CleanTech.Org

A hundred miles southwest of Houston, amid the refineries and petrochemical plants that dot Texas' Gulf Coast, construction on the first fully licensed nuclear plant to be built in this country in the last 30 years could begin soon.

For the remainder of the article (by Steve Hargreaves, CNNMoney.com staff writer, November 02, 2009), visit: http://cnnmoney.mobi/money/archive/archive/detail/179010/full;jsessionid=1CAB061D4054106829F86E631FFA2B85.liveapp18j#p1

 

Commentary:
It may be of interest to share some information acquired during a recent meeting with Austin Energy's (AE) Operations Team and a tour of their Sand Hill Energy Center, Del Valle, Texas. This station is AE's newest gas-fired power plant (currently 300 Megawatts, with expansion to 500 Megawatts).

 

AE provided a cost breakdown for each type of fuel used to generate electricity. As a % of total power output and average cost (kWh), the breakdown was:

 

Nuclear - 20%, $0.08

Coal - 20%, $0.16

Gas (methane) - 40%, $0.25

Renewables [gas (methane), wind and solar] - 15-20%, $1.50 (unsubsidized).

 

Power from AE's nuclear station is always online and is considered base output. Demand, cost and emissions compels AE to bring the gas and coal stations online when needed.

 

While AE's nuclear plant provides the lowest cost of electricity, AE's operations manager indicated further expansion of nuclear plants was considered but for undisclosed reason(s) was abandon. Plausible reasons may relate to nuclear's high capital cost , the lengthy regulatory pathway and concern over waste disposal. Note: The French recycle nuclear wastes. Plutonium and uranium can be separated out of the waste and reused. Though recycling leaves a small amount of high-level waste to dispose of.

 

Sidebar (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radioactive_waste):

A 2004 article from the BBC states: "The World Health Organization says 3 million people are killed worldwide by outdoor air pollution annually from vehicles and industrial emissions, and 1.6 million indoors through using solid fuel."  In the U.S. alone, fossil fuel waste has been linked to the death of 20,000 people each year. A coal power plant releases 100 times as much radiation as a nuclear power plant of the same wattage. It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island accident.

End

 

Supply reliability is the reason gas appears in two line items, i.e., direct and renewable.  Direct gas is reliably supplied 24/7 from one of three natural gas companies. Renewable gas is supplied from renewable sources such as landfill and water/sewage treatment; is  limited, erratic and cannot be counted on when needed.

 

Government mandates and incentives appear to be the primary reasons why AE has plans for solar and wind assisted power plants.

 

I’m usually one of the last people to jump on the “let’s name a day” bandwagon, but Blog Action Day for Climate Change was one I could embrace.  Beyond the “sexy factor” of climate change, green, sustainability and the like, is a real need for people to understand what climate change is and why it’s relevant now.

The Environmental Protection Agency defines climate change as ”a change in long-term weather patterns. [Weather patterns] can become warmer or colder. Annual amounts of rainfall or snowfall can increase or decrease.”

Climate change seems to be a normal occurrence, natural even.  But, problems arise with the degree and rate to which our climate changes, resulting in global warming, the greenhouse effect and sea level rising, among other things.

How are we doing?

Climate Change in ºF
(Environmental Protection Agency)

• Average global temperature has increased by almost 1ºF during the past hundred years
• Scientists expect the average global temperature to increase an additional 2ºF to 6ºF over the next one hundred years.
• At the peak of the last ice age (18,000 years ago), the temperature was only 7ºF colder than it is today, and glaciers covered much of North America.

It’s easy to take for granted that the world as we experience it today will remain the same for all of OUR tomorrows, but what about when our children and grandchildren are planning for the future of their families?

What’s happening in California
(California Department of Water Resources)

• Snowpack: By 2050, scientists project a loss of at least 25 percent of the Sierra snowpack, an important source of urban, agricultural and environmental water.

• Floods: An increase in extreme weather will lead to higher winter river flows, runoff and flooding.
  • Runoff water contaminates the water supply by carrying soil contaminants, motor oil and other ground coverings into bays, watersheds and out into the ocean.
• Water Quality: Less fresh water flowing out of the Delta in spring and early summer will allow more salt water to intrude.
  • Salt water is great for soaking, not so great for drinking.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not the doomsday type. I am not ready to go off the grid. I realize that I am very privileged to have a life where water magically flows at the twist of a lever and I can communicate via gadgets galore.

I also realize I have a responsibility to not only do less harm, but to do more good; look at the little things I can do to contribute to making a big difference.

More than 10,000 people from more than 150 countries took one day to blog about climate change in an effort to get your attention.

Want to know what you can do to make a difference?

Following are some resources to get you started.

EPA
Climate Change: What you can do

TUAW
Five Apps to help save the world

Ecology Center
Ecology Center resource page

On Twitter: Follow #BAD09 – @AndaPR – @blogactionday

Dear Sir,
There is an urgent need to combat climate change effectively,
as we are all waiting for a "time bomb" to explode with regard to capping
carbon emissions from fossil fuel.
The rate of daily Global fossil fuel consumptions stand at around 85millions
to 90millions barrel, and the rate of emissions are not decreasing any
time soon. There are daily catastrophic climate change related disasters
all over the World now. From India to Pacific and fire to USA and
Australia and etc etc catastrophic floodings in Filippines.
The Maldives cabinet will be having an underwater parliament soon,
to dramatise the danger and urgency of using lesser fossil fuel.
The IEA www.iea.org is advocating that fuel and energy efficiency
are the major parts of ecosolutions to reduce ghg emissions.
The lesser fossil fuel we burn with lesser with carbon intensity the
lesser the ghg emissions. But, there are more rhetoric forum than
real actions to reduce carbon fuel consumptions.
Policy makers are still sleeping in their bed on the issue of climate
change, although more are aware now. But, the World needs urgent
actions to cap CO2 emissions to 450ppm, and below the threshold
of 2 degree hike in global temperatures.
To all policy makers , please wake up from your sleep and jump
into http://www.infernofuel.com
to reduce carbon fuel consumptions now. The danger maybe,
we are late at the tipping point of no return.That will be
catastrophic and too late. Act now on www.infernofuel.com

What is the latest on the life- cycle emissions related to nuclear power plants.

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Please visit my website at www.nuclearbetrayal.com. I am currently writing a book about my experiences including on-going interviews and investigations by the NRC. My email address is nuclearbetrayal@yahoo.com.