Renevables are the future, but before they are ready to fullfull all needs (energy storage and needed investment are challenge), we need something – nuclear power is one tool that can be used.
Renevables are the future, but before they are ready to fullfull all needs (energy storage and needed investment are challenge), we need something – nuclear power is one tool that can be used.
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Tomi Engdahl says:
Finland’s Green Party And Nuclear Power – Really?
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2017/04/17/finlands-green-party-and-nuclear-power-really/#4ea8ab1b5ec4
Last week, April 9, 2017, four municipal election candidates from the traditionally anti-nuclear Green Party in Finland published an opinion piece where they clearly stated that humanity no longer has the luxury of opposing nuclear power.
Well over a hundred election candidates from all the major parties – these Greens included – signed a petition calling for feasibility studies for nuclear district heating to provide heat for Finnish cities.
But the country has vowed to end the use of coal by 2030 and their wide use of biomass is controversial as it causes significant health effects in some indoor air situations. Finland is receiving the brunt of global warming, as temperatures across Finland are climbing faster than anywhere else in the world. And global warming is impossible to address in the next 20 years without expanding nuclear power.
The Pirate Party member, Dr. Petrus Pennanen who is pro-nuclear and favors strong climate policies, made the news by proposing the use of nuclear-generated heat to replace coal and biomass in Helsinki’s building heating. Petrus became one of the two first elected Pirate Party members in Finland, probably because of this pro-nuclear stance.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It goes completely against what most believe, but out of all major energy sources, nuclear is the safest
https://ourworldindata.org/what-is-the-safest-form-of-energy/
One terrawatt-hour is roughly equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 12,400 US citizens. Although deaths from accidents and air pollution have been combined, it’s important to note that air-pollution related deaths are dominant. In the case of brown coal, coal, oil and gas, they account for greater than 99% of deaths, as well as 70% of nuclear-related deaths4, and all biomass-related deaths.
We can see that brown coal and coal rate the worst when it comes to energy-related fatalities. Coal-fired power plants are a key source of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, key precursors to ozone and particulate matter (PM) pollution, which can have an impact on human health, even at low concentrations.
Tomi Engdahl says:
US Nuclear Comeback Stalls As Two Reactors Are Abandoned
https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/17/08/01/2019230/us-nuclear-comeback-stalls-as-two-reactors-are-abandoned
Brad Plumer reports via The New York Times (Warning: may be paywalled; alternate source):
In a major blow to the future of nuclear power in the United States, two South Carolina utilities said on Monday that they would abandon two unfinished nuclear reactors in the state, putting an end to a project that was once expected to showcase advanced nuclear technology but has since been plagued by delays and cost overruns. The two reactors, which have cost the utilities roughly $9 billion, remain less than 40 percent built. The cancellation means there are just two new nuclear units being built in the country — both in Georgia — while more than a dozen older nuclear plants are being retired in the face of low natural gas prices.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Surprise: Nuclear Power Maximizes Environmental Benefits Of Electric Vehicles
https://www.forbes.com/sites/constancedouris/2018/01/10/surprise-nuclear-power-maximizes-environmental-benefits-of-electric-vehicles/#3545e2e5481d
The sources of energy that power the grid to charge electric car batteries matter just as much as vehicle emissions. Nuclear power is a clean and efficient power source, but its availability is at risk due to cheaper sources of energy, such as natural gas and renewables.
the top three fuel sources used by the U.S. electric grid are coal, natural gas and nuclear — renewable sources such as wind and solar make up only about 15 percent of electricity production, but they likely will contribute more as better storage solutions become available. Thus, two-thirds of the most used fuel sources for electricity are at risk of becoming less available due to cheaper options.
In the meantime, electricity demand is projected to increase more than 25% by 2040, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. One contributing factor is the adoption of more electric vehicles (EVs) which will need additional power to charge their batteries.
Due to industry developments, such as better batteries and regulations that limit emissions, EVs are becoming more common. As drivers begin to realize the low cost of maintenance and fuel, EVs will increasingly be considered a bargain. According to one forecast, there will be almost 12 million EVs by 2025.
Tomi Engdahl says:
California Regulators OK Closing State’s Last Nuclear Plant
http://www.power-eng.com/articles/2018/01/california-regulators-ok-closing-state-s-last-nuclear-plant.html?cmpid=enl_pe_power_engineering_e-newsletter_2018-01-16
California utility regulators have approved an agreement to retire the state’s last nuclear power plant.
The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously Thursday to ratify a 2016 deal to mothball the Diablo Canyon nuclear plant at San Luis Obispo.
Environmentalists and plant-owner Pacific Gas & Electric Co. have agreed that the state no longer needs the electricity from the nuclear plant. That’s due in part to the growing affordability of solar and wind power, as well as natural gas.
Tomi Engdahl says:
FirstEnergy Unit That Runs Power Plants Files for Bankruptcy
https://www.power-eng.com/articles/2018/04/firstenergy-unit-that-runs-power-plants-files-for-bankruptcy.html?cmpid=enl_pe_power_engineering_e-newsletter_2018-04-03&pwhid=305d5319a67127382894fe17b311afca906f762f93a65dfc1f9552346e17d9709d4e034246d239be09167361c2963e213a053648da2a31623a49d67bfc6d0d7f&eid=302586828&bid=2054735
A subsidiary that runs FirstEnergy Corp.’s nuclear and coal-fired power plants has filed for bankruptcy after the utility said earlier that it planned to close its three nuclear plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
The move announced by FirstEnergy Solutions late Saturday signals the parent company’s plan to get out of the power producing business and concentrate on supplying electricity.
Tomi Engdahl says:
How We Screwed Up Nuclear Power
https://reason.com/archives/2018/04/12/how-we-screwed-up-nuclear-powe
Half a century ago, nuclear power was on track to out-compete fossil fuels around the globe, which would have reduced the price of electricity, the amount of harmful air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions associated with climate change. Then came a dramatic slowing of new construction and research into safer and more efficient nuclear reactors.
According to Australian National University researcher Peter Lang, the ’60s and ’70s saw a transition “from rapidly falling costs and accelerating deployment to rapidly rising costs and stalled deployment.”
In a counterfactual scenario featuring increasing uptake of nuclear power from 1976, Lang calculates that by 2015 it would have replaced all coal-burning and three-quarters of gas-fired electric power generation.
avoiding up to 174 gigatons of carbon dioxide emissions and 9.5 million air pollution deaths. Cumulative global carbon dioxide emissions would be about 18 percent lower, and annual global carbon dioxide emissions would be one-third less.
What happened? Anti-nuclear activism and regulation.
sole focus on safety resulted in lengthening construction times for plants from four to 14 years.
Tomi Engdahl says:
It’s Time for the World to Recognize Nuclear as a Clean Energy Source
https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/it-s-time-world-recognize-nuclear-clean-energy-source
a wide range of policies and programs that will promote the transition to a global clean energy economy.
But frequently the definition of “clean energy,” as Secretary Rick Perry pointed out last year, does not include nuclear energy—the world’s second largest source of low-carbon electricity, following only behind hydropower.
Tomi Engdahl says:
TerraPower’s Nuclear Reactor Could Power the 21st Century
https://spectrum.ieee.org/energy/nuclear/terrapowers-nuclear-reactor-could-power-the-21st-century
In a world defined by climate change, many experts hope that the electricity grid of the future will be powered entirely by solar, wind, and hydropower. Yet few expect that clean energy grid to manifest soon enough to bring about significant cuts in greenhouse gases within the next few decades. Solar- and wind-generated electricity are growing faster than any other category; nevertheless, together they accounted for less than 2 percent of the world’s primary energy consumption in 2015, according to the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century.
To build a bridge to that clean green grid of the future, many experts say we must depend on fission power. Among carbon-free power sources, only nuclear fission reactors have a track record of providing high levels of power, consistently and reliably, independent of weather and regardless of location.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Stop Letting Your Ridiculous Fears Of Nuclear Waste Kill The Planet
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/06/19/stop-letting-your-ridiculous-fears-of-nuclear-waste-kill-the-planet/#6985d304562e
Nuclear waste has never been a real problem. In fact, it’s the best solution to the environmental impacts from energy production.
Consider:
Every year, the lives of seven million people are cut short by waste products in the form of air pollution from burning biomass and fossil fuels;
No nation in the world has a serious plan to prevent toxic solar panel and wind turbine waste from entering the global electronic waste stream;
No way of making electricity other than nuclear power safely manages and pays for any its waste.
In other words, nuclear power’s waste by-products aren‘t a mark against the technology, they are its key selling point.
Tomi Engdahl says:
NEXT-GEN NUCLEAR IS COMING—IF SOCIETY WANTS IT
https://www.wired.com/story/next-gen-nuclear/
“The question was, ‘Can we do better than the conventional reactors that were commercialized 60 years ago?” Irish recalled. “And the answer was, ‘Absolutely.’”
Dozens of nuclear startups are popping up around the country, aiming to solve the well-known problems with nuclear power — radioactive waste, meltdowns, weapons proliferation, and high costs.
There are reactors that burn nuclear waste. There are reactors designed to destroy isotopes that could be made into weapons. There are small reactors that could be built inexpensively in factories. So many ideas!
Other reactors, like Terrestrial’s molten-salt-cooled design, automatically cool down if they get too hot.
Salts heat up and expand, pushing uranium atoms apart and slowing down the reaction
This stuff can sound like science fiction — but it’s real. Russia has been producing electricity from an advanced reactor that burns up radioactive waste since 2016. China has built a “pebble bed” reactor that keeps radioactive elements locked inside cue ball-sized graphite spheres.
startups and public-sector projects working on trying to provide low-carbon energy with safer, cheaper, and cleaner nuclear power
“In terms of the number of projects, the number of people working on it, and the amount of private financing, there isn’t anything to compare it to unless you go back to the 1960s,”
WHY IS THIS all happening now? After all, scientists have been working on these alternative types of reactors since the beginning of the Cold War, yet they’ve never caught on.
Recently, the United States’ bet on conventional water-cooled reactors has been going bad in very expensive ways.
“The most recent builds in the United States have been a disaster, largely due to poor on-sight construction practices,”
Similar stories have played out abroad. In Finland, construction of a new reactor at the Olkiluoto power plant is eight years behind schedule and $6.5 billion over budget.
If these safer reactors don’t require all those backup cooling systems and concrete containment domes, companies can build plants for much less money.
Technologies often fail for a long time before succeeding
Energy Innovation Reform Project estimated that the latest batch of nuclear startups could deliver electricity somewhere between $36 and $90 a megawatt hour. That’s competitive with any power plant that runs on natural gas (which runs between $42 to $78), and would provide a viable alternative to fossil fuels.
In a best-case scenario, nuclear power could be even cheaper.
MATTHEW BUNN, A nuclear expert at Harvard, said that if nuclear power is going to play a role in fighting climate change, these advanced nuclear companies will have to scale up insanely fast.
“To supply a tenth of the clean energy we need by 2050, we have to add 30 gigawatts to the grid every year,”
build 10 times as much nuclear power as it was before the Fukushima disaster in 2011
“Can we decarbonize quickly with nuclear? France did it, it can be done,” Cochrane from Oklo said.
Still, it could easily take the advanced nuclear projects 30 years to get through regulatory review, fix the unexpected problems that crop up along the way, and prove that they can compete
Tomi Engdahl says:
As Heatwave Tests The Limits Of Renewables, Anti-Nuclear Governments Return To Nuclear
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelshellenberger/2018/07/26/as-heatwave-tests-the-limits-of-renewables-anti-nuclear-governments-return-to-nuclear/#178de3e4132b
Even anti-nuclear governments are turning to nuclear power to deal with a record-breaking heatwave, which has increased demand for electricity to power air conditioning around the world.
To meet rising electricity demand, South Korea’s anti-nuclear government announced last week that it would increase the number of operating nuclear reactors from 14 to 19
Anti-nuclear Germany has had to rely heavily on its remaining nuclear plants and its coal plants even during daylight hours when Germany’s solar panels are at maximum production. The reason? Very little wind.
In June, Taiwan’s anti-nuclear government was forced to restart a closed nuclear reactor in order to meet demand.
Japanese government accelerated the restarting of nuclear reactors closed after Fukushima.
The reliance on nuclear power plants by anti-nuclear governments shows the limits of renewables and conservation
California has spent billions on conservation and efficiency programs but found itself this week pleading with residents to reduce energy consumption during the heatwave. “Plan somewhere to go if you lose power,”
“solar production falls off when the sun goes down and energy users come home from work, turn on their air conditioners and use appliances that suck up a lot of power, such as washer/dryers.”
“Summer temperatures that can reach 50C, combined with the build-up of dust, can reduce the efficiency of a photovoltaic panel by more than half”
Will the heatwave serve as a wake-up call to anti-nuclear governments?
In California, electricity prices have risen five times faster than in rest of the U.S. since 2011, when the state began expanding the deployment of renewables and closed a nuclear plant.
“Demand for power [is] only going up.”
And that’s not to mention the accelerating transition to electric cars, whose demand for electricity could grow 300-fold between 2016 and 2040.
Tomi Engdahl says:
CO2 emission of electricity from nuclear power stations
How much CO2 is produced by atomic energy?
https://timeforchange.org/co2-emission-nuclear-power-stations-electricity
Let’s compare the CO2 emissions to produce 1 kWh of electricity by different technologies:
Technology g CO2 per kWh
electricity
Solar power, water power and wind power
10 – 40
Nuclear power plants
90 – 140
Combined heat and power in private houses
220 – 250
Gas buring plants
330 – 360
New coal burning plants
1’000 – 1’100
Tomi Engdahl says:
Solar, wind and nuclear have ‘amazingly low’ carbon footprints, study finds
https://www.carbonbrief.org/solar-wind-nuclear-amazingly-low-carbon-footprints
Building solar, wind or nuclear plants creates an insignificant carbon footprint compared with savings from avoiding fossil fuels, a new study suggests.
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://ylioppilaslehti.fi/2018/08/kaikki-loppuu-pian/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Uranium Seawater Extraction Makes Nuclear Power Completely Renewable
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2016/07/01/uranium-seawater-extraction-makes-nuclear-power-completely-renewable/?fbclid=IwAR1DtUygA2Lv-X7VQlFp1pVTEqymtbg-2hNvQk_F17Ml7V34MttOiFSf4CA#3aba5b41159a
Tomi Engdahl says:
We can’t switch to zero-carbon energy without nuclear power
Physicist and broadcaster Jim Al-Khalili says nuclear power is needed. “We can’t shy away from saying that we still need nuclear for when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine”
https://www.wired.co.uk/article/jim-al-khalili-nuclear-power
Tomi Engdahl says:
Developing the First Ever Facility for the Safe Disposal of Spent Fuel
https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/developing-the-first-ever-facility-for-the-safe-disposal-of-spent-fuel
Following several decades of committed implementation of disposal strategies in Finland and Sweden, as well as cooperation in the development of a safe disposal solution based on a Swedish design, the first ever deep geological repository for spent fuel is being constructed in Olkiluoto, Finland. Sweden, along with other countries, is also working towards building such a facility.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Future Of Energy Isn’t Fossil Fuels Or Renewables, It’s Nuclear Fusion
https://www.forbes.com/sites/startswithabang/2017/04/12/the-future-of-energy-isnt-fossil-fuels-or-renewables-its-nuclear-fusion/
From a long-term point of view, we’d still need to plan for our energy future. Fossil fuels, which make up by far the majority of world-wide power today, are an abundant but fundamentally limited resource. Renewable sources like wind, solar, and hydroelectric power have different limitations: they’re inconsistent. There is a long-term solution, though, that overcomes all of these problems: nuclear fusion.
It might seem that the fossil fuel problem is obvious: we cannot simply generate more coal, oil, or natural gas when our present supplies run out.
Even though we have hundreds of years more before we’re all out, the amount isn’t limitless. There are legitimate, non-warming-related environmental concerns, too.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.vattenfall.fi/sahkosopimukset/tuotantomuodot/ydinvoima/
Tomi Engdahl says:
http://uk.businessinsider.com/thorium-molten-salt-reactors-sorensen-lftr-2017-2
Tomi Engdahl says:
Lasers could cut lifespan of nuclear waste from “a million years to 30 minutes,” says Nobel laureate
Physicist plans to karate-chop them with super-fast blasts of light.
https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/laser-nuclear-waste
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2020/10/01/certifying-nuclear-reactors-how-the-nrc-approved-its-first-small-modular-reactor-design/
The US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) recently announced that it had approved certification of NuScale’s SMR (small modular reactor) design, completing its Phase 6 review of NuScale’s Design Certification Application (DCA). What this means is that SMRs using NuScale’s reactor design can legally be constructed within the US as soon as the rulemaking process completes. An NRC certification would also mean that certification of the design in other countries should pose no significant hurdles.
NuScale Power Makes History as the First Ever Small Modular Reactor to Receive U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Design Approval
A significant regulatory milestone accomplished as NuScale readies to bring its SMR technology to market this decade
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200828005299/en/
Tomi Engdahl says:
This Molten Salt Reactor Is the Next Big Thing in Nuclear
It’s fast, cheap, safe, and eats up waste. What’s not to like?
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a34386186/molten-salt-reactor-new-design-nuclear-waste/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/heroic-failures/the-forgotten-history-of-small-nuclear-reactors
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://finnzen.com/the-scenic-finnish-island-where-nuclear-waste-must-stay-buried-for-100000-years/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Ydinvoima voi joutua EU:n “mustalle listalle” – Teollisuuden mukaan uusi suunnitelma on kohtalonkysymys Suomelle
https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11850833
Uudet ympäristölinjaukset saattavat vaikeuttaa yritysten rahoitusta niiden käyttämien energiamuotojen vuoksi.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Olkiluoto 3 on viimein valmis
Tänään klo 13:07
13 vuotta alkuperäisestä aikataulustaan myöhässä oleva Olkiluoto 3 on rakenteellisesti ja toiminnallisesti valmis.
Olkiluoto 3 tulee tuottamaan noin 14 prosenttia Suomen sähkön tarpeesta.
Lokakuussa sähköntuotannon aloittava Olkiluoto 3 valmistuu 13 vuotta myöhässä.
TVO on ilmoittanut aiemmin, että laitos maksaa sille 5,5 miljardia euroa. Toimitusjohtaja uskoo, että se myös pitää.
https://www.iltalehti.fi/politiikka/a/0ef9ad17-ea27-4189-9bbf-756640bbb812
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://techcrunch.com/2021/06/13/nuclear-waste-recycling-is-a-critical-avenue-of-energy-innovation/
Tomi Engdahl says:
New Nuclear Fuel Could Replace Uranium in Reactors
ANEEL could be the safer, cheaper alternative to enriched uranium.
https://www.freethink.com/articles/nuclear-fuel
When enriched uranium is used as a nuclear fuel, the byproduct is nuclear waste, which includes radioactive elements like plutonium.
Disposing of this waste is one of the challenges of nuclear energy. Another is the fact that both plutonium and highly enriched uranium can be used to make weapons, making proliferation a concern.
All that to say enriched uranium isn’t necessarily the ideal nuclear fuel, but switching to something else often requires developing a brand new type of reactor — like a molten salt reactor — and that would be neither cheap nor easy.
Now, researchers in the U.S. have developed a new nuclear fuel they say would work with two existing types of nuclear reactors, including 49 already in operation in nine different countries — while also overcoming many of enriched uranium’s shortcomings.
The new nuclear fuel is called Advanced Nuclear Energy for Enriched Life (ANEEL), and it’s the result of a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Texas A&M University, and the Chicago-based company Clean Core Thorium Energy.
ANEEL combines the metal thorium with low-grade enriched uranium.
Thorium is about four times more abundant than uranium and easier to extract — it can even be pulled from seawater
ANEEL reportedly generates more energy than enriched uranium, pound for pound. It produces 80% less waste, and the waste it does produce contains less plutonium.
ANEEL is also less likely than uranium to cause a meltdown, thanks to a lower operating temperature and a higher melting point.
Texas A&M is now producing ANEEL pellets to send to the INL for extensive testing.
If the nuclear fuel meets safety standards, it could potentially replace uranium in the dozens of compatible nuclear reactors across the globe
Tomi Engdahl says:
TerraPower’s Natrium: Combining A Fast Neutron Reactor With Built-In Grid Level Storage
https://hackaday.com/2021/07/06/terrapowers-natrium-combining-a-fast-neutron-reactor-with-built-in-grid-level-storage/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Small Modular Reactors Explained – Nuclear Power’s Future?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbrT3m89Y3M
With the growing popularity of solar and wind, we sometimes forget another powerful low-carbon energy source: nuclear. It can be a divisive topic, but there’s a really interesting alternative to building out massive, expensive nuclear plants that’s worth talking about: Small Modular Reactors. What are they? What are the benefits? And do they really address the downsides of nuclear energy?
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nuclear energy is as safe as wind and solar power, and vastly safer than fossil fuels.
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-02-02/nuclear-power-is-essential-in-fighting-climate-change?utm_medium=social&utm_content=view&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&cmpid=socialflow-facebook-view&utm_source=facebook
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cost_of_electricity_by_source
Tomi Engdahl says:
Excellent summary of the need for nuclear in decarbonization. Perhaps we can expect Bloomberg to also start talking about the high critical mineral efficiency of nuclear, something the EU Joint Research Centre’s technical assessment of nuclear did last year: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC125953
Tomi Engdahl says:
……””Nuclear energy is as safe as wind and solar power, and vastly safer than fossil fuels.”………
Tomi Engdahl says:
One word, Thorium. Much safer and cleaner than standard reactors.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorium-based_nuclear_power
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/jun/23/thorium-nuclear-uranium
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.livescience.com/china-creates-new-thorium-reactor.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.livescience.com/china-creates-new-thorium-reactor.html
https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/features/china-shows-us-the-path-to-the-nuclear-future/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Why nuclear energy is on the verge of a renaissance
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/07/why-nuclear-energy-is-on-the-verge-of-a-renaissance.html?utm_content=Main&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1654630355
Tomi Engdahl says:
Companies in Europe and the U.S. must do a better job of getting nuclear plants constructed on time and in budget, said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
Russian and Chinese designs dominate nuclear reactors, warns IEA chief
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/01/russian-and-chinese-designs-in-87percent-of-new-nuclear-reactors-iea-chief.html?utm_content=Main&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1656698714
Since 2017, 87% of the new reactors which have broken ground are Russian and Chinese designs, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said in a statement on Thursday.
“Advanced economies have lost market leadership,” Birol said.
The IEA has put together a plan for how the world can reach net zero emissions by 2050, and in that plan, the amount of nuclear power generation has to double between 2020 and 2050.
Nuclear power could be a dominant player in the next-generation clean energy landscape, but that will require concerted action and focus from governments and private industry that is not happening right now, according to the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).
In the meantime, Russia and China are dominating the space.
“Advanced economies have lost market leadership, as 27 out of 31 reactors that started construction since 2017 are Russian or Chinese designs,” Birol said.
There’s a big opportunity for nuclear power to become a major component of global energy markets as the world wakes up to the effects of climate change, since nuclear power generation does not emit any of the greenhouse gasses that cause global warming. Also, the war in Ukraine has contributed to a run-up in fossil fuel prices, making nuclear power more economically attractive.
“In today’s context of the global energy crisis, skyrocketing fossil fuel prices, energy security challenges and ambitious climate commitments, I believe nuclear power has a unique opportunity to stage a comeback,” Birol said.
“However, a new era for nuclear power is by no means guaranteed,” he added.
Governments need to implement policies to “ensure safe and sustainable operation of nuclear plants for years to come,” Birol said, and they will need to invest in new technologies.
He also warned that for advanced economies to catch up with Chinese and Russian nuclear operations, companies have to become better at delivering nuclear construction projects on time and on budget.
“The nuclear industry must quickly address the issues of cost overruns and project delays that have bedevilled the construction of new plants in advanced economies,” Birol said.
In the United States, the construction of the third and fourth reactors at the Vogtle plant in Georgia have become a prime example of the inability of the nuclear industry to execute efficiently.
Aging reactors
There are nuclear power reactors in 32 countries, and 63% of the energy generating capacity of that global fleet of nuclear reactors is from plants that are at least three decades old. That’s because most of the nuclear power construction was a response to the 1970s oil shocks, according to the IEA.
That existing fleet of nuclear reactors in advanced economies specifically will shrink by a third without intervention, which the IEA admits often requires “substantial investment.”
In the United States, the federal government is in the process of implementing a $6 billion program to prop up existing nuclear power plants that are struggling to stay open because of financial hardship, the Department of Energy says.
In the IEA’s plan for the world to reach net zero emissions by 2050, the amount of nuclear power generation has to double between 2020 and 2050. While nuclear is a critical part of IEA’s plan for a global decarbonized energy future, that future is “dominated” by renewables, like wind and solar energy. By 2050, the IEA has nuclear contributing 8% of total global power.
The IEA’s plan for nuclear energy includes nuclear power technologies that are not yet available at scale, like small modular reactors (SMRs), which generate about a third the energy generation of a conventional power plant.
“The lower cost, smaller size and reduced project risks of SMRs may improve social acceptance and attract private investment,” the IEA said, and Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States are supporting the development of this small modular reactor technology.
Tomi Engdahl says:
The First Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Was Just Approved by US Regulators
https://singularityhub.com/2022/08/05/the-first-small-modular-nuclear-reactor-design-was-just-approved-by-us-regulators/
Nuclear power could play an important role in decarbonizing the energy sector, but reactors are simply too expensive and complicated to roll out quickly. A new, smaller reactor could soon change that after receiving certification from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week.
As countries around the world race to replace fossil fuel power plants, the debate around whether nuclear power should play a role has been heated. While the technology can provide large and reliable amounts of carbon-free electricity, cost and safety concerns have held back its deployment as a solution to the climate crisis.
In recent years though, a crop of new companies have emerged promising to sidestep many of these concerns by shrinking reactors down. So-called small modular reactors (SMRs) are designed to be small enough to build in a factory before being shipped to wherever they’re needed, which should significantly reduce costs. They are also designed to be much safer than existing reactors.
A reactor designed by Oregon-based energy company NuScale Power has become the first small modular reactor design approved for use in the US by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), paving the way for new plants that utilize the reactor.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Aika hassua. Minä käsitin, että Vihreiden, Greenpeacen ja muiden alan toimijoiden mukaan ydinvoima oli ja on faktapohjaisesti ja todistetusti erittäin vaarallista, kallista, vanhanaikaista ja myös tarpeetonta. Jos näin todella olisi, silloin ydinvoimalle ei saisi antaa piiruakaan periksi vaan se pitäisi ehdottomasti kieltää kansainvälisin sopimuksin. Miten tuosta tilanteesta ja näkemyksestä on voitu päästä tilanteeseen, jossa se onkin jollain tavalla hyväksyttävää tai ei-tuomittavaa. Ovatko faktat muuttuneet?
Ympäristöjärjestöjen ydinvoimavastustus on hiljentynyt – “Ydinvoimalat ovat osa Suomen energiapalettia, pitipä siitä tai ei”
https://www.mtvuutiset.fi/artikkeli/ymparistojarjestojen-ydinvoimavastustus-on-hiljentynyt-ydinvoimalat-ovat-osa-suomen-energiapalettia-pitipa-siita-tai-ei/8516802#gs.cejrw3
Laitosten konfliktialttius huolettaa järjestöjä.
Ydinvoimaan kriittisesti suhtautuneet Suomen keskeiset ympäristöjärjestöt eivät koe asiaa enää uhkaavaksi, vaan osana ilmasto- ja energiakriisin ratkaisua. Greenpeace ja Suomen luonnonsuojeluliitto odottavat tuulivoimasta kuitenkin ydinvoimaa suurempaa ratkaisijaa.
Ilmastokriisi ja Venäjän käymä energiasota Eurooppaa vastaan vaativat tehokkaita ja vähäpäästöisiä ratkaisuja energian tuottamiseksi. Ympäristöjärjestöjen kritiikin kohteena olleen ydinvoiman, ja erityisesti Olkiluoto 3 -ydinvoimalan, odotetaan helpottavan Suomen talven energiapulaa.
“Kiista ei ole ajankohtainen”
Ydinvoimaa vastustanut ympäristöjärjestö Greenpeace ei koe asiaa ajankohtaisena ongelmana Suomessa. Suurimpina huomion aiheina järjestössä nostetaan ilmastokriisin ratkaiseminen, päästöttömän energian lisääminen ja luonnon monimuotoisuuden kriisi.
Greenpeacen uutena Suomen maajohtajana tänään aloittava Touko Sipiläinen kertoo suhtautuvansa ydinvoimaan käytännönläheisesti.
– Kiista ydinvoimasta ei ole tällä hetkellä ajankohtainen energiapolitiikan ja ilmaston näkökulmasta, Sipiläinen sanoo.
Ydinvoimalat koetaan Suomen Greenpeacella edelleen hitaaksi ja kalliiksi rakentaa. Olkiluodon ydinvoimalan viivästymiset ja nousseet kustannukset ovat osaltaan vaikuttaneet mielikuvan syntyyn.
Sipiläisen mukaan heidän odotuksensa ovat voimakkaasti kasvavan tuulivoiman määrässä. Suomen kantaverkosta vastaava Fingrid vahvistaa tiedon, että tuulivoiman tuotantokapasiteetin odotetaan Suomessa ylittävän ydinvoiman vuoteen 2027 mennessä.
– Päästövähennyksiä täytyy saada mahdollisimman nopeasti, jotta vältytään katastrofaaliselta lämpenemiseltä, Sipiläinen sanoo.
Vaikka järjestöt ovat edelleen tuulivoiman kaltaisten uusiutuvien energiamuotojen kannalla, koetaan ydinvoima välttämättömäksi energiamuodoksi ympäristökriisin ratkaisussa.
– Ydinvoimalat ovat olemassa oleva realiteetti. Ne ovat osa Suomen energiapalettia, pitipä siitä tai ei, Suomen luonnonsuojeluliiton toiminnanjohtaja Tapani Veistola sanoo.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Coal To Nuclear Transition To Decarbonize The Grid
https://hackaday.com/2022/09/22/coal-to-nuclear-transition-to-decarbonize-the-grid/
We love big projects here at Hackaday, and one of the biggest underway is the decarbonization of the electric grid. The US Department of Energy (DOE) recently published a report (PDF) on how placing nuclear reactors on coal plant sites in the US could help us get closer to the zero carbon grid of our dreams.
Investigating Benefits and
Challenges of Converting
Retiring Coal Plants into Nuclear
Plants
https://fuelcycleoptions.inl.gov/SiteAssets/SitePages/Home/C2N2022Report.pdf
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2023/01/10/the-intricacies-of-creating-fuel-for-nuclear-reactors/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.io/project/189078-i-made-my-own-usb-doctor
Tomi Engdahl says:
Swedish datacenter operator wants to go nuclear https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/08/bahnhof_smr_datacenter/
“Harnessing a Small Modular Reactor could also power 30,000 surrounding homes, Bahnhof CEO claims”
Tomi Engdahl says:
The Integral Molten Salt Reactor And The Benefits Of Having A Liquid Fission Reactor
https://hackaday.com/2023/06/07/the-integral-molten-salt-reactor-and-the-benefits-of-having-a-liquid-fission-reactor/
Although to most the term ‘fission reactor’ brings to mind something close to the commonly operated light-water reactors (LWRs) which operate using plain water (H2O) as coolant and with sluggish, thermal neutrons, there are a dizzying number of other designs possible. Some of these have been in use for decades, like Canada’s heavy water (D2O) reactors (CANDU), while others are only now beginning to take their first step towards commercialization.
These include helium-cooled, high-temperature reactors like China’s HTR-PM, but also a relatively uncommon type developed by Terrestrial Energy, called the Integral Molten Salt Reactor (IMSR). This Canadian company recently passed phase 2 of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) pre-licensing vendor review. What makes the IMSR so interesting is that as the name suggests, it uses molten salts: both for coolant and the low-enriched uranium fuel, while also breeding fuel from fertile isotopes that would leave an LWR as part of its spent fuel.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Nano Nuclear Energy’s new reactor Zeus can fit a standard shipping container and travel to remote locations in the world. https://ie.social/VdPwA