If one Wyoming group has its way, a new power source may become prevalent in the state.
The Wyoming LFTR Energy Alliance champions a type of nuclear reactor, a Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactor that the group says greatly reduces waste and pollution while increasing efficiency. The group also claims it is free of the dangers usually associated with nuclear power.
Instead of uranium, as is typically used in nuclear reactors, LFTR energy is derived from the element Thorium. The Wyoming LFTR Energy Alliance distributes pamphlets that say “Thorium has a million times more energy than coal and is 2-3 times more abundant than uranium.”
David Earnshaw, an independent environmental services professional with the Wyoming LFTR Energy Alliance claims the benefits of LFTR technology are endless. At the beginning of his interview, Mr. Earnshaw furnished a small, one-inch diameter ball of Thorium from his pocket and claimed that such a ball had the potential to provide an individual with power.
“There are no ‘gotchas,’” Earnshaw said. “The benefits of LFTR technology keep piling higher and higher.”
In comparison to other modes of energy generation, LFTR technology would prove to be better on a variety of levels. In comparison to clean coal generators, Earnshaw claims that LFTRs would generate less pollution and, in fact, utilize and reduce pollutants currently produced.
Earnshaw critiques wind, solar and other “green” energy generators, claiming them to be unreliable and to require more energy than they actually produce. Earnshaw says many of the materials in LFTR waste would be useful in other areas outside the reactor.
The biggest barrier facing the proliferation of Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors, Earnshaw says, is the legislative hurdles and financial requirements set in place by the government.
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