General Electric to Build a Plutonium Reactor in the UK

Officials from General Electric might get their hands on a multibillion pound project developed in the UK. The major company intends to build plutonium reactors at Sellafield, meant to provide enough power to 750,000 average homes.

To do so, the power plant would exploit the benefits of plutonium, a residual compound left behind by major British nuclear facilities. The new power plant would use plutonium as fuel for a powerful reactor aiming to provide up to 600MW of energy, the Guardian reports.

At this point in time, the government has to decide if it's really a good idea to use plutonium as fuel. There are several other proposals, like storing it on long-term or making it usable for a thorium reactor.

Since they are dealing with a series of valid alternatives, authorities want to select the safest and most cost-effective way of handling this residue, an operation that is currently requiring no less than £2billion (€2.32 billion/ $3.14 billion) every year.

The Guardian notes the proposal launched by General Electric doesn't provide enough details and arguments to convince the authorities that this is the best option to handle the impressive plutonium stockpile. If the UK government gives the green light to this project, the power plant would be built on Sellafield property.

Despite the fact that GE officials didn't want to reveal the costs and benefits this initiative would bring, once implemented, they made it clear a potential agreement would imply the start of a business worth "multibillion" pounds.

Another tempting option would be to use the plutonium stockpile after converting it into fuel for a thorium-based plant. Thorium has been exploited since the 1950's, but such operations have been stopped once experts discovered the advantages of nuclear power. Somehow, some researchers still note thorium usage draws up a less risky path in providing energy.

The UK government still has time to decide which option is ideal in this context, since they did not announce a deadline for analyzing candidates and alternatives.