Helion’s Post

At a Halifax Chamber luncheon today, Peter Gregg, the CEO of Nova Scotia Power indicated that peak power capacity will likely have to increase by 60% by 2050 to the meet the demand created by the electrification of the transportation sector. It is time to consider small modular reactors(SMRs) which are scheduled to be coming on stream by 2030. Safe, reliable and low emissions.

Larry Gasteiger's emphatic call to action on transmission investment in T&D World: "I have often said that we will need the equivalent of a wartime effort if we are to build out the grid on the aggressive timetable needed to meet ambitious clean energy mandates and goals. During World War II as Britain stood alone against German forces, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill pleaded with the American government, 'Give us the tools, and we will finish the job.' The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the tools today in its regulatory toolchest to incentivize the large-scale investment in transmission that is critically necessary in the decades ahead. FERC needs to use those tools, and help finish the job." https://lnkd.in/exthfC-E #gridofthefuture #cleangrid #transmission #gridreliability

"The cheapest, easiest action Ohio can take to counter rising #energy usage and costs is to reduce customer demand by passing legislation that encourages utilities to run #EnergyEfficiency programs," says ELPC Senior Attorney Robert Kelter. With HB 79, #Ohio can bring back energy efficiency programs for its residents. This is a win-win-win for lower bills, enhanced reliability, and cleaner air and water for Ohioans. Let's make Ohio a leader in #CleanEnergy! Read the new op-ed via The Blade.

X-energy applauds the passage of the ADVANCE Act in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill’s overwhelming support underscores the importance of reducing barriers and accelerating deployment pathways to bring advanced reactors to the marketplace. Congressional action is driving energy leadership and security, ensuring that resources and technologies are fully harnessed here at home and abroad. https://lnkd.in/eYfvJ-XV

Remarkable, I am old enough to remember when load growth was flat and before that when natural gas was scarce -- the only constant is change: Vast swaths of the United States are at risk of running short of power as electricity-hungry data centers and clean-technology factories proliferate around the country, leaving utilities and regulators grasping for credible plans to expand the nation’s creaking power grid. In Georgia, demand for industrial power is surging to record highs, with the projection of electricity use for the next decade now 17 times what it was only recently. Arizona Public Service, the largest utility in that state, is also struggling to keep up, projecting it will be out of transmission capacity before the end of the decade absent major upgrades. Northern Virginia needs the equivalent of several large nuclear power plants to serve all the new data centers planned and under construction. Texas, where electricity shortages are already routine on hot summer days, faces the same dilemma. https://lnkd.in/epNZEe-P

Outstanding stat from the Office of Nuclear Energy, U.S. Department of Energy! The U.S. has approximately 95 Gigawatts of summertime nuclear energy capacity. This equates to slightly higher winter capactiy due to higher condenser backpressures which yield more power from low pressure turbines on the secondary side of most nuclear power plants. At a capacity factor of 92%, we can assume that on a yearly basis, nuclear energy produces 87.5 Gigawatts of consumable power for end users. To put that metric into perspective, that’s enough reliable, clean energy to power nearly 64 million homes for an entire year!!! #nuclear #DOE #gigawatts #reliableenergy #cleanenergy

Steady as a HOT ROCK! The nation's fleet of reactors operate at full power more than 92% of the time—bringing you clean and reliable power when you need it most. Capacity factors are one way energy analysts examine the reliability of various power plants and measure how often a plant is running at maximum power. U.S. reactors have been operating at or above 90% since 2013.

It would take solar on 6 million acres of land to power 100% of the USA. 22 million acres of public land have been identified “with high solar potential and few conflicts over natural resources or cultural or historical sites” that could be used for this purpose. We don’t need to use all 6 million acres because we already have some wind and solar; and we should continue to build wind where it makes sense too, and rooftop solar for resiliency purposes. So let’s say we only need 3 million acres. That’s 0.16% (not 16%, but rather 0.16%) of the acres of the continental US. Let’s do it. Let’s devote 0.16% of land that’s relatively useless anyway to completely power everything. Why not? (This info is at the very end of the article).

Did you know that today is the first International Day of Clean Energy?💡 The United Nations has officially designated January 26 as a day of action to bring clean electricity to communities everywhere — because, as UN Secretary-General António Guterres says, “clean energy is the gift that keeps giving.” Having access to clean, affordable power can improve every facet of your life, from your health to your food supply to your education. It’s the reason TAE is on a mission to deliver commercial hydrogen-boron fusion power plants around the world. With an inexhaustible, carbon-free energy source like fusion, we can elevate standards of living and meet global electricity demand all while protecting the planet. Check out the video below to see how we’ll make this happen: https://lnkd.in/gC3nF-Hq