Atomic Insights

Atomic energy technology, politics, and perceptions from a nuclear energy insider who served as a US nuclear submarine engineer officer

Podcast

Atomic Show #270 – Fastest Path to Zero

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Fastest Path to Zero logo

Suzanne (Suzy) Hobbs Baker serves as the Creative Director for Fastest Path to Zero. I recently spoke with Suzy and Steve Aplin, a consultant to the Canadian nuclear industry and frequent Atomic Show guest, about the work that Fastest Path to Zero has done and plans to do in the near future.

Fastest Path to Zero is an important initiative in the effort to dramatically reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Here is their concise self-description from the About page of their website.

We are an interdisciplinary team of experts, including University of Michigan staff and students, working to support communities as they plan and pursue ambitious climate goals. We offer a variety of  tools to help communities transform their energy systems while adapting to a changing climate. Our tool belt includes big data analytics combined with a passion for human-centered design and engagement.

https://fastestpathtozero.umich.edu (accessed March 27, 2020)

Diversifying nuclear industry by adding sizes

Suzy had an another commitment, so she had to depart early. For the second part of the show, Steve and I talked about micro modular reactors that might find their initial customers in the northern, often First Nation, communities in Canada.

He provided an important perspective on some of the unique opportunities and challenges that developers might face when seeking to deploy their systems to serve that diverse, and quite small market.

We also discussed how nuclear system development in multiple sizes and configurations increases the usefulness of nuclear fission and diversifies the nuclear industry.

Nuclear industry organizations that specialize in large projects should not feel threatened by the influx of people whose talents and philosophical focus make them more suited to rapid deployment of much smaller systems involving smaller teams and serving customers with smaller power or heat needs.

I hope you enjoy the wide ranging discussion. Your comments and feedback are always appreciated.

Note: I apologize the occasional audio interruption. Systems like Skype are getting more use than usual a means of maintaining personal connections across social distance. Even in the virtual world, traffic can cause unexpected and uncomfortable slowdowns.

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Atomic Show #269 – Robert Bryce, A Question of Power

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In the modern world, countries need a reliable electricity grid to prosper. Globally, demand for electricity is growing as a result of population growth, new ways to use electricity, and the effort to spread access to electrical power to a greater portion of the world’s population.

For the past four years, Robert Bryce has been intensively studying the electricity business, which he describes as the world’s second largest industry by revenue, trailing only the fossil fuel industry. He calculates that global annual electricity sales total approximately $2 trillion. He traveled to a number of different locations to learn how countries, states, cities and even individual businesses are creating, transmitting and using electricity.

His resulting book, A Question of Power: Electricity and the Wealth of Nations, was released on March 10, 2020. By the time it had been released, the world was in the throes of responding to the coronavirus and his well-planned book tour had been essentially cancelled.

I had the opportunity to talk to Robert to find out what he had learned about the electricity business and to to discuss some of the key findings in his book.

We discussed the big five in data processing – Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft – and how their electricity needs have affected each one’s business decisions and location preferences. Together, they are already using 20 terawatt hours per year.

We talked how legal and black market marijuana farmers often produce their products in intensive, year round, indoor grow operations that consume approximately 800 W per square meter of building space.

We talked about a resort in the Lebanese mountains that obtains all of its electricity from a microgrid with solar panels and lead-acid storage batteries.

And we discussed the paradigm-shifting development of Oklo’s Aurora powerhouse and the company’s recently announced application for a combined license to build and operate the showroom floor model of the facility sometime before the end of 2024.

We also discussed the continuing importance of coal as an electricity generating fuel, the growing importance of natural gas, the impressive and successful effort to reduce the cost of wind and solar as generating sources, and the importance of nuclear energy today and in the future as all countries seek to improve the cleanliness of their electrical grids.

I think you’ll enjoy this conversation. As always, your feedback and commentary are welcome.

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Atomic Show #268 – Jigar and Jake

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Oklo Power recently announced that it had filed the first non-light water reactor combined license application ever submitted to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Their 1.5 MWe fast spectrum, passively safe reactor represents a complete paradigm shift for nuclear energy. It’s not a big, slow to build, hugely expensive project requiring complex financing structures. It’s a […]

Atomic Show #267 – Dr. Lauren Jackson addresses radiophobia

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A couple of weeks ago, I heard Dr. (Isabel) Lauren Jackson talking to Bill Nye on his Science Rules podcast. At the end of his discussion with her, Nye seemed to have changed his mind in the positive direction regarding the importance of nuclear energy. He seemed far less worried about radiation and the potential […]

Atomic Show #266 – Seeing the Light about atomic energy potential

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Facing the immense threat of climate change, the need to power several billion more people and the continuing reluctance to use the most powerful tool available, Scott L. Montgomery and Thomas Graham Jr. realized that there was an information and perception gap about nuclear energy of roughly equivalent magnitudes. Their desire to help fill the […]

Atomic Show #265 – Atomic Optimism. Under-appreciated opportunities in sight.

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On Sunday, Feb 17, I realized that I was feeling extraordinarily good about the future of atomic energy, the future of clean energy production, and the future prosperity of the world that my grandchildren are going to inhabit. I immediately composed and sent an invitation to some atomic colleagues to join me in a conversation. […]

Atomic Show #264 – Building momentum in advanced nuclear energy

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It’s not glaringly obvious, but preparatory steps enabling a take off for advanced nuclear power systems are making measurable progress. Enabling legislative acts have been passed by both the Senate and House and signed by the President, turning them into laws requiring actions. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is back to full strength and under a […]

Atomic Show #263 – Musicians choosing to be atomic advocates

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Forgive me, dear readers and listeners. It has been more than two months since my last post and more than 11 months since my last Atomic Show podcast. It has been a refreshing pause in my atomic information sharing activities. I haven’t been completely separated from the fray. I’ve been keeping up with my reading […]

Atomic Show #262 – New thinking about nuclear energy

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It’s time – or way past time – to think and talk about nuclear energy in new ways, recognizing the importance of the topic for the future health and prosperity of humanity. This show includes 5 forward leaning thought leaders in atomic energy. All of them are optimistic about nuclear’s future, often driven by their […]

Atomic Show #261 – Three advanced nuclear technology developers

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Advanced nuclear development projects have made some significant steps during 2017. I met – via Skype – with representatives of three of the projects yesterday. Several more were invited, but were busy doing business even on a Sunday evening. The three who were able to attend were Seth Grae, the CEO of Lightbridge (NASDAQ: LTBR), […]

Atomic Show #260 – Pro-nuclear voices from COP23 in Bonn. Not a warm welcome

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This episode of the Atomic Show is a conversation among five clean energy advocates who attended the COP with the goal of sharing what they know about the ways that nuclear energy can help reduce global emissions while also providing a growing amount of reliable power. With more power, more people will have a pathway […]

Atomic Show #259 – David Schumacher The New Fire Movie

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David Schumacher is a filmmaker who was inspired to learn more about nuclear energy at a Wired-sponsored event in 2011. That event took place soon after the Fukushima event captured widespread media attention. During the Wired gathering, he heard Bill Gates talk about his investments in TerraPower and his excitement in being involved in the […]