Splitting Hairs and Atoms with Randy Brich: The Great Technology Race – Part II

Part II of The Great Technology Race builds on last week’s piece which focused on the Secretary of Energy’s recent Energy Challenge to the national labs.   Part I described the goals, guidelines and need for the race.  This part conceptualizes the race. 

The Great Technology Race – Part II
 - By Randy Brich -

Last week I pedaled my bike up Iron Mountain Road in the South Dakota Black Hills twice, crossed 3 creatively constructed pigtail bridges and passed through 2 tunnels carved in solid granite.  While climbing the sinuous black ribbon under crystal clear skies, my mind wandered on this week’s column.  After all pedal power, like wind power, is purely mechanical and if you stop pedaling while climbing a hill gravity wins.  Similarly, if the wind quits blowing the wind tower stops generating electricity.  

When I returned home and downloaded the 111 email messages in my Inbox one of them was Dan Yurman’s August 21, 2009 Idaho Samizat blog detailing the burgeoning interest in small nuclear reactors in the Pacific Northwest http://djysrv.blogspot.com/2009/08/nuclear-news-roundup-for-august-21-2009.html.  The timing was impeccable – perfect for a virtual race to see which technology is the fastest – sort of like bicycle racing - only way more important. 

To simplify the conceptual energy technology race let’s eliminate geothermal and biomass for obvious reasons and include the following technologies:  wind, solar and nuclear.  A further simplification:  instead of a finish line of 1 terrawatt-hour let’s make it 1 gigawatt-hour, or 1e+9 watt-hours.

Assumptions:

Wind:  2 MW nameplate capacity, $3.5 million per tower installed (http://www.windustry.org/how-much-do-wind-turbines-cost) or $1.75/watt, spacing estimates vary widely based on terrain and seasonally prevailing wind direction (6 – 16 turbines/mi^2); however, 60 acres per tower is in the ballpark.

Solar:  165 watts per panel, size 63.9” x 32.1” (14.24 ft^2) or 11.58 watts/ft^2, installed $7/watt (http://www.solarelectricsupply.com/Solar_Panels/Shell/shell-solar.html)

Nuclear:  Hyperion Power Generation Module (HPGM) (www.hyperionpowergeneration.com)

27 MWe nameplate capacity, generation complex occupies approximately 1 acre. $25 million for the module and $25 million for the generation complex for a total of $50 million or $1.85/watt.

Normalizing solar and wind to the HPGM nameplate capacity of 27 MWe allows for a direct comparison among the competing technologies.

A cursory review of the data reveals that solar panels exert a moderate footprint at an exorbitant cost.  Similarly, wind requires a large footprint but at a reasonable cost.  However, both wind and solar take more than twice as long as nuclear to generate 1 GW-h of electricity.  In comparison, from the standpoint of footprint, cost and generation time, nuclear fares the best. 

Accordingly, in a simplistic conceptual race of competing electrical energy generation technologies, nuclear wins hands down while wind comes in second and solar a distant third.  Given this clear cut advantage for nuclear - which contradicts the current Administration’s emphasis on renewables, a more involved modeling exercise is warranted.

Perhaps our very own taxpayer funded U.S. Department of Energy, equipped with their state-of-the-art high speed computers, could take a break from their infinite climate change modeling exercises and model all of the viable energy technologies.  Only then could policy makers have some real data to make informed decisions.  That would be a change we could all hope for.

Last weeks:

Splitting Hairs and Atoms with Randy Brich: The Great Technology Race – Part I

About Randy Brich
Randy graduated from South Dakota State University in 1978 with a M.S. in Biology.  Following graduation he switched gears and began a lifelong study of ionizing radiation and its beneficial applications to humanity.  During the course of his study he worked as a staff Health Physicist with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission specializing in the licensing and inspection of uranium recovery facilities.  He transferred to the Department of Energy where he worked as a Health Physicist at the Nevada Operations Office and later to the Richland Operations Office specializing in environmental monitoring, dose reconstruction, worker protection, waste cleanup and systems biology.

Since then he has retired from the federal government and, after taking time out to build an energy efficient house near the Missouri River, has formed Diamond B Communications LLC.  Diamond B Communications LLC uses a multimedia approach to explain complex energy resource issues to technical and non-technical audiences.  He also guides for Dakota Bike Tours, the Relaxed Adventure Company, offering tours of the Badlands National Park, the Black Hills and Devils Tower National Monument.

If you have questions, comments, or know of a book that you think Randy should review Email Randy Brich>> randy@nuclearstreet.com