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Decarbonizing the Power Grid with Hydrogen and Advanced Technology

August 11, 2021

The post Decarbonizing the Power Grid with Hydrogen and Advanced Technology appeared first on POWER Magazine.

Many leaders around the world are focused on decarbonizing their countries’ energy supplies. For most, that means adding renewable energy resources to their electricity mix, and developing a path aimed at retiring coal and other fossil-fueled power plants. Yet, these are not the only decarbonization options. Research and development (R&D) efforts are also ongoing to expand the use of hydrogen and energy storage, and advance new technologies, such as carbon capture and artificial intelligence, in an effort to reduce carbon emissions.

“I think there is a clear sign right now that the world has made the choice, and the choice is clearly the zero-CO₂ emission,” Karim Amin, executive vice president of Generation with Siemens Energy, said as a guest on The POWER Podcast. “So, that’s a given, and we are all working towards achieving this target.”

Siemens Energy sees hydrogen as an important piece of the decarbonization puzzle.…

Wyoming Coal Power Plant May Host Natrium Advanced Nuclear Demonstration

June 4, 2021

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Bill Gates’ nuclear innovation startup TerraPower and Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary PacifiCorp are looking to site a federally backed demonstration of their 345-MWe Natrium advanced nuclear reactor system at a retiring PacifiCorp coal power plant in Wyoming.

During a June 2 energy event in Cheyenne attended by Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Bill Gates, and U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), the companies said they plan to announce a plant site for the demonstration by the end of this year. While the companies are now still conducting “joint due diligence to ensure this opportunity is cost-effective” for PacifiCorp’s customers, their next steps will include “further project evaluation, education and outreach, and state and federal regulatory approvals prior to acquisition of a Natrium facility,” they said.

An ARDP Boost

The announcement is nonetheless significant because it provides a state-backed vicinity for one of the two much-watched demonstration projects bolstered by $ 80 million each in initial federal funding under the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).…

Compact Advanced Tokomak Concept Takes Fusion Power One Step Closer to Commercial Reality

April 4, 2021

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Scientists at the DIII-D National Fusion Facility have released a new design for a compact fusion reactor that can generate electricity and help define the technology necessary for commercial fusion power.

General Atomics, which operates the DIII-D facility in San Diego, California, for the U.S. Department of Energy, says the approach is based on the “Advanced Tokamak” concept pioneered by the DIII-D program. The design is said to enable a higher-performance, self-sustaining configuration that holds energy more efficiently than in typical pulsed configurations, allowing it to be built at a reduced scale and cost.

“The key to our approach is to raise the pressure inside the tokamak,” Dr. Richard Buttery, director of experimental science for the DIII-D facility and leader of the project, said in a statement issued to POWER. “This makes more fusion occur, allowing us to reduce the current, which in turn makes the plasma easier to sustain and more stable.…

Final DOE Advanced Reactor Demonstration Awards Announced

January 11, 2021

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Wrapping up an eventful year for advanced nuclear, the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Nuclear Energy announced $ 20 million in awards for the third of three pathways under its Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program (ARDP).

The ARDP program, which the DOE officially launched on May 14, will leverage Congressionally appropriated funding to enable actual construction of advanced nuclear reactors over the near-term and mid-term under three pathways. Congress has appropriated $ 250 million for ARDP in Fiscal Year 2021; a total of $ 230 million was appropriated for Fiscal Year 2020 to initiate the program.

In October 2020, the DOE picked TerraPower and X-energy to each receive $ 80 million in initial federal funding to build their two distinct advanced nuclear reactors and begin operating them within seven years. As POWER has reported, both companies are looking at siting their advanced nuclear demonstrations in Washington state. …

Bipartisan Legislation Introduced to Boost Advanced Nuclear, Preserve Existing Nuclear

November 23, 2020

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Legislation introduced on Nov. 17 by a bipartisan group of senators on the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) will seek to strengthen the nuclear fuel supply chain, help incentivize commercial deployment of new reactor designs, and create a credit program to preserve existing nuclear reactors at risk of premature shutdown.

The American Nuclear Infrastructure Act (ANIA) of 2020, introduced by U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyoming), EPW chairman, and Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Cory Booker (D-New Jersey), follows the Nuclear Energy Innovation and Modernization Act (NEIMA), which President Trump signed into law in January 2019.

NEIMA, sponsored by the same senators, requires the Nuclear Regulatory (NRC) to develop a rule to license advanced reactors, as well as greater clarity into the process by which the commission develops its budget and recovers its costs through fees.…

Technology for Advanced Asset Inspections

October 28, 2020

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Netze BW GmbH is the largest distribution system operator (DSO) in Baden-Württemberg, which is the third-largest state in Germany. Netze BW is responsible for high-, medium-, and low-voltage networks across the state. Its power lines stretch over 100,000 kilometers (more than 62,000 miles), and like all power utilities, it faces a constant challenge of monitoring, inspecting, and maintaining the network.

Without rigorous asset inspection, the utility cannot ensure a stable, secure, and safe supply to customers. However, detailed inspection over such a large, disparate area is extremely resource intensive, which creates a tension with the need to control operational costs. Historically, Netze BW has struck a workable balance in this respect; however, times are changing for DSOs.

The Challenge: A Time of Transition

The traditional approach to inspection has been to deploy teams of engineers to manually inspect assets, traveling around the state and climbing utility poles—a job not without danger.…