampering, especially as guards and dogs would be on the scene.
每當人們想到核子發電廠時，腦中浮現的畫面就是大型工業區。
然而現在有好幾家公司正在研發跟冰箱一樣大的新一代反應爐。
Hyperion 發電設備公司則是其中一間公司。
一年內，這家位在 Santa Fe 的公司將替小型核子反應爐申請執照，對過於偏遠而無法與輸電網連結的小工廠與城鎮來說，此種反應爐將可為它們提供電力。
Hyperion 宣稱只要他們獲得美國政府的許可執照，之後將有超過150張的客戶訂單等著他們，從礦產業到電信業都會是其客戶。
根據國際能源總署的說法，全球用電量將每年增加2.7%，直到2015年為止，之後則是每年增加2.4%，直到2030年為止。
十幾億瓦的核電廠又大又不受歡迎，但造價卻是60億美金，反觀可以提供電力給兩萬戶的2500萬瓦 Hyperion 反應爐造價只有5000萬美金。
每個反應爐都可以用卡車運送，而且不需要太多的空間和維修，因此這成為一個超級安全，小巧玲瓏的電網解決方案。
環保專家擔心恐怖份子可以劫持任何一台反應爐，然後直接讓輻射外洩，或者使用它製造作為武器用途的核燃料。
Hyperion 方面則屏除這些擔憂，他們表示每個單位都是裝在地下保險庫裡的多重密閉室中。
這可以防止它受到天災人禍的破壞，更何況還有警衛和警犬隨時戒護著。
<< 解 析 >>
work on做著…
當你想要表達你正做著某件事時，你就可以使用此片語。用法是 work on + 某事。
I am working on this assignment now.
(我正在做這個工作。)
apply for 申請
動詞 apply 意指申請，加上 for 則清楚說明要申請什麼。用法是 apply for + 某事物。
I heard that many people applied for this job.
(我聽說有很多人申請了這份工作。)
<< 單 字 >>
nuclear; (adj.); 核能的
industrial; (adj.); 工業的
meltdown; (n.); 核能外洩
fabricate; (v.); 製造
tampering; (n.); 破壞
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