“End Nuclear Insanity Before Nuclear Insanity Ends Humanity”
Sep 28, 2024
Nighttime view of Three Mile Island nuclear power plant . . . shut down by partial meltdown in 1979 (See image credits in the Newsweek article below)
LLAW’s NUCLEAR VIEWS, ISSUES & COMMENTS, Saturday, (09/28/2024)
How on planet Earth can we continue to claim that nuclear energy is clean energy? It is without question the most filthy form of energy there is, and those who ignore that fact are intentionally leading the lemming-like human population astray. Those who are in responsible positions are creating a thumb-sucking pacifier for an unaware public everywhere all around the planet.
We are already in deep, deep, trouble with the disposal of nuclear waste that seems to have nowhere to go in the business of waste disposal so it goes nowhere, but it is the most dangerous waste product by far of all waste that should be dealt with as the highest of priorities rather than adding to and ignoring the already earth-threatening substances, including waste products like greenhouse gasses that we release into the air all day everyday. Nuclear energy will not save us from global warming/ climate change. It only increases our environmental threats. Meanwhile we store nuclear waste substances like plutonium and other radioactive waste that can remain life threatening dangerous for thousands of years. Yet they are stored, often in plain sight, at or near many existing and operating nuclear power plants and rather than protect ourselves from nuclear waste we want to create even more.
And as for rehabbing old nuclear power plants, they were shut down in their old age for a reason. The reason is that they no longer are deemed able to safely control radiation from escaping the confines of their reactors. But somehow, some way, our demand for more power for all kinds of industry including AI of all things, is out of control due to corporate greed and public consumption of never-ending new comfort products. The path we are on ends at a vertical cliff we are heading headlong over, into a bottomless pit that has no way out. ~llaw
U.S. Energy Secretary Highlights Nuclear Option for Climate Action
Published Sep 27, 2024 at 3:07 PM EDT
00:20
AI: Climate Hero or Villain? A Newsweek Horizons Event
By Jeff Young
1
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm told Newsweek that her department is helping big tech and electric utility companies bring more nuclear power to the nation’s grid to meet the rapidly increasing energy demand for data centers.
“That is absolutely one of the pieces of the clean power solution that data centers should look at,” Granholm said in an interview Thursday during Climate Week NYC.
The boom in AI has triggered a massive expansion of bigger and more powerful data centers that consume enormous amounts of electricity. That growth challenges both big tech and power suppliers who want to meet new demand while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from their data operations and power generation facilities.
Despite ambitious climate objectives at many big tech companies, emissions from Google and Microsoft are rising due to AI’s growth.
Granholm cited a recent projection from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation showing a 15 percent increase in demand on the nation’s electric grid just from data centers. However, Granholm said the power demand from the tech sector also provides a chance to spur the development of more low-carbon energy sources, including nuclear.
“We don’t really view the rise of AI and data centers as a challenge or an anomaly, but really more of an opportunity,” she said. “It really is a chance to revitalize communities with data centers.”
Granholm said the Inflation Reduction Act includes incentives for the reuse of sites that were once used for fossil fuel generation, such as coal-fired power plants or coal mines that closed. Data center developers find those old heavy industry facilities attractive because they have the needed electric transmission infrastructure in place.
Similarly, she said, some nuclear power facilities that had closed for economic reasons are getting a fresh look.
“The existing nuclear sites—60 gigawatts worth of power, potentially—we think it’s a real opportunity for communities and it’s an opportunity for improved grid management,” Granholm said.
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Renewable energy sources are growing dramatically but the intermittent supply of wind and solar power does not always match times when electricity is in high demand, a challenge for grid managers. Nuclear power’s advantage is that it provides a reliable baseload of energy, she said.
Granholm said the DOE is developing new nuclear technology while reviving older facilities as well. Nuclear plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania that closed years ago could be coming back online in the coming years, due in part to the way data center demand is changing the economics of electricity. Granholm said the DOE is working to get those idled reactors running again.
“We have a golden nuclear regulatory regime in this country, and we know we can do it safely,” Granholm said.
Climate Week Panel on AI and Energy
The twin issues of AI and nuclear power were recurring themes this week at gatherings and announcements during Climate Week NYC, including an event Newsweek hosted Wednesday evening.
The panel discussion event, sponsored by Kia, “AI: Climate Hero or Climate Villain?”, featured experts from big tech, the power industry, philanthropy and academia exploring both AI’s promise to help solve energy problems and the challenge of powering data centers.
Microsoft VP for Energy Bobby Hollis told the audience about his company’s announcement last week to purchase more than 800 megawatts of nuclear power from the energy company Constellation. The agreement could allow Constellation to restart a closed reactor at what is probably the country’s best-known nuclear facility, Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania.
“We’re hoping there will be a nuclear resurgence,” Hollis told the audience at Newsweek‘s New York headquarters.
“AI has accelerated and increased the need for carbon-free energy, so that requires us to look outside the box,” Hollis said.
In 1979, Three Mile Island was the scene of the most serious accident in U.S. nuclear power history when the facility’s Unit 2 reactor partially melted down. The facility’s other reactor was unaffected and stayed in operation until it closed in 2019.
Duke Energy Managing Director of ESG & Sustainability Heather Quinley said her company, which serves 8.4 million electricity customers in the southeast and Midwest, is looking to new nuclear power as part of its path to cleaner electricity.
She said power demand is growing rapidly in the region Duke serves.
“We’re seeing significant load growth from data centers and advanced manufacturing,” Quinley told the audience, adding that data centers will account for 25 percent of new projects Duke will power.
Duke entered an “Accelerating Clean Energy” memorandum of understanding this year with Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Nucor, a steelmaking company, to develop nuclear and renewable clean energy, on-site generation for those large-scale energy consumers.
Shifting Attitudes on Nuclear Power
Granholm said the Microsoft agreement to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island is an example of shifting attitudes on nuclear power. The accident in 1979 elevated public anxiety about health and safety risks and opposition to nuclear power became a central tenet of environmental activism.
The climate crisis, however, has forced a reconsideration of nuclear power’s role to decarbonize our energy supply and reduce the greenhouse gases warming the planet.
“If you look at public opinion polls, there seems to be a greater acceptance of nuclear today than there has been in the past, and I’m very encouraged by that,” Granholm said.
A coming generation of new, smaller nuclear reactors will offer more flexibility for how and where those units are put to use, she said, and the DOE national laboratories are leading research on a completely different type of nuclear power, nuclear fusion.
Unlike fission—the splitting of uranium or plutonium atoms to release power—fusion occurs when two atoms slam together to form a heavier one. Fusion reactions hold the promise of enormous clean energy production but require high pressure and temperature to join the nuclei together.
DOE scientists achieved breakthroughs with fusion in the laboratory in 2021 and 2022 and Granholm said fusion energy could become reality sooner than many had expected. She said that President Joe Biden has set a “decadal vision” for the first commercial fusion plant.
“There’s a couple of companies that are really leaning in with a lot of investment support from the private sector,” she added. “So, it might even be sooner than that.”
Granholm said that with the advances in nuclear power and the rapid growth of renewable energy sources she is optimistic about the country’s ability to produce power while also meeting climate targets.
“This year we will add 60 gigawatts of clean power onto the grid,” Granholm said. “So, we will be able to meet that demand.”
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TODAY’S NUCLEAR WORLD’S NEWS, Saturday, (09/28/2024)
All Things Nuclear
NEWS
Chappell Roan drops out of All Things Go music festival: ‘Things have gotten overwhelming’
Laredo Morning Times
Russian President Vladimir Putin threatens nuclear retaliation as the U.S. sends $8… Laredo proclaims October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month and …
Chappell Roan cancels US festival appearance: ‘Things have gotten really overwhelming’
The Guardian
Rising star pulls out of All Things Go festival in DC and New York City this weekend citing need to prioritise her health.
Japan’s new PM promises to bring continuity and changes to dealings with U.S. – KSMU
KSMU
All Things Considered. Next Up: 7:00 PM Classical 24. 0:00. 0:00. All … nuclear crisis and the Fukushima earthquake and nuclear disaster. See …
Nuclear Power
NEWS
How Difficult Is it to Expand Nuclear Power in the World? | Column | Renewable Energy Institute
自然エネルギー財団
While discussing the next Strategic Energy Plan, the Japanese Government actively promotes the idea to maximize the use of nuclear power for …
NBC News – The planned restart of Three Mile Island is a… | Facebook – Facebook
Major U.S. power companies shut units in wake of storm – Reuters
Reuters
Southern Company also reduced output from another nuclear reactor at its Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia after the storm damaged the …
U.S. Energy Secretary Highlights Nuclear Option for Climate Action – Newsweek
Newsweek
In a Newsweek interview, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said reviving old nuclear reactors and developing new ones is vital for a clean energy …
Nuclear Power Emergencies
NEWS
DisasterCon Highlights Past Emergencies & Lessons Learned for Future Planning
Redheaded Blackbelt
For more information on local emergencies and resources how to prepare for an emergency … Humboldt’s Energy Agency May Accept Nuclear Power at Its …
The presence of IAEA inspectors at key substations for nuclear power plants may deter RF …
112
Russia may be deterred from attacking nuclear facilities due to the decision to extend IAEA monitoring missions to main substations that affect …
Hurricane Helene: At least 30 dead as US president approves emergency support
More Radio
It generated a massive storm surge and knocked out power to millions of customers in Florida and neighbouring states. Emergency crews are racing …
Nuclear War
NEWS
Putin revises his nuclear doctrine, but have his red lines shifted? – CNN
CNN
… nuclear state as a “joint attack against the Russian Federation.” … Moscow has been making not-so-veiled nuclear threats throughout its war in Ukraine …
Putin’s nuclear threats: empty rhetoric or a shift in battlefield strategy? – France 24
France 24
President Vladimir Putin made a chilling declaration this week when he proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear war policies.
Nuclear attack warning as Putin sidekick issues dire threat to West: ‘Here’s our red line’
Daily Express
Alexander Lukashenko said any attack using conventional weapons on his country or Russia will trigger a devastating response.
Nuclear War Threats
NEWS
Putin’s nuclear threats: empty rhetoric or a shift in battlefield strategy? – France 24
France 24
President Vladimir Putin made a chilling declaration this week when he proposed changes to Russia’s nuclear war policies … Putin’s nuclear threats: …
Putin’s nuclear threats display his weakness and failure as Russian leader | World in 10
YouTube
… nuclear weapons.” Putin’s shallow threats of nuclear war display a “grave weakness and a failure” on behalf of the Russian leader, says The .
Commentary: Putin’s nuclear doctrine isn’t his worst threat – CNA
CNA
Russia’s nuclear threats have been tested as the US and its European … Russia Vladimir Putin Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy nuclear war
Yellowstone Caldera
NEWS
Safety first when building roads and bridges in Yellowstone National Park
Bozeman Daily Chronicle
Michael Loya & Ken Sims Yellowstone Caldera Chronicles; Sep 27, 2024; 21 … YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK — As you drive through Yellowstone …