Nuclear energy

Energyville is another simulation game allowing players to qualitatively explore tradeoffs in the choices we make for our energy system.

In the game, you need to ensure the energy needs (not just electricity, but also transport and heating) for a city of 3.9 million people, with a 2030 time horizon. And of course, you need to keep citizens prosperous and minimise impact to the environment.

This game is a bit mroe crude than Electrocity, which should not matter, since anyway the simulation is at best a rough approximation. The learning cycle is much faster, and play much easier, but at the expense of the higher resolution offered by Electrocity.

If you have 5 minutes, try Energyville. If you can spare half an hour, go for Electrocity.

The UK Government has published its new white paper on energy. As a progressive country leading the fight against climate change and a paradigm shift towards sustainable energy, it's worth having a look at the concrete measures proposed.

Typical for this kind of roadmap, a wide range of measures in various stages of development and covering all sectors is listed. A few highlights.

Energy saving, whether in industry, services, households, transport or the public sector is the first frontier. Interestingly, reduction targets are phrased in terms of carbon rather than energy saved, which makes sense: when including renewable energy flows, there is plenty of energy to go around, and its carbon emissions in use become the limiting factor.

By Kenneth S Deffeyes

As an academic geologist from Princeton who has spent a large part of his working life in exploration, Professor Kenneth S Deffeyes is worth reading on carbon energy sources. 'Beyond Oil' obliges through providing the usual chapters on oil, gas, coal and uranium. It discusses alternative carbon supplies such as tar sands and oil shale. But if you can spare only time for reading one chapter, read the last one 'the big picture'.

With earth formed 4,500 million years ago, geologists 'can't be bothered with stuff that lasts less than a million years', which is incidentally about the lifetime of a mammal species. As there is no reason why Homo Sapiens should be an exception, we may have 900,000 years left before the next stage in our evolution.

Thinking out of the box, an example that we can make deliverate changes to the earth's major systems: digging 2 sea-level canals accross the Isthmus with flap gates could wipe out in a few 100 years the salinity difference between the Pacific and the Atlantic, making the tropics less hot, and the poles less cold. In other words 'San Diego everywhere'.

Beyond Oil offers further musings on population control as an instrument for sustainability. Obviously controversial, the most humane and acceptable method would be to teach calculus to teenage girls.

Its recipe prefers a mix of existing technologies, such as high efficiency automobiles, coal-fired power plants located near to CO2underground storage areas, wind turbines and nuclear power plants. It also pleads for a better use of combined techniques, i.e.:

• plan coal-fired electric power plants near to oil fields, to use CO2 for enhanced oil recovery
• nuclear plants supplying heat and hydrogen for processing heavy-oil sands
• agriculture to produce both food and burnable waste products

Since 1987, the Energy Technology Data Exchange provides access to a wide range of references on energy technology, use, environment & climate issues, policy, economic factors, alternative energy and conservation. At present, 4 million references are available through the internet, including an advanced search facility. Many recent reports are available in full text. The database has a world-wide scope, and contains references in multiple languages.

And if you're a national of one of the countries participating to this IEA agreement, you may very well be entitled to free access to it all.

By Joachim Grawe

In partnership with Energie-Fakten

By Malcolm C Grimston & Peter Beck

This book argues for the nuclear industry and governments to take action to ensure that nuclear power remains available as a practical option. Such action needs to take place on 5 fronts: public perception, economics, waste (including reprocessing and proliferation), safety and R&D.

Nuclear has already received its first chance in the 70's and 80's, during which time several governments have provided substantial resources to a nuclear programme. This has resulted in an industry which generates about one sixth of the world's electricity, with an impressive safety records and without the emission of greenhouse gasses. However, nuclear electricity has not delivered on economics. And views are divided between supporters and opponents on the outcomes of nuclear's first chance.

A second chance for nuclear electricity will depend on a number of factors, some within the industry's control, but many beyond its control: will fossil fuels remain available? at what price? will renewables fulfil the predictions of its supporters? how severe will be the impact of climate change? ... Moreover, a healthy nuclear industry will be needed to develop new generation reactor types, novel waste management techniques and attract the young and brightest engineers and scientists. But all these needs are at the same time preconditions for a healthy nuclear industry.

But other energy technologies are equally not without challenges. In summary, the authors identify 2 key issues: to enable decision making to assess whether R&D concepts can be successful in commercialisation and decision-making structures that can manage the complex issues surrounding nuclear power. 'Double or Quits' is essential reading for all who wish to explore under what circumstances nuclear energy might make a positive contribution.

To publisher site

By W J Nuttall

'Nuclear Renaissance' is not a plea for or against a nuclear revival, but explores technological evolutions that would facilitate a nuclear revival. With its focus on future technology, the book complements 'Megawatts and Megatons', since it continues in a way where the other ends (though there is no link between the 2 books).

'Nuclear Renaissance' covers the waste issue based on the UK, US and Finnish experience. It does not offer a complete and satisfactory solution, but the Finnish approach, based on participation and trust seems to provide a model for the future, as opposed to the approach of a 'nuclear priesthood' from the past.

Technological developments such as high temperature gas-cooled reactors, waste burners, Generation IV reactors and nuclear fusion are covered in depth. But possibly the main merit of the book lies in its careful consideration whether a nuclear renaissance will, needs to or should happen.

In an afterwords, the author offers a thought experiment of a world where nuclear fission as a physical phenomenon would not exist, speculation how such a world would have evolved over the past 70 years. Such a world would have seen quite a different end game to the 2nd World War. The Cold War would surely have occurred, we would not see magnetic confinement fusion and threats to climate would be even worse than we actually face today.

On balance, the author concludes that 'it would seem prudent for the developed world to maintain a civil nuclear power industry on at least its current scale.'

To publisher site

By Richard Garwin and Georges Charpak

In this highly accessible book, Garwin and Charpak give a comprehensive overview of nuclear technology, covering both its civilian and military use. The opening sentence "If it is to benefit humanity, concern for our planet and the future of our civilization needs to be matched with an understanding of the facts." sets the tone. Megawatts & Megatons aims for a balanced overview, though it leans towards an essential role for nuclear power.

A sense for the numbers is essential in the energy debate, and the chapter on energy units comes as a real bonus. There are 37 orders of magnitude between the smallest energy unit at atomic scale, the electron volt (eV) or 1.6E-19J and the largest unit in use, the Exajoule (EJ) or 10E18J. One cannot help but wonder whether some statements in the energy debate would be made with a proper understanding of the underlying math.

The book gives an excellent overview of the science and engineering behind current nuclear technology. If it has one weakness, it's on its coverage on potential future developments for reactors and waste management.

An excellent chapter describes radiation and its effect on living things. It talks about natural radiation, and the various sources of man-made radiation (medical & dental X-rays, radon), illustrating the difficulty to assess the effect of low-dose radiation on health.

This book is a must for anybody interested to make up her mind on nuclear technology. Whether you're strongly in favour or against nuclear, your opinion is likely to be more balanced after reading 'Megawatts and Megatons'.

At the beginning of the new year, SEAL is pleased to introduce its new campaign 'Can Nuclear Power Deliver?'. Based on literature review and expert interviews, SEAL's 13th briefing paper provides an overview of arguments in the nuclear debate.

Thermal power plants are the backbone of our electricity system. However, because of their relatively low efficiency, these plants are often judged inefficient and should be replaced as soon as possible by 'better ones'.

In this  contribution, Eike Roth presents an argument that such conclusion may be a bit rash. Efficiency of power plants is defined on a combination of the laws of physics with manmade conventions. In practice, the contribution of each power station should be judged on a combination of factors, such as:

• efficiency
• environmental impact