Mar 08

Senior Project Outline: The Future of Electricity

HTHMA Environmental Science Add comments
  1. I.     Intro
    1. Electricity is everywhere in our modern world…
    2. Electricity vs Energy
      1. i.     What is Energy?
    3. Current Statistics
      1. i.     US = 3 TW/yr
      2. ii.     World = 13 TW/yr
        1. Nate Lewis Lecture
    4. Projected Statistics 2050
      1. i.     World = 28 TW/yr
    5. Current Electricity Generation
      1. i.     High CO2 Emissions
    6. Feasible Method for Future (thesis)
      1. i.     Introduce Nuclear
      2. ii.     A feasible method of generating enough electricity to meet future demands is to deploy more nuclear reactors worldwide, as they are clean air, they provide for a substantial amount of energy, and they use a closed fuel cycle enabling for a more efficient use of supplies. However, there are many concerns to fix before large scale deployment including safety, the operational cost, and waste mitigation.
  2. II.     Why Nuclear Has Negative Image
    1. Chernobyl and Three Mile Island Incidents
      1. i.     Radiation from Chernobyl
      2. ii.     Radiation felt all over Europe and North America
      3. iii.     TMI: Mechanical Failure vs. Chernobyl Operator Error + Mechanical Failure
    2. Lessons Learned
      1. i.     Fail safe mechanisms
      2. ii.     Accidents paved the way to safer future through new technological advances
      3. iii.     Nuclear Regulatory Commission
  3. III.     Nuclear = Clean Air
    1. No CO2 Emissions
    2. IPCC
      1. i.     Stance on global warming
      2. ii.     “Human Induced”
  4. IV.     Substantial amount of Energy produced
    1. SONGS Stats
      1. i.     2,254 MW of power at any given time
      2. ii.     2.75 million households energy demand
    2. Compared to Wind Energy (renewable)
      1. i.     Case Study: San Gorgonio Windfarm off Interstate 10
      2. ii.     Produces only 615 MW of power
    3. Compare the amount of facilities
  5. V.     Operation Cost
    1. High Cost of Operation vs. Low Cost of Uranium
    2. Capital Needed to Build Plant
      1. i.     Possible government subsidies?
      2. ii.     Incentives to Power Companies to utilize Nuclear
      3. iii.     Promise investors big ROI
    3. Comparison of cost of uranium to cost of other supplies
    4. Overall, the cost is offset in the long run
      1. i.     If not monetary than environmental
  6. VI.     Benefits of Closed Fuel Cycle
    1. Nuclear Fission taking place in just the reactor
    2. Uranium doesn’t leave reactor during process
    3. Three loops until discharge
      1. i.     The steam you see coming out of cooling towers has no radioactive materials in it.
    4. Waste is removed following NRC protocols
  7. VII.     Con: Storage of Waste
    1. One of the biggest issues we currently face prior to large scale nuclear deployment
      1. i.     Where do we store the waste?
    2. Yucca Mountain
      1. i.     Nuclear “landfill”
      2. ii.     Rural Nevada
    3. How do we transport the waste there?
      1. i.     What happens if there is an abnormality during the transportation of the waste?
    4. Possible Solutions?
      1. i.     Sequestering waste on site
      2. ii.     Is it possible?
  8. VIII.     Uranium vs. Other Stuff
    1. i.     “One low-cost pellet of uranium 235 — weighing a few ounces — produces the same amount of energy as 140 gallons of oil, 150 gallons of gasoline, 2,000 pounds of coal or 17,000 cubic feet of natural gas. “
    2. Non Renewable
      1. i.     Plentiful
      2. ii.     Breeding
        1. Forced decay from Uranium to Plutonium
  9. IX.     Conclusion
    1. We can’t rely completely on Nuclear Power to solve our future electricity demands
      1. i.     Nate Lewis’ “a plant every other day for 50 years” analogy
    2. Deploying many nuclear sites will still play a huge role in planning for tomorrow’s energy requirements.

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