Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Global Warming Nuclear - Decades Late and US$ Millions Short

Rev 25 Jan 2012



Over the past three to four decades Left Democrats have ridden hard to stardom with their forceful and manipulative denunciation of domestic and global nuclear energy. Resulting is human races demise 2050-2099 CE.

The only tool that is quickly available to reduce U.S. and global human greenhouse emissions is to quickly expand nuclear energy, building new nuclear reactors and replace old hydrocarbon energy units. Reform is necessary of left Democrats Nuclear Energy Commission (NRC). The NRC members are no more than appointed politicians and lawyers whose paid job is to continue blocking U.S. nuclear energy advancement. “Renewable energy drive” was further enabled by withholding permitting for U.S. expansion of nuclear energy; which allowed left Democrats’ European-U.S. neo communists to promote 2011 ₡ 96 billion euros (US$ 122.63 billion) corruption carbon-cap-and-trace renewable energy funding and US$ 90 billions 2009 “Stimulus” renewable energy corruption funding.   

With the exception of expanding nuclear power, all other U.S. national energy proposals and policies are NOT viable. U.S. energy policies simply do not reflect real clean energy needs and real energy growth demands. Life-cycle process of all human energies (except nuclear energy and hydroelectric) emit large amounts of carbon dioxide. Clean inexpensive nuclear energy CAN provide new jobs if political nuclear construction and operating costs are reduced for new nuclear energy expansion and the nuclear replacement of existing dirty hydrocarbon energy sources. Added benefits of nuclear energy are it reduces greenhouse gas emissions and therefore reduces global warming temperature increase. Unlike renewable energy, inexpensive nuclear energy is a tangible long-term economic stimulus. Inexpensive nuclear energy provides improved economies and increase employment while helping human races survival.  

As a result of their systemic deficiencies, alternative renewable green power sources require massive government subsidies in the form of tax breaks and requirements that utilities and public buy inefficient power. Furthermore, while not reducing fossil fuel use, poorly run European “cap and trade” programs will effectively ration our primary hydrocarbon and nuclear energy sources, resulting in energy demands exceeding supplies. Alternative energy policies result in direct and indirect increased cost to the world economy, while producing very little energy and no net reduction of greenhouse gases. Congress and individual U.S. states make long-term energy rules that unnecessarily increase costs to industry rate payers.    

To have any reasonable 70% chance of avoiding greater dangerous climate change, global emissions will need to peak carbon emissions by 2015-2020 CE.  Nuclear energy and reprocessing of uranium will be of utmost importance in the task of stabilizing Earth’s temperature increase. Left Democrats’ have made the U.S. global warming reductions tasks much more difficult, if not imposable. President Obama and left Democrat leadership are suppressing U.S. paths to nuclear energy advancement and have given away essential nuclear technology to China.    

The U.S. nuclear energy sector is a global asset too valuable to be run by politicians. No longer can human races survival depend upon the whims of politically appointed U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) politicians. The politically controlled untoward NRC and US DOE are under complete control of CONGRESSIONAL left Democrat leadership. If human global greenhouse gases are to peak by 2020 and than be reduced, then the NRC members are to be fired now and replaced by by Presidential appointment  three senior military nuclear representatives and one representative appointed by the President (confirmed by Congress).

Over the years the military has handled many successful nuclear programs. In 1951 December 20, Arco, Idaho, Experimental Breeder Reactor I produces the first electric power from nuclear energy, lighting four light bulbs. Later, 1952 June 14, the Keel for the Navy's first nuclear submarine, Nautilus, is laid at Groton, Connecticut. The U.S. military is very knowledgeable and experienced as to how to develop and manage large complex nuclear programs. Military nuclear program management organizational knowledge is necessary for the restructuring of the NRC and the restart of U.S. nuclear energy programs.       

No one size or type nuclear reactor meets current or future needs. There are many current and advanced designed nuclear reactors that meet the needs to reduce global warming greenhouse gas emissions. Small modular reactors (SMRs), approximately one-third the size of current nuclear plants, have compact designs that are expected to offer a host of safety, siting, construction, electrical capacity, and economic benefits.

Small and medium sized reactors (SMRs), i.e., reactors with the equivalent electric power of less than 700 MW. SMRs may provide an attractive and affordable nuclear power option for many developing countries with small electrical grids, insufficient infrastructure and limited investment capability. Multi-module power plants with SMRs may offer energy production flexibility that energy market deregulation might call for in the future in many countries. SMRs are also of particular interest for co-generation and many advanced future process heat applications. Some SMR designs may reduce obligations of the user for spent fuel and waste management and offer possibly greater non-proliferation assurances to the international community.

There are specific U.S. applications for SMRs; however, on the whole there are few cost effective advantages within the U.S. for SMRs.  As with left Democrats’ massive promotion of “alternative renewable green energy,” the U.S. DOE sending out SMR statements is much ado about nothing.   

"Energy Department Takes First Step to Spur U.S. Manufacturing of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors"

January 20, 2012 - 10:48am
News Media, Energy.Gov

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of Energy today announced the first step toward manufacturing small and medium reactors (SMRs) in the United States, demonstrating the Administration’s commitment to advancing U.S. manufacturing leadership in low-carbon, next generation energy technologies and restarting the nation’s nuclear industry.  Through the draft Funding Opportunity Announcement announced today, the Department will establish cost-shared agreements with private industry to support the design and licensing of SMRs.

“America’s choice is clear - we can either develop the next generation of clean energy technologies, which will help create thousands of new jobs and export opportunities here in America, or we can wait for other countries to take the lead,” said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. “The funding opportunity announced today is a significant step forward in designing, manufacturing, and exporting U.S. small modular reactors, advancing our competitive edge in the global clean energy race.”

Small and medium reactors (SMRs) modular reactors, approximately one-third or less of the size of current nuclear plants, have compact designs that are expected to offer a host of safety, siting, construction and economic benefits. Specifically, they could be made in factories and transported to sites where they would be ready to “plug and play” upon arrival, reducing both capital costs and construction times. The small size also makes SMRs ideal for small electric grids and for locations that cannot support large reactors, providing utilities with the flexibility to scale production as demand changes.

The draft Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) announced today solicits input from industry in advance of a full FOA, which will support first-of-a-kind engineering, design certification and licensing through a cost-shared partnership. The full FOA will fund up to two SMR designs with the goal of deploying these reactors by 2022.

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s certification of Westinghouse Electric Generation III+ AP1000 nuclear reactor design, which was supported through a cost-shared agreement with the Energy Department. The Department’s efforts, in coordination with the NRC and private industry, have helped American companies lead the way in obtaining certification and licensing approvals for new reactor designs, which will further streamline these processes for future investments in the U.S. nuclear industry.  

[NOTE: By the time of the 1994 shutdown, the U.S. Argonne National Laboratory had essentially demonstrated mastery of the necessary Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) technology components for reprocessing nuclear fuel. President Obama gave the IFR nuclear fuel-reprocessing technology to China's No. 404 Factory. China now has a closed fuel cycle capability. Around 2009, President Obama gave more than 50,000 AP1000 detail manufacture and construction drawings to China. China is quickly and cheaply building US DOE-Westinghouse AP 1000 reactors. Westinghouse AP 1000 is a major reactor advancement for China's move to Generation III+ nuclear technology, and involves a major U.S. to China technology transfer agreement. By so doing, President Obama gave away critical U.S. nuclear technology to a significant economic adversary to the U.S. Chinese designers are developing a variation of the AP 1000 technologies, trumpeted as the "hone-grown" CAP 1000, as well as an updated CAP 1400 nuclear reactors. U.S. Argonne Integral Fast Reactor (IFR) program significantly advances China’s nuclear fuel cycle along with Generation III+ CAP 1000 and CAP 1400 nuclear reactors; thus providing China significant reduced construction time and costs and reduced lifetime economic costs over U.S. nuclear providers, within the growing global clean nuclear energy markets. --DGE]      

For more information on SMRs, please visit the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy website.

Fin

Critics can only present information. It is up to politicians to save human races from global warming temperature increase 2050-2099 CE destruction.