--------- #1444 Wind Farms and Nuclear as Alternative Energy?
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- Global warming is real. I have several reviews on the topic if you want to learn more. Predictions were made in 2006 that the Earth was destined to become like Venus or Mars if we did not stop putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. We must find alternative energy to burning gas, oil , and coal in order to save the planet. That was 2006!
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- One alternative pursued was wind farms. We can solve Global Warming crisis with wind energy. By 2008 wind farms in the US produced 28,900 megawatts of electricity.
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- 28 megawatts will support a town of 20,000 households. So 28,900 should support 1,000 towns that size. Of course, the wind does not always blow so the electricity is not continuous unless we have some way to store the energy like in batteries. And, the towns are not always located near the wind farms so distribution systems need to be built to get electricity to where it is needed wherever the 1,000 towns are located.
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- In 2009 there were 37,500 megawatts of wind energy produced , a 30% increase.
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- The energy storage issues and the distribution issues have not been solved. The government was simulating the growth but pushing on a string. Private investment would know better. Government did not have a business plan. As usual government interference in the business has unattended consequences. Taxes, the word for other people’s money, was inefficient and ineffective compared to how free enterprise would have handled it.
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- In 2010 26,300 megawatts were produced, a 70% drop in electricity production. Business would be in trouble. Government just needs to raise taxes.
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- See Review # 1417 to learn about Electricity Storage alternatives being pursued.
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- Ok, what is happening in nuclear. Government certainly can not be accused of trying to stimulate growth in nuclear energy. If we had nuclear we could produce hydrogen to power hybrid cars. There are still many issues to solve before we enter the hydrogen economy. So the hydrogen part is a ways off.
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- We tend to think of nuclear reactors as giant projects taking decades to complete even after all the environmental issues have been approved. But, does nuclear energy have to be delivered that way?
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- The Savannah River Site project in South Carolina has nuclear reactors that generate only 27 megawatts of electricity. Again, about the amount needed to support a town of 20,000 households. This is only 4% the size of those large-scale nuclear plants.
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- The unique thing about these small nuclear reactors is that they can be built in a factory and shipped to the desired locations that has been environmentally approved.
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- When the fuel is spent the entire reactor can be shipped back to the same factory for reprocessing and proper handling of waste.
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- The size of the reactor is about the size of a hot tube. A reactor this size can be shipped safely to almost anywhere. A lot of the expense is in getting a site approved, so these companies do not have to invest in that part of the venture until they place an order for the product.
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- The concentration of highly skilled nuclear scientists and R&D facilities to support multiple locations adds to the ability to advance the technology in small modular reactors.
See Review #1440 about a 14 year old that built a nuclear fusion reactor in his garage. He is 17 now and TED presents the video. RSVP 4 a copy. Nuclear technology advancements are still on the horizon. But, it does fit in the all of the above energy policy, if we had one.
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(1) For further information google the companies engaged in this enterprise, “Gen4Energy”, “Holtech International”, and “ NuScale Power”.
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707-536-3272, Friday, March 30, 2012
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