[peteradio]

I wonder if moderate Amish would consider nuclear in any form? For the sake of argument let's say there is a small scale reactor that would behave as large batteries with essentially zero risk and limitless energy. Could that replace the diesel generators or is diesel seen as more predictable? Would Amish ever consider a technology which allows them to produce their own diesel fuel even if it was somewhat complex?

[MichaelCollins]

Maintenance-free nuclear power plants are a pipe dream. Self-contained fail-safe reactors with enough fuel to last a very long time might be possible, but that is only part of a nuclear power plant. To make power with that reactor you need all the rest of the nuclear power plant around it. Water intake, heat exchanges, steam turbines, etc, etc. Diesel engines are relatively straight forward compared to all this. I think it would be easier to talk them into producing biodiesel for themselves (assuming they don't already.)

But if they're going to buy something high-tech once and keep it running themselves for years, wind turbines or solar seem more promising.

[NateEag]

An Amish farm not too far from me (and not too far from Elizabethtown College, where TFA is from) has a solar panel on the barn roof. Noticed it while driving past about a month ago.

I don't know what sect the family belongs to, but a couple months ago I drove past on a Sunday morning and saw over twenty buggies parked in the pasture, nary a car in sight, so I'm confident they're at least not in a car-owning group.

[peteradio]

Let's say its a pitch to hook them up to the electric grid since its become so utterly reliable?