michaelw wrote:
So, why not dust off the PACER hybrid fission/fusion power plant ideas?
Because first that is most certainly a violation of the treaty. Secondly, any mention of using nuclear explosives to generate energy is a near certain way to get a thread locked and a "time out" from the moderators.
Using the plutonium as a starter fuel for LFTR, DMSR, or similar liquid fuel reactors is certainly preferable to many other means of disposal as it means seeing the plutonium used as fuel for energy, can jumpstart a nuclear renaissance, and do so without expensive fuel fabrication.
While the DOE has handcuffed itself with self imposed lack of even a means to license liquid fuel reactors this does not prevent other government entities from licensing reactors. The DOD has been licensing reactors for a very long time and the US Navy has been an advocate for nuclear power research and development for decades. It should not be take too much to get some admirals convinced to put some resources in developing a power reactor that can burn this plutonium even if it never proves feasible in a warship. Such reactors are valuable for powering military bases, and making sure that military bases have power in a case of a full scale war or civil disruption is always a concern.
Another means of getting nuclear reactors licensed is through state governments. So far states have allowed the federal government to have a monopoly on nuclear material regulation but that does not mean the states cannot assert their right to license their own reactors. This would most likely ruffle some political feathers but convincing the powers that be that this means disposing of plutonium as required by treaty should smooth some of them. Pointing out the potential for jobs, carbon free energy, preventing nuclear weapon proliferation, and other benefits should reduce some of the politic resistance.
Perhaps my idea of a state licensed nuclear reactor is also from cuckoo land but at least I'm not proposing the building of plutonium bombs to detonate in a cavern.