I have made a complete about turn with respect to my view of nuclear power, particularly following the ongoing situation at Fukushima Japan during 2011. My faith in delivering safe nuclear power has been completely eroded along with any enthusiasm I originally had for this massively powerful but extremely toxic and long lasting fuel source.
The problems with nuclear energy -
If Three Mile Island and Chernobyl were warnings, then the Fukushima Japan accident is very much the death knell. Future use of nuclear fuel to produce energy on a large commercial scale is best avoided. The tsunami struck Japan on the 6th April 2011, almost 6 months on officials in Japan have declared that Fukushima Japan will be off limits for decades to come mainly due to the high levels of toxic radioactive contamination, Japan officials say it will be early 2012 before the site at Fukushima can be cooled and stabilised.
Every day that the Fukushima plant struggles to contain the nuclear fuel disaster reinforces the need to abandon the commercial production of electricity using nuclear fuel and substitute a clean green energy alternative such as wind or solar cells.
Practical Exceptions -
Medical Radiation:
Main stream nuclear power may be rolled back or completely removed for commercial energy production, the need for use of radioactive isotopes for diagnosis and treatment in health care is essential and currently safely produced to supply the small amount required for such cases.
Naval:
Submarine’s - The need for a micro nuclear power supply remains both practical and viable to supply and manage electricity via a micro nuclear powered reactor. This is a practical trade off in exchange for large amounts of toxic diesel fuel that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere over the course of the boats life.
The Winners:
Wind: - Turns turbine to produce electricity
Wave: - Turns turbine to produce electricity
Solar Cells: – Converts sun to electricity via solar cells
Solar Electrolysis: – Sun heats the water, water H2O converts to Hydrogen H and oxygen O2; The hydrogen produces steam to power turbine or motor.
Geothermal Gas and Bio Gas Shale: Burnt to produced steam, steam turns turbine to produce electricity or Gas piped for domestic and commercial use.
Bloom Energy: (USA) Hybrid Fuel Cell.
Seed Oil: To diesel fuel, Sun flower seeds; produce diesel fuel from vegetable oil.
Ethanol: Derived from sugar cane to power car engines.
Tires: Old car and truck tires treated to produce fuel oil for diesel engines.
The Losers:
Nuclear - Fission: Nuclear reaction to produce energy by steam, steam turns turbine to produce electricity. A range of toxic pollutants lasting 25 Years plus. This is the energy type invloved with disasters at: Three Mile Island USA, Chernobyl Russia, and Fukushima Japan 2011.
Nuclear – Fusion: Not yet available awaiting working prototype. Estimated 20 years away
Coal: - Burnt to produced steam from water, steam turns turbine to produce electricity –
Problem, Coal gives off a mass of green house pollutants.
Petrol: Most common from oil wells and rigs - Gives off a mass of green house pollutants.
Pros:
Most promising, solar and wind power for renewable energy without pollution. Production efficiency is continually being improved to gain the most optimum power to cost ratio. Cons:
Highly toxic nuclear power immediately attracts attention due to the massive amount of power that can be produced from such a tiny amount of fuel. The repeated problems during its use can cause long ongoing environmental contamination. A secure containment area is required to safely store the very toxic spent fuel rods for the coming centuries.
Conclusion:
Most promising energy source is Solar and Wind power for renewable energy without pollution. A small nuclear operation is all that is needed for medicine, health care, and sterilization purposes.
Article By Brendan Mckenna 24 August 2011
Clean Green Renewable Energy
Article by Brendan Mckenna.
Electric Wind Farm Turbines at Yambuck and Codrington in South West Victoria Australia.
My daughter, my wife, and I attended the an open day to Celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the "Pacific Hydro's" Codrington wind farm. We had no idea what to expect, but were in for a pleasant surprise. My Nine year old daughter "Erin" bypassed the usual kids stuff and quickly ushered us onto the bus for the 2 hour wind farm tour at nearby Yambuck /Codrington.The tour departed from Port Fairy at 10am, it was a pleasant trip to and from the Yambuck wind farm, and our local guide briefed us with some interesting facts.
What we learnt along the way:
The exact location of each tower is carefully calculated along with wind measurements of the area recorded by dedicated wind test towers.There is no chance of the towers falling over as the base foundation is made up of a massive concrete and steel reinforced pad.The turbines are constantly adjusting the direction and pitch of the blades to maximise efficiency. They automatically shut down if the wind becomes too strong (Greater than 50 Knot wind)
Acoustics:
Standing next to the base of the wind turbine you can clearly hear the swish of the rotating blades; I noted that the sound was well within my comfort zone. To give you some idea, the ongoing swish, swish, is similar (possibly less) than that of cars whizzing past at about 40 kilometers. The sound of the turbine generator can be heard if you put your ear against the base of the steel tower, otherwise the turbine itself is practically inaudible.
What do the neighbours think?
At this stage there are a small number, mostly neighbours surrounding the wind farm site that have some reasonable gripes about the wind farm and its impact. The focus is mainly on the acoustic signature emitted by the turbine and blades, some neighbours believe it is this sound (not generally audible to the human ear), that is causing a range of problems to those living close to the wind farm site. I believe a full investigation is underway and hope to report on this when further details come to hand.
Power:
Pacific Hydro estimates that all of their operating projects combined produce enough clean electricity to power 600,000 homes each year. The Codrington Wind Farm produces enough power for about 10,000 homes each year
Carbon Friendly:
Pacific Hydro has calculated a rough saving of 7 million tonnes of greenhouse gas pollution since its project began operating and are aiming at avoiding a further 4 million tonnes every year with new projects coming online around the world.
Wildlife and Bird Strikes:
We noted that a handful of cows were grazing randomly around the base (as close as 5 meters) of the turbine towers. The cows were clearly indifferent to the turbines and spinning blades, they slowly wandered away to another paddock when we arrived. I expected to see the odd dead bird around the base of the mast, not so, If there was a problem with bird strikes then there was no evidence of it on our visit. I believe it can happen but is a rare occurrence.
Alternative Land uses:
It took me a full minute after arrival at the wind farm before I totally dismissed the idea of building a house on this magnificent land (Truly beautiful landscape overlooking the Southern Coast of Victoria.) The wind at the base of the towers was exceptionally strong, building a property at the location would be possible but compromised by the howling wind.
Aesthetics:
I am told that a range of colours were considered for the turbines and masts. The white grey colour was chosen specifically as it best blends in with the surrounding cloud line. Most people I have spoken to including my daughter and wife find that the wind towers are an interesting addition to the beautiful coastal landscape. My daughter is always the first to point them out when we are driving down that way.
Environment:
"Erin" also discovered Pacific Hydro latest "Green Innovation." The small handout sheet was impregnated with plant seeds so that you can plant the info sheet in the garden and with a little water and time a number of small plants will grow. Erin also noticed that the environmentally friendly paper was printed using vegetable based inks.
The Future:
Upcoming wind farm installations in the United Kingdom are aiming at a 5 megawatts power capacity per tower per year. Just twenty such towers would produce around 100 mega watts capacity a year, a vast improvement on those built 10 years ago.
I believe that the new age turbines could be swapped over when an older turbine becomes superseded or problematic. According to Pacific Hydro Wind Farm production costs have fallen more than 75 percent over the last 25 Years making them much more cost effective on today's market.
Pros:
Clean green renewable energy, very much pollution free. Turbine and Mast Technology is always getting better. Today 5 megawatt offshore wind turbines are being installed in the UK and Europe.
Cons:
Cost, On today's market you need approx 2000, 5 megawatt wind turbines to equal the capacity of one large modern, "2011 Post Fukushima Japan, Nuclear Power Plant."
Conclusion:
Pacific Hydro's 10th Anniversary celebrations of the Codrington Wind farm and tour were a great success. There is clearly a big future for this type of clean and green technology particularly in remote areas. Australia has the land, with affordability being the key factor to the future.
Visit a wind farm - Tours:
Tours can be arranged at the Codrington Wind Farm, Situated along the South West Coast of Victoria near Port Fairy. Tel (03) 5568 1853 to arrange a booking.
Copyright: Brendan Mckenna 25 June 2011 Warrnambool Victoria 3280
