Cracks in the Nuclear Power Ceiling: Rising Costs Outweigh Generated Power Benefits?

Exelon Generation Corp. recently announced that it will be closing two of its highest performing nuclear power plants in the the state of Illinois.

The plants at Clinton and Quad Cities have lost a combined $800 million in the past seven years. The power stations will retire in June 2017 and 2018, respectively.

Nuclear power plants have high capital (financial) costs over their lifetime. Generally, private investments,bank loans and the all-important, legislative support become necessary for plants to thrive. Exelon noted increasing costs associated with running nuclear plants in recent years. According to the company's website, the "costs to operate the facilities consist of labor, maintenance outages, fuel, capital investments and substantial property taxes paid to host communities." (See Exelon below.)

For continued use of nuclear power, the case to build to investors, bankers and governments has been one of guaranteeing that a combined cost from $2-4 billion all the way up to $9 billion for the construction of a new plant can be justified in the face of these less capital-intensive, more environmental and community friendly options coming into the market. In fact, the Union of Concerned Scientists noted back in 2009 that even after more than 50 years of nuclear power, it remains, "...too expensive to finance...." (See UCS below.)

To finish our news of the month, here is a video on Nuclear Power from the YouTube channel Kurzgesagt: In a Nutshell.

Please be sure to check out the links below and the YouTube Channel Kurzgesagt - In a Nutshell. Kurzgesagt hosts several explanatory videos that makes science simpler to understand.

Thanks for your reading! See you July 1st!

Exelon: http://www.exeloncorp.com/newsroom/exelon-statement-on-early-retirement-of-clinton-and-quad-cities-nuclear-facilities
UCS: http://www.ucsusa.org/nuclear-power/cost-nuclear-power#.V2gmMo-cF1t

Canada, the Enerbyte Country of the Month

Canada is June's country of the month for a profile of its current energy system.

The country ranks 2nd globally in geographic size behind Russia, and over this vast territory lives a  population of 36 million (Statistics Canada, 2016). Canada has two official languages of French and English with the latter spoken largely in the Province of Quebec. It has an advanced technological society with a diversified, service-based economy that ranks among the world's largest.

Accordingly, the energy system developed similarly to that of other top economies of the world. Its electric grid and transportation needs are predominantly built around fossil fuel resources. The largest pieces of the pie chart below show the proportion that fossil fuels and nuclear power (~88%) play in providing for the country's energy needs, while the smallest pieces reflect the smaller role belonging to renewables (~12%).

Source: Natural Resources Canada, Energy Markets Factbook, 2014-2015.

Despite the present dominance of fossil fuels and nuclear power in Canada's energy pie, several factors have been contributing to a renewable energy revolution that may achieve near 100% renewable energy production within a generation. The video below comes from the Canadian Renewable Energy Co-Operative group, Our Power. It offers a brief explanation of what is powering Canada's energy transition.

Source: Our Power Canada, YouTube, 2016.

See you all on the 20th for the Enerbyte News^TM story of the month. I appreciate your stopping by.

Water Makes Power

Humanity's use of water as a source of power dates back thousands of years. Most recently it has been used as a source of renewable electricity.

In fact, the first electric grid in the United States was actually powered by the flow of a river. It provided enough electricity for a nearby factory plus the surrounding community where many of the workers lived.

The United States Department of Energy posted a video on the basics of water use for electricity, called hydroelectricity. The video explains how hydropower has become the largest source of renewable electricity production in the US. In the past, there had been concern over the environmental effects of large-size dams due to ecosystem disruption and associated methane gas emissions from the reservoirs they created. Methane is four times worse per unit than even Carbon Dioxide as a Greenhouse Gas. However, the video shows how technological developments have been addressing this issue as well as expanding the use of this plentiful, renewable resource.

Video: US Department of Energy, 2013, Energy 101: Hydropower

Thank you for reading and see you on the 10th with our first Enerbyte Country Profile!