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Ran into this video on YouTube from Sybase as a response to IBM’s Green Data Center Man Video.
The Sybase video is informative.
The IBM video is humorous with no information.
Here is IBM’s Green Data Center Man video.
With all the attention on carbon emissions, cap and trade, and other government programs, Nuclear Reactors are getting more momentum. Many environmentalist are against nuclear, but the reality is nuclear plants are one of the few 24 x 7 carbon neutral power sources that can work for a data center.
The World Nuclear Association has a good article on Small Nuclear Reactors.
Today, due partly to the high capital cost of large power reactors generating electricity via the steam cycle and partly to consideration of public perception, there is a move to develop smaller units. These may be built independently or as modules in a larger complex, with capacity added incrementally as required - see final section of this paper. Economies of scale are provided by the numbers produced. There are also moves to develop small units for remote sites. The IAEA defines "small" as under 300 MWe.
The most prominent modular project is the South African-led consortium developing the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor of of 170 MWe. Chinergy is preparing to build a similar unit, the 195 MWe HTR-PM in China. A US-led group is developing another design with 285 MWe modules. Both drive gas turbines directly, using helium as a coolant and operating at very high temperatures. They build on the experience of several innovative reactors in the 1960s and 1970s.
A list of small-medium nuclear reactors in development follows:
VK-300
300 MWe PWR
Atomenergoproekt, RussiaCAREM
27 MWe PWR
CNEA & INVAP, ArgentinaKLT-40
35 MWe PWR
OKBM, RussiaMRX
30-100 MWe PWR
JAERI, JapanIRIS-100
100 MWe PWR
Westinghouse-led, internationalSMART
100 MWe PWR
KAERI, S. KoreaNP-300
100-300 MWe PWR
Technicatome (Areva), FrancePBMR
165 MWe HTGR
Eskom, South Africa, et alGT-MHR
285 MWe HTGR
General Atomics (USA), Minatom (Russia) et alBREST
300 MWe LMR
RDIPE (Russia)FUJI
100 MWe MSR
ITHMSO, Japan-Russia-USA
Russia is already building floating nuclear power plants for Arctic operations.
Given that we are already supposed to be facing the twin threats of terrorism and environmental meltdown, you might think the last thing the world needs is a fleet of floating nuclear power plants (NPPs). Russia disagrees, and confirmed this week that construction has started on the first of seven ships carrying a 70MW nuclear reactor. The ships will provide power to remote coastal towns, or be sold abroad, with 12 countries, including Algeria and Indonesia, said to have expressed interest.
WSJ has an article on how people are being creative turning off their air conditioning. It is 2nd most popular article today behind the US bolsters fannie and freddie.
As the article cites, get ready for the electricity price increases.
Pulling the Plug: Summer of '08 Sparks Creative Conservation - WSJ.com
Because many power plants run on natural gas, which has shot way up in price, utilities in every region of the nation have imposed -- or are planning -- big rate increases this year, some approaching 30%.
In response, nearly two-thirds of families are cutting back on air conditioning, according to a recent Associated Press-Yahoo News poll. They're buying ceiling fans and programmable thermostats; burning up hot afternoons in malls and movie theaters; and bombarding blogger Erin Huffstetler, who writes about frugal living, with questions about the merits of tinting their windows dark to block the sun.
I know the Microsoft guys say they save energy cleaning the roof. Here is one guy who thinks he saves energy by sprinkling the roof.
On hot afternoons, Mr. Newman runs a hose to the roof and douses the shingles for 20 minutes, which he swears lowers the temperature inside. "I don't know if it's all that good for the life span of the roof," Mr. Newman says, "but when it's 110 degrees, I really could care less."
And WSJ even included a story of a bad move in air conditioning.
And Reba Kennedy, who turned off her central air altogether?
Ms. Kennedy now cools just the three rooms she uses most in her San Antonio home, with window units set at 78 degrees. To her surprise, she has found it pleasurable. With her downstairs windows open, she can smell the honeysuckle in her yard. She loves the look of her sheer curtains blowing in the breeze.
Last week, though, when she reviewed her electric bills, Ms. Kennedy found that her sacrifices haven't translated into savings. In June of 2006 -- with the central air on full blast -- she used an average of 26 kilowatt hours a day. Last month? An average of 44.
Harvey Sachs, a senior fellow at the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, says that isn't surprising, because window units are notoriously inefficient.
But Ms. Kennedy was upset. Since quitting her job as a business lawyer two years ago to take up writing, she has tried to live simply and frugally; conserving energy is central to that goal.
WSJ’s Environmental Blog points out GE’s strength is now its energy businesses, both traditional and renewable.
GE Earnings: Appliances Out, Energy In
Posted by Keith Johnson
General Electric didn’t disappoint with its second-quarter earnings — they were as dismal as expected, with a profit drop of more than 5%.
The bright spot, as in past quarters? Infrastructure and energy. And regardless of what the ads might say, that isn’t all wind turbines and green energy (though GE’s wind business is going gangbusters). There’s plenty of old energy in there, too, from gas turbines to coal and nuclear.
Which is why GE is rubbing its hands. World leaders are trying to figure out whether their priority is to tackle climate change with a lot more clean energy, or to fight poverty by bridging the energy gap in poor countries with a lot more old energy. Unlike a lot of its specialized rivals, GE has the luxury of cheering on both camps — it can sell wind turbines to Texans and coal plants to India. That helps explain the conglomerate’s makeover away from 100-year old lightbulbs and toward new energy sources.
And closes with the current economic conditions favor GE.
Now, GE’s just got to hope the dollar stays weak. That means pricey oil, more attractive renewable energy, and an easier export story for all of its energy products.
