Testimony of Donald Larson before the Ohio House Public Utilities Committee on behalf of the Thorium and Molten Salt Reactor Association
01/22/2014
Thank you Mr. Chairman and all members of the Committee for the opportunity to come to Columbus and testify on the important topic that faces you today. I stand here representing the Thorium and Molten Salt Reactor Association. We are a trade group, organized to represent manufacturing companies across the country and in the great State of Ohio that serve the nuclear power industry. In particular we are focused on the revolutionary designs of the molten salt reactor that is going to change the world. I promise not to give an engineering lecture. I will try not to put you to sleep but let me take about a minute to point out three key factors that make this technology ground breaking. The two hurdles that traditional nuclear power has faced in the last 50 years are the threats of meltdowns and dealing with the “waste” stream of the fuel cycle. Both of these are eliminated by this technology. Since the reactor has a liquid core by definition it cannot have a meltdown. Problem solved. The long term storage issues you hear about in the media are caused by unspent uranium and plutonium coming out of the core. This is not an issue with the molten salt reactor. Unlike the current fleet, a molten salt reactor consumes virtually 100% of its fuel. Think of it like the ash from your fireplace. It is dangerous while it is still hot, but after a short period of time it cools and is safe. The same is true of the MSR, the “ash” does not need hundreds of thousands of years of storage. Problem solved The third point to make on the technology is that the Thorium reserves on Earth are inexhaustible by any reasonable standard. The Sun burns millions of tons of hydrogen every second. Anyone who has watched the Science Channel know that in about 4 billion years the Sun will exhaust it fuel supply and swell into a red giant. This will shut down the wind farms and solar panels all over Earth that are dependent on it for energy. Wind turbines and solar arrays are really just distant nuclear generation systems. However at ten times our current rate of energy consumption mankind would still not have used up the Thorium on the planet. Thorium is the ultimate renewable.
Throughout the history of human civilization, every time mankind learns to master a new plentiful energy resource, our standard of living and life expectancy increases. Fire was the first breakthrough. As the polar vortex tortures the state today we can all appreciate how fundamental having a heat source is to quality of life. Coal and the steam cycle was the next innovation that gave birth to the industrial revolution and created modern society. Two hundred years ago 90% of the population worked on farms producing the most fundamental form of energy we consume, food. Today just 2% of the US population are farm or ranch families working that energy sector. Oil was the next breakthrough providing a pump able portable energy source that transformed transportation. Imagine running a farm today without gasoline or diesel. What does society look like when we restrict freedom of movement? Today the innovations in shale gas extraction are in the news continuously. The benefit to land owners, drillers and gas equipment manufacturers is self evident. More importantly though is the secondary effect here in Ohio on manufacturing companies that are energy intensive. The falling prices of energy has made Ohio competitive on the world stage. This has been well documented in the newspapers throughout the state. The nation has a growing population and an aging population. Budget pressures are testing the ability of governments at all levels to provide services. The best way to combat these is a growing dynamic economy. The movement of manufacturing jobs from overseas to Ohio shows that increased, inexpensive energy makes that happen. How do we add productivity to every level of society? More energy! How do we cut unemployment and build long term stable jobs? More energy! How do we raise more revenue and generate wealth? More energy! How does Ohio and the nation double the amount of energy consumed and cut the price in half? Obviously I believe that Thorium will do that. However this needs to be proven in the market place.
Free markets where companies and their technologies compete have proven again and again to generate prosperity, raise the standard of living and lengthen our life spans. So I urge you to adopt SB34 and let the market pick the winners and losers. I am confident that Thorium will be one of the winners. It is a great renewable energy source. We just need a level playing field to compete. I would be honored to answer any and all questions from the committee.