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SPIRAL HYDRAULIC GENERATOR - AN ALTERNATE SOURCE OF ELECTRICITY There are two spiral hydraulic generator designs that are being used as an alternate source of electricity, the Archimedes Screw Generator and the PicoPica Hydraulic Unit Generator. Both designs use a rotor in the shape of an Archimedean screw which rotates in a semicircular trough. Water flows into the screw and its weight presses down onto the blades of the turbine, which in turn forces the turbine to turn. Water flows freely off the end of the screw into the river or stream. The Archimedes Screw Generator (ASG) only requires one meter (3.3 feet) of head to operate and can accommodate up to 10 meters (33 feet) of head. A single unit can provide up to 5 KW but can be coupled with others to provide an electrical output of up to 500 KW. Many ASGs have been installed and used in Europe – 400 since 1993. One ASG is connected to the North American Grid in Waterford, Ontario. Archimedes Screw generator applications include: -Cooling water outlets from power stations  -Industrial process water (e.g., paper/steel mills)  -Old mill sites  -Existing small weirs/dams  -Replacement of waterwheels and other types of generators  -Water treatment outfalls  -Anywhere there is a suitable head and flow The PicoPica Hydraulic Power Unit is also a low-head generator that can be utilized in small streams to provide electricity in areas where it is not available. They have two types – PicoPica10 and PicoPica 500. The PicoPica10 only requires 0.1 meter (4 inches) of head and can generate 10 watts – enough for security lighting, for example. The PicoPica500 requires a head of .7 meters (2.3 feet) and can generate 500 watts – enough energy for the average Japanese household’s electrical needs. The PicoPica10 is relatively lightweight at 17.5 kg (38.5 lbs.) and can be assembled onsite. The PicoPica500 weighs 250 kg (551 lbs.), excluding the installation frame. It must be pre-assembled, brought on site, and then placed in the waterway by a crane. picture credit: elandcables.com/vRyan #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #netzero #hydropower

Out with the coal, in with nuclear! The US Department of Energy released an information guide for communities who may be considering transitioning from coal plants to nuclear. By 2035, almost 30% of coal plants in the US are projected to retire and pivot towards nuclear plants. A major concern for these communities are the economic factors and how ushering in the nuclear plants will help or hurt the their economy and the environment where they live. The report that was released states that replacing a coal plant with nuclear would create more jobs, employing more people. It would also increase total income, revenue, power plant operators and local suppliers in these communities. Those who currently work in coal plants who have helped our energy system throughout the years would have the opportunity, support for training and resources to be able to make the switch into nuclear energy plants. In the future, you’ll begin to see retired and operating coal plants as potential candidates for a C2N transition.

CARBON EMISSIONS IMPACT ON CLIMATE: A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE   Despite the foregone conclusion that all CO2 emissions are detrimental to the planet, not all scientists agree. Dr. Richard Lindzen, a physicist, former professor at MIT, and contributor to the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is considered one of the highest profile climate skeptic scientists. Dr. Lindzen takes issue with the general conclusions drawn from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports and has been at the forefront of the rebuttal on the IPCC's "Summary for Policymakers," saying that it was not a true summary written by scientists alone, but a result of discussions with policymkers. His prolific writings assert that climate change science is inconclusive.   Here is an excerpt of an article Dr. Lindzen wrote: “What historians will definitely wonder about in future centuries is how deeply flawed logic, obscured by shrewd and unrelenting propaganda, actually enabled a coalition of powerful special interests to convince nearly everyone in the world that CO2 from human industry was a dangerous, planet-destroying toxin. It will be remembered as the greatest mass delusion in the history of the world–that CO2, the life of plants, was considered for a time to be a deadly poison.”    He states in his essay that in other words, consistent with Le Chatelier’s Principle, the climate system is amply capable of opposing such force. Le Châtelier's principle states that if a dynamic equilibrium is disturbed by changing the conditions, the position of equilibrium shifts to counteract the change to reestablish an equilibrium. Using the equation N2(g) + 3H2(g) ⇌ 2 NH3(g) + heat, if temperature were increased, the heat content of the system would increase, so the system would consume some of that heat by shifting the equilibrium to the left, thereby producing less ammonia. Henry Louis Le Chatelier was a French chemist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He devised the Le Chatelier's Principle, used by chemists and chemical engineers to predict the effect a changing condition has on a system in chemical equilibrium. In a chemical reaction, chemical equilibrium is the state in which both the reactants and products are present in concentrations which have no further tendency to change with time, so that there is no observable change in the properties of the system. This state results when the forward reaction proceeds at the same rate as the reverse reaction. The reaction rates of the forward and backward reactions are generally not zero, but they are equal. Thus, there are no net changes in the concentrations of the reactants and products. Such a state is known as dynamic equilibrium. To learn more, check out “An Assessment of the Conventional Global Warming Narrative” https://lnkd.in/dkeWtUNq #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewables #renewableenergy

50 YEARS AFTER SHUTDOWN, FORT GREELY, ALASKA SM-1A NUCLEAR PLANT BEING DISMANTLED   In October 2023, the Baltimore District U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced their decision to begin the decommissioning and dismantlement of the SM-1A Former Nuclear Power Plant, located at Fort Greely, Alaska. This year, just over 50 years after its final shutdown in 1972 and following the removal of the radioactive reactor components last year, the building that housed the reactor and the vapor containment structure will be dismantled.    Program Manager Brenda Barber said the original plan was to erect a large weatherproof enclosure over the structure to facilitate working year-round, but that raised concerns about potential earthquake, snow, and wind damage, “and whether or not that weather enclosure would stay stable on top of those conexes during some of the severe weather that occur...” That led the Corps’ team to reconsider how to cover the plant with the enclosure and the vapor containment (VC) structure that towers over the facility. Now the plan is to eliminate some of the height concerns this summer - particularly with the vapor containment structure and remove an old Quonset Hut that sits next to the plant. This will allow the tent to completely encompass the site and allow the demolition work to continue through the winter. Ms. Barber said the Corps needs approval from the Army Reactor Office before work under the new schedule can begin. If they get the go-ahead, demolition will start this summer with trucks hauling away debris starting in the fall. These trucks will be carrying what is called an intermodal container, similar in size and look to a SeaLand container that you typically see on a barge. Re-sequencing of the work; however, requires changes that were not originally scheduled for this summer and fall - such as the asbestos removal this year. Therefore, both demolition waste and asbestos removal will occur this August and be monitored by the Army Corps of Engineers. The debris being removed will be metal and wood-basically construction debris, but the other materials removed will be classified as low-level radioactive waste. An average of two trucks per week will transport containers to Fairbanks, where they’ll be transferred to Alaska Railroad cars for delivery to Anchorage or Whittier, Alaska. From there, they’ll be barged to Seattle, then railroaded to a hazardous waste facility in Texas. Barber says the re-sequencing of work should enable the Corps to complete the dismantling and decommissioning of the power plant by the end of 2029. She says the agency will hold public meetings on the new schedule in July or August to let the public know about the new plan for dismantling the old SM-1A. #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables  Photo Credit: US Army Corp of Engineers

Driven by public opposition and political decisions, Italy began to phase out nuclear power 35 years ago. The turning point for Italy’s nuclear power came after the Chernobyl disaster in April 1986 which heightened public fear and skepticism towards nuclear energy. In November 1987, Italy held a national referendum where voters were asked to decide on three nuclear-related questions. The result was a decisive rejection of nuclear power, with over 80% voting against it. Following the referendum, the four nuclear power plants in Italy (Caorso, Enrico Fermi, Latina, and Garigliano) were progressively closed between 1987 and 1990. Now Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has announced plans to restart Italy's nuclear energy industry with investment in small modular reactors, to meet the country's net zero emissions goals by 2050. https://lnkd.in/eJiNxBSb #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #hydrogenfuel #netzero

MILD OR MODERATE WEATHER NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR A RENEWABLE RICH GRID According to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), extended periods of mild weather may be a problem for a solar- and wind-rich power system.    Their report revealed that short, extreme weather events often resulted in favorable conditions for renewables. Extreme summertime heat is usually accompanied with sunny days; good for solar renewables. Wintertime cold is usually accompanied with the arrival of cold air brought in by strong winds; good for wind renewables.  With extended periods of mild or moderate weather, however, problems seem to occur due to low winds and cloud cover that reduces wind and solar production. These scenarios or models were never considered with our traditional power systems. These traditional power systems were only stressed during periods of extreme weather. Today grid operator planners must consider low wind and solar resources when moderate to high loads are in demand. The high net load days might not coincide with summer or winter peak production; therefore, they must find other resources to support both generation and transmission capacity needs.  In response to NRELs report, Marty Schwarz, NREL power systems engineer and coauthor of the report said, “These findings are specific and limited to the weather that occurred in the historical data set and to the future grid infrastructures considered, but they do point to an overarching conclusion, which is that the most concerning weather events to the future grid are different than the concerning events of today." One specific example used by NREL to explain this phenomenon is the wind lull that often follows a cold front. During winter months, when solar output is already low, the future grid will rely more heavily on wind power. Wind power is normally abundant in the “immediate vicinity” of cold fronts, but the fronts are often followed by a lull of varying severity, with continued cold that causes persistent high loads as people heat and light their homes.  NREL said the sample size of weather events explored in the study suggests that calm days, following the onset of a cold wave, may be among the most important weather for planners to consider when determining capacity needs for future systems that rely on high levels of variable renewable generation.  Understanding how extreme weather, as well as mild or moderate weather can affect our grid capabilities is critical to our ability in maintaining grid reliability for our future power system. #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables #hydrogenfuel Image Credit: NREL.com

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TWELVE SMRs PLANNED FOR ENERGY NORTHWEST Energy Northwest recently announced plans to build and operate 12 SMRs (small modular reactors) in an area just north of Richland, Washington adjacent to their nuclear plant Columbia Generating Station. Columbia Generating Station provides Washington State with about 10% of its electricity, producing 1,207 MWe (megawatts electric), when operating at 100% power. It was built and operated by the Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPS) in 1984 until it changed its name in 1998 to Energy Northwest, which now operates the plant and leases the 580 square-mile site. It is the sole nuclear power plant in the Pacific Northwest and one of only three within the western United States (Columbia Generating Station, Palo Verde Generating Station, and Diablo Canyon Power Plant). Energy Northwest agreed to a partnership with X-Energy Reactor Company, a Rockville, Maryland-based firm that manufactures nuclear fuel and reactors. X-Energy’s SMR, Xe-100, uses their own TRISO particle fuel. This HTGR (high temperature gas-cooled reactor) design produces 80 MWe and is designed for a 60-year operational lifetime with the benefit of online refueling. State lawmakers approved $25 million for the project in March 2024 and the Biden administration has announced plans to “bolster domestic nuclear industry” and backed a multi-country declaration to triple nuclear energy capacity globally by 2050. A specific time frame for these SMRs was not disclosed. #energyindustry #powergeneration #nuclearenergy #nuclearpower #renewableenergy #renewables photo credit: energy-northwest.com

From the Philly Voice, "Support for nuclear power has gained bipartisan momentum in recent years. The technology is touted as a vital part of the strategy to reduce carbon emissions by scaling back reliance on fossil fuels. It's also viewed as a way for the United States to solidify energy independence." https://lnkd.in/e79CxdQH.