Experts Cast Doubt On Norway Thorium Energy Dreams

Scientists told the Norwegian government on Friday that exploiting thorium, a radioactive metal, for nuclear power production is an interesting but far-out alternative with unknown economic potential.

A report commissioned by the government found that current knowledge of thorium-based energy production and the geology of the natural resource are not solid enough to draw any conclusions about the potential value to Norway.
“Technically there is plenty of thorium, but what are the economics of thorium? That we do not know,” Mikko Kara, a Finnish professor who led the study, told a news conference.

Reports that Norway has the world’s third-biggest thorium resources have sparked discussion about its potential and prompted one Norwegian start-up, Thor Energi, to propose building a thorium-based nuclear power plant in Norway.

Though thorium energy is more expensive than conventional nuclear plants fired by uranium, and the technology is still being pioneered, burning thorium results in less radioactive waste and it cannot be used to produce atomic weapons.

So far only India is taking concrete steps to develop thorium-based nuclear power generation.

Some environmentalists have criticised the idea of exploiting Norway’s thorium, saying it has detracted from the search for renewable energy sources and led people to believe thorium is a “free lunch.”

Planet Ark