OK, who wants a pint-sized nuclear reactor?

With the outlook on fossil fuels growing ever dimmer, many energy mavens have touted nuclear power as a way to keep the lights on, at least until solar or other renewable energy systems become efficient enough to pick up the slack.

But while large-scale nuclear plants often suffer from Not In My Back Yard syndrome, one wonders how consumers will feel about the prospect of actually having a nuclear generator in their back yard: One company says it has started production on nuclear reactors "the size of a hot tub," designed to be placed in communities and each capable of generating enough power to light up 20,000 American homes.

Safety would be a major concern, of course, but because the units have no moving parts, they would not require many of the complex safeguards of big power plants. The units are completely sealed and the intent is to bury them underground, then post guards on the site to prevent tampering. They would presumably need to be unearthed once every five years or so, to remove the softball-sized bit of waste that is generated and add additional fuel as required. The company also says they can't meltdown: If the units are opened they would instantly cool down.

The ultimate goal for the price of power from the devices is said to be "10 cents a watt," (per the CEO -- and I think he means he wants to get the price to hit $2.5 million for 25 megawatts of capacity), and the company, Hyperion Power Generation, says it can have commercial production lines ready by 2013. The company says it wants to produce 4,000 units in its first run, each to be priced at $25 million.

All of that sounds really enticing, but I am still more than a little curious about how the system actually works. HPG doesn't really explain much about it: Traditional nuclear plants use the heat from fission to boil water to make steam, which turns a turbine that creates electrical current. HPG's modules don't seem to work this way at all. In fact the company says to think of the device as a "large battery." Until I see more technical data I remain unconvinced -- yet cautiously hopeful.

UPDATE: On this page the company mentions the power would have to come via steam turbine, so this is likely just a heat source, not a full on generator, which would need to be built above ground.