Evening star., 1953-12-13
By Thomos R. Henry

G4oC4111OWO4 oPOAC C4OAAOAAV4y Va
the prospect that the atom can
be put peacefully to work pro-
ducing economic electric power
"The United States knows, y
Gen. Eisenhower said, that
peaceful power from atomic en-
ergy is no dream of the future
That capability already proved,
Is here-noW-today.
''Who can doubt" he added,
"if the entire body of the worlds
scientists and engineers had ade-
Quate amounts of fashionable ma
terial with which to test and de-
velop their ideas, that this capa-
bility would rapidly be trans
formed into universal, efficient
and economic usage"
The fact is that considerable
qualified scientific opinion in this
country entertains serious doubts
that atomic power production is
likely to be rapidly Transformed
into anything universal. efficient
and economic"
Scientists abroad have been
more inclined toward roseate
dreams of these possibilities. But
top thinkers in the atomic field
here have remained skeptical.
They know, as Gen. Eisenhower
indicated, that atom power is
already at hand. But they see no
prospect for a golden age Of
cheap atom power just around
the corner.
They are quite sure a long,
rough road must be travelled be-
fore atomic power can become
practical for anything but spe-
cialized industrial purposes.
What follows is study of the
economics of the atomic power
question as they appear in this
country. The information pre-
Sented here, much of which has
never been published before, but
all of which has been cleared
with the Atomic Energy Commits
sion, is based on an extended
interview with DR.. Lawrence Haf-
sted, chief of Aces power devel-
opment section and one of the
worlds foremost nuclear physi-
ciStS.
Acc only recently reached a
1ong-debated decision to proceed
with the construction of a pres
Surized water atomic reactor
whose sole purpose will be the
production of controlled power
from the uranium atom.
In making up it's mind to 60
INTO the atom power business,
Acc was spurred somewhat by
atomic developments abroad.
But the decision depended even
more on two outstanding recent
developments which made it pos
sible for those working toward
economic atomic power produc-
tion roughly to chart their
course.
Two New Developments.
The first of these developments
Is the atom-powered submarine.
The second is achievement of the
atomic process known as breed
ing"
An atomic propulsion plant for
Navy submarines already is a
reality. One, built by the West
inghouse Corp, is operating at
the AEC'c reactor testing sta
tion in Idaho. Another, pos
Sibly a different type, is under
construction by the General
Electric Co.
These power plants represent
enormous progress toward the
eevntual goal-a substantial ad-
dition to the earth's power
resources.
The first step toward this goal
came about eight years ago with
the construction-by the Man
haitian Engineer District at Han
ford, Wash.-of atomic reactors
designed for making plutonium
out of uranium 238. Power pro-
duction was not, in itself, a con-
sideration. Inevitably, however
a great deal of heat was pro.
duced in the transmutation pro.
cess taking place at Hanford
This heat could be converted into
steam, which in turn could be
converted into power. And so
electric power became a by.
product Of that early atomi,
operation.
The cost Of this first atom
power was calculated at some
$4,000 for each installed kilowatt
capacity. By comparison, the
cost for conventional electric
power plants is from 5000 to $500
for each installed kilowatt capac.
ity.
It was obvious from the first
however, that the cost of pro.
ducing power by atomic energy
could be reduced greatly if re-
actors were designed with the
production Of energy, rather
than plutonium, as the primary
consideration. Step by step such
q cost reduction was accom-
phshed. Finally, the necessary
expenditure reached the neigh.
borhood Of $1,000 for each in
stalled kilowatt capacity. Thi,
is about the cost of the SUBJ
marine propulsion plants cur
rently being installed.
Now, $1,000 an installed kilo-
watt capacity Is not an excessive
figure for q submarine, which
has peculiar power-production
problems. It might not be an
excessive cost for producing
power nj certain special areas of
the world where the cost would
be exceptionally high under any
circumstances.
ExOrbitant Figure.
But 1000 an installed kilo-
watt capacity Is an exorbitant
figure for most places and cir
cumStanceS. Generally speaking
the job ahead is to close the gap
between that $1,000 figure and
the $500 figure which Is the nor
NAL maximum for N0nvnYnkioy1o q