Nuclear Tomorrow - December 2024
Nuclear Tomorrow - December 2024
Nuclear Tomorrow is a newsletter that is issued monthly to identify press reports on developments in the field of nuclear energy. Topics are selected for their relevance to
the impact of nuclear energy on global warming. The newsletter is written for members of the general public who are concerned with policy related to these issues. Postings are categorized as dealing with Technology (T), Policy (P), and/or Construction (C). In some cases registration or a fee is required to access an article. Hyperlinks are provided to connect newsletter posts to the referenced publication.
The newsletter is intended to expand on topics included in the book, “Nuclear Energy: Boom, Bust, and Emerging Renaissance,” to be published in 2025 by Oxford University Press. The author of the book and of this newsletter is Edward A. Friedman, Emeritus Professor of Technology Management at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, USA.
Unit 3 of Flamanville NPP, France- Wikimedia Commons
1.
After Long Delay, French Nuclear Plant Coming On Stream - (C)
The Flamanville 3 EPR reactor in Normandy, France comes online 12 years behind schedule and four times over budget. This 57th reactor in the French fleet is the most powerful at1,600 MWe. This Generation III+ reactor is the fourth of its kind anywhere in the world.
2.
Nuclear Power Was Once Shunned at Climate Talks. Now, It’s a Rising Star. - (P)
Growing worldwide energy demand and revised views of nuclear energy were evident at the United Nations climate summit in Azerbaijan where six additional countries joined the 22 who pledged in 2023 to triple use of nuclear power by 2050. Among countries with new nuclear initiatives were Turkey, Poland, and Romania.Increased enthusiasm for nuclear energy was evident at the 20224 UN Climate Summit known as COP29.
3.
Renewed U.S. Interest in Nuclear Energy: An Update - (P)
The most informative portion of this article is the discussion of the bipartisan legislation passed in July 2024 known as the Accelerating Deployment of Versatile, Advanced Nuclear for Clean Energy Act. This act supports nuclear development through two initiatives. One is to lower the cost of regulatory review for new reactor designs that employ advanced concepts with the potential of saving applicants tens of millions of dollars. The second is the inclusion of provisions that direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to streamline the review process. The act also loosened restrictions on foreign investment in U.S. reactors.
4.
Meta Bets Big on Nuclear Power and $10B on AI Data Center to Meet its Sustainability Target - ( C )
On December 3, 2024 Meta announced that it is looking for partners to develop new nuclear technology to meet its future energy needs and to advance broader industry decarbonization. Meta also announced its plans to invest $10 billion in constructing its largest data center in Richland Parish, Louisiana to expand its AI capabilities.
5.
Steady Energy - Megawatts of comfort. Gigawatts of Potential - (T)
The Finnish Steady Energy, LDR-50, is a small modular reactor that uses direct heat for desalination and district heating. The heat, in district heating, is distributed to customers via hot water flowing through underground pipes. These modular reactors can be built underground with configurations of up to six of these 50 Megawatt units configured to provide heat without the use of turbines or generators. They operate at much lower temperature and pressure than traditional reactors. In Europe, there are 3,500 district heating networks serving a total of 60 million people.
6.
Government seeks local understanding for nuclear plant restart - (P)
Given widespread opposition to nuclear energy in Japan, the Industrial Ministry of Japan is engaged in a unique effort to gain local support for reopening nuclear reactors. Plans are being implemented to hold local meetings to emphasize safety measures that exist for these plants. In the Niigata Prefecture meetings will be held in all municipalities in preparation for the restart of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant. There are 30 municipalities in this prefecture.
7.
GE-Hitachi’s small reactor design closer to deployment in UK, passes key milestone - (T)
The GE-Hitachi BwRX-300 reactor which uses natural circulation and passive cooling completed Step 1 of the UK’s General Design Assessment (GDA). Having gained this recognition of feasibility the phase 2 process of evaluating safety, security and environmental aspects of this design can be undertaken.
8.
Interview: Terrapower CEO Chria Levesque on Scaling Up New Nuclear - (T)
Note that registration is required to access this article.
Levesque discusses the lead that Terrpower has in the U.S, for the construction of a functioning power plant, the Natrium, which will replace an existing coal plant with a 345 Megawatt unit that has an associated molten salt energy storage unit. Terrapower is seeking to model their replacement of a coal plant in Wyoming that is in progress, with numerous other coal plant operators in the Western U.S. They envision a world-wide market with the eventual deployment of hundreds of Natrium reactors being used for energy production and in support of AI processing. Their goal is to be building 10 Natrium reactors per year by the mid 2030’s. Terrapower anticipates partnering with production facilities in South Korea in order to achieve this goal. Levesque also discusses Terrapower’s use of off-site fabrication of components and underground placement of operating units.
9.
Billionaires Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Sam Altman Are Investing in Nuclear Energy Hand Over Fist. Should You? - (P)
Microsoft, where Bill Gates is Chair, entered a deal with Constellation Energy to restart a reactor at Three Mile Island, Jeff Bezos holds a lead position on the board of Amazon which is investing in small nuclear reactors. He is also investing in General Fusion, a Canadian company that is developing nuclear fusion technology. Sam Altman is promoting the nuclear energy start-up, Oklo, where he is chair of the board. Okla is a Canadian firm that uses waste as fuel.
10.
Fusion Start-Up Plans to Build Its First Power Plant in Virginia - (T)
Commonwealth Fusion Systems, founded by scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology plans to build its first fusion power plant in Virginia in early 2030. A plant generating 400 MWe is planned. Helion Energy, a Seattle based company plans to build a fusion plant for Microsoft that would be operational in 2028. It also plans to build a fusion plant for steel manufacturing. Commonwealth is embarking on a program to build a pilot machine to demonstrate feasibility in Massachusetts in 2027. Helion Energy has not published peer reviewed studies to document their technology. In contrast Commonwealth’s initiative is based on published research from MIT. Given the failure to date of fusion based power generation, the 2027 pilot of Commonwealth is eagerly awaited.
11.
New Climate Goldrush:Scrubbing Carbon From The Sky - (T,P)
Major investors from around the world met in London in December of 2024 to discuss their joint investments in Carbon Capture initiatives that have expanded rapidly during the past several years. Investments have grown from less than a million dollars in 2019 to an anticipated ten billion dollars in 2025. Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos are among those buying into carbon capture.
A 2023 UN report on this technology expressed skepticism on its ability to make a significant difference in the world level of greenhouse gases. A few dozen facilities are operational today, including ones in Iceland and California but they only remove a sliver of the carbon dioxide that is being produced. A frequently used process for removal of carbon dioxide is to have the gas interact with a chemical organic solvent to which it becomes attached and later removed by heating. The captured carbon dioxide gas can then be compressed and buried.
12.
‘Dunkelflaute’ sends wind power generation plummeting in UK and Germany - (P)
Weather conditions in Northern Europe have caused stagnant air formation with weaker than normal winds which is known as a ‘Dunkelfaute.’ This lack of wind in November led to extended periods of greatly reduced power generation from wind farms in the Uk and Germany. This has required the use of gas fired plants which is a particularly worrisome development in Germany which has closed all of its nuclear plants, thus subjecting the country to dependence on an energy source that has less than desired reliability. Germany also experienced a shortage of energy due to the same cause in July of 2024.
13.
Governors Display Bipartisan Support for Nuclear Energy - (P)
This report identifies the growing number of state governments that are expediting nuclear energy development. Governors are actively pursuing these initiatives. Actions in Tennessee,
Wyoming, Georgia, Michigan, California and Pennsylvania are noted. Actions are being taken to ease licensing procedures and to provide subsidies.
Welcome to Substack, Ed. Happy New Year! Consider following @Chris Keefer.