THORCON SPECIFICATIONS
ThorCon is a hybrid thorium/uranium liquid-fuel fission power plant providing low-cost, reliable electric power; replaceable Cans contain a reactor vessel, pump, heat exchanger, and fuel.
Power generation capacity 250, 500, 750, or 1,000 MW.
Power output 245 kV 50 or 60 Hz AC; optional HVDC for long transmission lines.
Fuel consumption 112 kg fissile uranium-235 per year per 250 MW module; additional fissile uranium-233 is created from thorium fuel and fissile Pu-239 from U-238.
Refueling CanShip replaces 500 ton Can every four years; CanShip replaces fuel salt every eight years; 7 days refueling outage per 250 MW module.
Availability 95% planned availability; 500 MW turbine-generator maintenance outage 14 days.
Load following power can be ramped up or down at 5% per minute.
Peaking optional thermal storage increases generation by 10-20% for 1-2 hours.
Unexpected load disconnect steam bypass allows fission reactor operation to continue, temporarily raising cooling water temperature, until load restoration or fission power-down.
External power none needed; black start capability.
Siting ThorConLand version at navigable waterside location; no railway or highway access needed; 2 ha footprint for 500 MW; optional ThorConIsle version offshore up to 10 m depth.
Cooling 16 cubic meters per second seawater flow, 10°C temperature rise, for 500 MW.
Lifetime Plant: 80 years; Can: 4 years to recycle; fuel salt: 8 years to fuel handling facility.
Decommissioning CanShip removes Cans and fuel salt casks; mildly radio-activated secondary loop removed with special handling; bulk of plant removed, reused, or filled in.
Control rooms one within plant plus one per site.
Staffing plan 72 security; 42 operations; 30 maintenance; 65 other for 1,000 MW plant.
Capital plan $1,200 million for 1,000 MW power plant, plus costs for site, licenses, permits, fees, taxes; optional ThorConIsle version: $220 million additional
Construction time two years from firm order to power generation; transmission lines, permitting, siting, cooling are local limiting issues.
Generated electricity cost $0.03 per kWh