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Journal Journal: Cathedral Thinking

Journal by mdsolar

What I would post as a comment on FERC Docket No. RM21-17 if their ecomment site worked.

A difference between wind and solar energy and other energy sources is they last essentially forever. Obviously, equipment needs maintaining and replacement from time to time but we expect the wind to blow and the sun to shine over the next two billion years that the Earth remains habitable.

Submission + - PI Day Going Commercial (thrillist.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: More large chains, including Amazon's Whole Foods, are offering PI Day promotions. Let's declare PI=3 and have PI Month to boost marketing.

Submission + - Nuclear Bailout for Excelon Again (bnd.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: A nuclear power plant “bailout” bill appears set to become law after making its way through the Illinois House and Senate on Thursday.
The legislation funnels $235 million a year to power-producing giant Exelon Corp. for 13 years. The money subsidizes unprofitable nuclear plants in Clinton and the Quad Cities that Exelon said would be shuttered over the next 18 months.
Opponents argued that it was wrong to subsidize a company that remains profitable, and that coal-fired power companies haven’t gotten such help. They also argued it will cost consumers.

“Here we go again, picking winners and losers,” said Sen. Kyle McCarter, R-Lebanon. “The money has to come from somewhere. This is a bailout for a very profitable company.”

Submission + - Vietnam abandons plan for first nuclear power plants (reuters.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: Vietnam's National Assembly voted on Tuesday to abandon plans to build two multi-billion-dollar nuclear power plants with Russia and Japan, after officials cited lower demand forecasts, rising costs and safety concerns.

The vote to scrap the country's first atomic energy project deals a blow to the global nuclear business and to Japan's drive to begin exporting reactors after the Fukushima disaster left its nuclear industry in a deep freeze.

The Vietnamese government said in a statement that the decision, made in a closed session of parliament after discussion of a government proposal, was taken for economic reasons and not because of any technological considerations.

Submission + - King tide and powerful supermoon likely to trigger flooding across South Florida (miamiherald.com) 1

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: Break out the waders. On Monday, a seasonal king tide powered by the largest supermoon in nearly seven decades is expected to trigger flooding up and down the South Florida coast.

The moon, which normally circles about 238,000 miles from the earth, will swing about 17,000 miles closer over the weekend, NASA scientist Noah Pedro said in a webcast. In South Florida, that trajectory coincides with seasonal high tides expected to be their highest on Monday.

  Depending on location, timing of the tides varies. Miami Beach officials expect tides to peak at 8:23 a.m. and 8:34 p.m. Monday. In Miami at Dinner Key Marina, they should arrive about 8:55 a.m. and 9:07 a.m.

The high water comes less than a month after another tide swamped much of South Florida, sending water over seawalls, submerging much of Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale and triggering warnings not to wade through dirty stormwater.

Comment Goodbye NATO (Score 1) 2837

by mdsolar (#53244403) Attached to: Donald Trump Wins US Presidency
The North Atlantic Treaty Alliance which has contained Russian expansion for such a long time is about to end. Eastern Europe and perhaps even Germany will be lost. Isreal my be providing more warm water ports to Russia as well.

Submission + - France could face winter power cuts, hit by nuclear dependence (reuters.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: France could impose power cuts this winter due to an electricity shortage, an unprecedented step in the wealthy nation which would expose the vulnerabilities of its dependence on nuclear power.

The warning was issued on Tuesday by grid operator RTE, which said power supply had been hit by the closure of around a third of the country's ageing nuclear reactors for safety checks. The country's regulator has ordered a review of the strength of crucial steel components after the discovery of manufacturing irregularities.

France relies on nuclear for three-quarters of its power, more than any other country. RTE said the amount of nuclear power available was at a record low for this time of year, around 10,000 megawatts lower than a year ago — equivalent to more than twice the consumption of Paris and Marseille combined.

"During some periods of the day in winter, and during some days, we may need to use exceptional measures to guarantee the balance of electricity demand and supply on the network," RTE President Francois Brottes told reporters at a news conference.

RTE would start by boosting power imports and could also pay some industrial customers to switch off their machinery or curb usage, but Brottes said the gird operator might also have to impose short, rolling power blackouts in parts of the country.

Submission + - Federal regulators give Turkey Point nuclear expansion plan a key environmental (miamiherald.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: Federal nuclear regulators have wrapped up a seven-year environmental study partly clearing the way for two new reactors at Turkey Point, just as work gets underway on a massive cleanup of leaking cooling canals connected to the plant’s old reactors.

In a two-volume 1,200-page review, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission found the use of cooling towers to operate the new reactors perched on the shores of Biscayne Bay between two national parks would do no damage to the fragile ecosystem. The approval comes as Florida Power & Light begins tackling ongoing problems at the aging cooling canals that over the years pushed an underground plume of saltwater miles inland, threatening drinking water supplies, and leaked water tainted with a radioactive tracer into Biscayne Bay.

Comment Re:Get Real (Score 1) 126

by mdsolar (#53197583) Attached to: Why Hillary is better than the Donald
There is a demo linked at the bottom. I've also added a new second verse though I haven't recorded it.

Those little hands go groping, can’t keep them off of us.
It’s the kind of thing you brag of for charming Billy on the bus.
Got to wonder why you said it, did you want to grope him too?
They only like your money, there’s no one that ever liked you.

Submission + - France's Nuclear Storm: Many Power Plants Down Due to Quality Concerns (powermag.com)

Submitted by mdsolar
mdsolar writes: The discovery of widespread carbon segregation problems in critical nuclear plant components has crippled the French power industry—20 of the country’s 58 reactors are currently offline and under heavy scrutiny. France’s nuclear safety chairman said more anomalies “will likely be found,” as the extent of the contagion is still being uncovered.

With over half of France’s 58 reactors possibly affected by “carbon segregation,” the nation’s nuclear watchdog, the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN) has ordered that preventative measures be taken immediately to ensure public safety. As this story goes into production in late October, ASN has confirmed that 20 reactors are currently offline and potentially more will shut down in coming weeks.

The massive outages are draining power from all over Europe. Worse, new questions continue to swirl about both the safety and integrity of Électricité de France SA’s (EDF’s) nuclear fleet, as well as the quality of some French- and Japanese-made components that EDF is using in various high-profile nuclear projects around the world.

EDF’s nuclear power plants (NPPs) provide up to 75% of France’s power needs. Its NPPs are spread out over 19 sites and include 34 900-MW units, 20 1,300-MW units, and four 1,450-MW units. As the fleet suffered through shutdowns, inspections, and reviews, production fell in September to its lowest level since 1998—just 26.6 TWh, according to French grid operator Reseau de transport d’electricite.

With more NPPs scheduled to go offline, that figure may continue falling. Earlier in October, EDF reduced its 2016 generation targets from 395–400 TWh to 380–390 TWh, while estimates for nuclear output in 2017 have also been lowered to between 390 TWh and 400 TWh. For perspective, annual nuclear production averaged 417 TWh in the period 2005–2015. Although in 2009 output fell to 390 TWh, for the last decade production has consistently been above 400 TWh and exceeded the target range of 410–415 TWh in both 2014 and 2015.

Following EDF’s reduced nuclear generation forecast, wholesale power prices immediately began jumping with Q4 2016, Q1 2017, and calendar 2017 baseload contracts trading up by €1.70/MWh, €1.65/MWh, and €1.20/MWh, respectively. To address the energy shortfall, France is turning to coal and other fossil fuels, as well as imported power. Despite the COP21 carbon emissions agreement, which recently went into force, France is now burning coal at its highest levels in 32 years.

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I tell them to turn to the study of mathematics, for it is only there that they might escape the lusts of the flesh. -- Thomas Mann, "The Magic Mountain"

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