Underwater Nuclear Reactors

Jan-28-11 Nuclear reactors placed on the ocean floor may provide another option for nations determined to find alternative energy sources.

Developed by the French naval defense company DCNS, the reactors, known as Flexblue, could produce up to 250 megawatts of energy on the ocean floor. The Flexlblues are quite small, only 300 feet long, and include a nuclear reactor, steam turbine-alternator set, and equipment that carries the electricity to the coast.

Because the Flexblue plants would be hidden under water and several miles out to sea, they would be out of sight and, possibly, out of mind. Which may or may not be a good thing.

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