So what do you do to get an outcome that is not supported by scientific, societal, or market factors and conditions? Simple! You put your thumb on the scale to bias the outcome in your favor or to eliminate options. The Biden Administartion is doing exactly that when they propose new emissions standards that will be difficult, or in many cases, impossible for internal combustion engines to meet. You want electric vehicles to be the outcome? Well then, eliminate your competition. This action by the Administration is a bald-faced attempt to force THEIR desired outcome, and a “don’t confuse me with the facts, my mind is made up” conclusion. If they are allowed to achieve this goal, it could very well be the greatest disaster in modern times.
One of the new nuclear generating units at Plant Vogtle has achieved first criticality. After nearly a decade and a half and tens of billions of dollars, Unit 3 is finally near to going into operation. This is good news for Georgia Power and their customers, but bad news for those of us who were hoping for a nuclear renaissance. The Vogtle units have taken way too long to build and have cost way too much money. If large nuclear units are to be part of the nuclear mix going forward that has to change.
China approved construction of 168 new coal plants in 2022. How many did we approve? ZERO! In fact we shut down dozens, never to generate again. One axiom that I believe is undeniable is the country that leads the world in energy development, production, and ingenuity leads the world. Period!! By the time Biden is done we won’t lead the world in energy or anything else for that matter.
I am heartened by some of the innovation that is happening in the world of nuclear power generation. One example happens to involve a nuclear power concept that I am particularly fond of. I noted earlier my belief and disappointment that the high temperature gas-cooled reactor concept was short shrifted in the first generation of nuclear reactors. I won’t regurgitate my reasons for that, but instead express my excitement that the current generation may give this concept fresh consideration.
You may or may not know that the Department of Energy has a program called the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP), and at least for now, it hasn’t been cancelled by the current administration. X-energy, in partnership with Energy Northwest, has been chosen as one of two awardees to receive initial funding to build an advanced reactor (Xe-100) that can be operational in seven years (Reference World Nuclear News article, “X-energy formally begins SMR partnership with DOE”, dated 02 March 2021)). This choice is exciting to me not only because it is a high temperature gas reactor, but also because it employs other major concepts that I strongly endorse. Among those, the Xe-100 is a Small Modular Reactor (SMR) design nominally rated at 80 MW(e). Again, as I represented earlier, simplicity is a virtue and I very much endorse the small reactor design. Modularity also offers huge quality and economic benefits and I believe is critical to the success of future generation reactors.
The other aspect of the Xe-100 that I find very intriguing is it’s fuel. In it’s broadest sense this reactor is a pebble-bed design in that the fuel is contained within spheroids whose center is a uranium oxide/carbide kernel which is surrounded by four barrier layers acting in concert to contain the kernel. The spheroids are not only robust fuel elements that can withstand very high temperatures without melting, but they also act as the containment vessel. What a concept! No more melting of fuel and no more need for huge concrete and steel structures. Clearly innovative in many ways!
The ultimate destination for NewEnergy2040 is the development and implementation of new energy sources. But the road to that destination requires new innovations along the way. Xe-100 reactors could very well be one of the innovations that paves that road.
Earlier I cautioned about government and the auto industry adopting battery powered electric cars as the future for personal and commercial vehicles, and offered that there may be other potential options such as fuel cells or direct hydrogen combustion. NewEnergy2040 subscribes to a philosophy of choosing the best technology. Battery powered electric cars may be the best, but also as I’ve said, there could be something better. Could it be hydrogen? I can’t be sure, but I also know that there have been a few recent developments in the hydrogen world that could potentially show great promise.
One such example is Aquarius Engines, based in Israel, who has developed a piston engine that operates exclusively on hydrogen (Reference their news release, “Aquarius Engines Unveils New Hydrogen Engine That Overcomes Fuel Cell Shortcomings”, dated May 18, 2021). This engine could be a direct replacement for traditional combustion engines while offering major advantages including simplicity, a lightweight streamlined design, high efficiency, and an innovative combustion process that greatly reduces, almost eliminates, emissions. Best technology? Maybe! Tons of promise? I think so! Other examples of hydrogen engine develoment include Toyota’s Mirai which uses fuel cell technology where hyrogen reacts chemically with oxygen producing electricity to directly power an electric motor. Secondly, they also are working on a pistion engine powered by hydrogen that could also be a direct replacement for conventional combustion engines similar to the Aquarius design. Again, best technology? Maybe! Tons of promise? For sure!
Unfortunately the new administration seems to be racing headlong down that road of battery powered electric vehicles at breakneck speed while, I believe, failing to see curves up ahead or missing possible turnoffs that could lead to better destinations. Slow down, Joe! We need to get this right!
In a December 29, 2019 post (scroll back if you like) I was commenting on the Michael Bloomberg proposed energy plan which was calling for shutting down our fossil generating facilities and replacing them with green energy sources, mainly wind and solar. I also referred to AOC’s fear mongering about the world coming to an end in 10 to 12 years if we did not heed the warnings and take actions such as what Bloomberg was proposing. Finally, I quipped if we were to do what Bloomberg was proposing, millions of Americans would be “freezing in the dark” when AOC’s projected end came.
In considering what is going on in Texas right now because of a severe cold snap, I take no joy in suggesting that my post may have been somewhat prescient. People, in fact, are freezing in the dark! Yes, there are a number of reasons for that. It is true that all sources of energy in Texas were impacted in some way by the cold because a 100-year weather event was not fully factored into the designs. It is Texas after all, so probably somewhat justifiable. However; it cannot be disputed that one of the largest contributors to this horrible situation is the fact that wind and solar in Texas was all but shut down because of frozen wind turbines and snow and ice covered solar panels. One of the criticisms I have had about wind and solar is that these sources are intermittent and unreliable, at best, and in the worst case nonexistent during certain times when they are needed the most. The conditions in Texas make it abundantly clear that severe weather also needs to be a variable in the unreliability equation.
Another dynamic at play here, driven by opponents of fossil fuels and supporters of “all or nothing” renewables policies, is the prior shuttering of some Texas coal plants and cancellation of planned gas facilities. These actions undoubtedly helped skew fuel source diversity toward renewables and also had an impact on the reserve margin. When wind turbines were grinding to a halt and solar panels were accumulating ice and snow, there clearly was not enough reserve from other sources to cover the deficit. An objective of NewEnergy2040 has always been diversity of energy sources and that has not changed. But the events in Texas are a real life example of why we cannot put all of our energy eggs in a renewables only basket as proponents would suggest. Bad energy policy, to put it lightly!
The inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20 was a major setback for those of us who abhor The Green New Deal, the obstruction (hopefully not destruction) of our current energy supply, and the untold trillions to be spent on renewable energy sources. Achieving the objectives of NewEnergy2040 got much harder, but we should not view this event as a death knell. Merely a pothole in the road, albeit a large one. Common sense energy policy must prevail in the long run, I still believe that. NewEnergy2040 may now realistically be NewEnergy2050; but we can, and must, continue to push ahead toward the horizon and what lies beyond.
Have you noticed that California is struggling to keep the air conditioners running? Hellooo! Over the past few years California has bought into the global warming hysteria and in so doing they cast their lot on wind and solar. Nuclear plants in California have been rendered extinct; coal generation is on life support; and the gas has gone out of the fossil fuel balloon. Along comes a hot summer (which is not necessarily that much out of the ordinary) and the utility companies cannot will their windmills and solar panels to produce enough electricity to meet the demand. This is not a new phenomenon; ask other countries like Germany or Great Britain, how their headlong dives into renewables have been going. Have you ever noticed on the hottest days of the year the wind is often nowhere to be felt? Or that the sun still drops into the Pacific on those uncomfortably hot nights. What would have been backup facilities (nuclear or fossil fuels) now only stand as powerless monuments to much more reliable sources of electrical generation. People’s tempers rise as the temperature in their homes go up. Maybe California should offer anger management classes to their energy consumers. Right now they have no other alternatives.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused an unprecedented pause in normal life in our country and the scientific community specializing in energy related development and solutions is no exception. I, like many others, are heartened by the unselfish and heroic efforts of our healthcare workers; the expressions of compassion and concern for the infected by so many; the national rally around the recommendations for “slowing the spread”; and the massive unleashing of our medical and healthcare scientists to search for and find testing methods, therapeutic treatments, and ultimate cures. Our government has also responded with unprecedented financial support to aid people, businesses, and even other countries, in dealing with the economic stresses and strains they are experiencing during this unprecedented time. No one can deny that in the last couple months our country has, in large part, been almost solely focused on this “invisible” enemy. But do not despair! Soon our battle with the coronavirus will pass and we will get back to some semblance of normalcy. Energy ingenuity and development will resume where we left off and new innovations will follow. The objectives of NewEnergy2040 are still alive and well.
Under the “Plan” menu tab I present fusion as a “new” technology that would be the ultimate energy source with virtually an endless supply of fuel and one that could serve the energy needs of the entire globe for centuries. Traditional fusion technologies involve the fusing of hydrogen isotopes (deuterium-deuterium or deuterium-tritium) to form helium while also releasing huge amounts of energy. Pretty simple, right? Not really! A couple of Achilles Heels for fusion have been, and still are, creating and maintaining very high temperatures (millions of degrees) to produce the fusion reaction and processes and equipment to contain these high temperatures. Research is being done on a number of approaches to accomplish this end, but obviously the challenges are truly Herculean.
Well, as we speak, along comes a new and innovative concept (SingularityHub, “We Won’t Have Fusion Generators in Five Years. But the Holy Grail of Clean Energy May Still Be on Its Way”, Matthew Hole, March 5, 2020). A group of Australian scientists, headed by Heinrich Hora, at the University of New South Wales have advanced a concept whereby powerful lasers are employed to fuse hydrogen and boron. When a hydrogen nucleus fuses with a boron-11 nucleus the result is three energetic helium nuclei whose energy can then be ultimately used to produce electricity. The beauty of this reaction is that no neutrons are produced, thus significantly reducing radiation containment issues and generation of radioactive waste. The hard part is triggering the reaction in the first place which is where recent advancement in laser technology can pay huge dividends. Yes, of course, there are huge challenges to bring such a technology to fruition, but many things are possible when driven by a national commitment fueled with sufficient research dollars and brilliant minds. A match made in NewEnergy2040.