Risk handling in the power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lindbaek-Nilsen, Brian; Strand, Krister

2004-01-01

In 1991 a new energy law was implemented in Norway. The Norwegian power market became deregulated and the law created a basis for a market based trade of electrical energy in Norway. In 1998 Nord Pool was founded and this has gradually become a common Nordic power exchange. The power market is characterized by large price fluctuations periodically. The reason is a variable resource supply and demand. In important factor in this context is that electricity cannot be stored after production. The large variations in supply and demand lead to large market risks for the involved parties. The derivate markets make hedging possible and thereby make it possible for the parties to guard against risks connected to future prices. This study presents risk elements in the power market, supplier and consumer sectors in view of the deregulation. In addition the present and future risk management is studied in with focus upon power suppliers that offer one-year fixed price contracts to the consumers. A study focuses on how a supplier may secure a certain volume of power in a year against price fluctuations in the market. As a basis the term market at Nord Pool is used and based on historical facts an estimated price for a supplier to eliminate the price risk for the volume is stipulated. This price is called the hedging cost and is compared with the offer a selection of power suppliers have for their one-year fixed price contracts. The possible difference between the two prices may be regarded as the power supplier risk price (premium) by offering these one-year fixed price contracts to the end consumers. The most surprising in the results in this study is how close the hedging costs are to the prices on the fixed price contracts. This means that compared to the hedging costs in the study the power suppliers operated with a small margin. Another tendency is that the fixed price contracts do not seem to have a high correlation to the hedging costs even if some companies follow the

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzer, J.

1989-01-01

Irrespective of the nuclear controversy which continues undiminished in the Federal Republic of Germany, the future of nuclear power is going to be determined by facts also in this country. Of course, the attitude of people plays an important role in this process, all the more so as it is highly emotionally biased in this matter. However, this attitude may change. Factors which could influence such a swing stem from the growing tendency to weigh the risks of all sources of energy, but also from the attitudes of the partner countries within and outside the European Community. Undoubtedly, also the growing energy requirement of the developing countries will be one of the factors determining the fate of nuclear power in this country. However, a key factor is politics which, after having weighed all possibilities, is required to always create optimal boundary conditions to ensure the long-term prosperity of the population. (orig.) [de

Managing power risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rudd, D.C.

1999-01-01

Issues regarding the management of financial risks in the electric power market were discussed. The nature of the risk was defined for electricity producers, local utilities, traders/dealers, and brokers, each of which are exposed to different types of risks with the exception of credit risk, which is common to all. The main features of options, swaps, CFDs, bilateral financial contracts, futures contracts and the terms of the NYMEX electricity contract were outlined. Basic derivative strategies, the role of the broker, the elements of emissions trading, and trading strategies for consumers were also explained. 3 fig

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zeile, H.J.

1987-01-01

Present conditions and future prospects for the nuclear power industry in the United States are discussed. The presentation includes a review of trends in electrical production, the safety of coal as compared to nuclear generating plants, the dangers of radiation, the economics of nuclear power, the high cost of nuclear power in the United States, and the public fear of nuclear power. 20 refs

High risk behaviour near OPG dams and power stations : results from two surveys

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Giesbrecht, N.; Schmidt, R.; Ialomiteanu, A. [Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2009-07-01

High risk behaviour near dams is not uncommon. This presentation discussed the results from 2 surveys on high risk behaviour near dams and power stations operated by Ontario Power Generation (OPG). The main components of the project were presented, with particular reference to analyses of recent literature on high-risk behaviour; interviews with OPG managers and staff in 4 regions; main survey of respondents from 4 regions; follow-up interviews with high-risk respondents; interviews with community members and contacts from recreational associations; and recommendations. Specific questions and results were provided from each survey. From the first survey, the characteristics of respondents that used OPG sites for recreation were identified. One hundred high risk respondents completed a follow-up interview. The survey showed that although high-risk behaviour is not uncommon, the main reason people use the facilities are for recreation and relaxation, and not for thrill seeking purposes. Recommendations stemming from the surveys included the need for definition of boundaries and delivery of messages via children, recreational associations, and law enforcement personnel. tabs., figs.

A Cryogenic High-Power-Density Bearingless Motor for Future Electric Propulsion

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Benjamin; Siebert, Mark

2008-01-01

The NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) is developing a high-power-density switched-reluctance cryogenic motor for all-electric and pollution-free flight. However, cryogenic operation at higher rotational speeds markedly shortens the life of mechanical rolling element bearings. Thus, to demonstrate the practical feasibility of using this motor for future flights, a non-contact rotor-bearing system is a crucial technology to circumvent poor bearing life that ordinarily accompanies cryogenic operation. In this paper, a bearingless motor control technology for a 12-8 (12 poles in the stator and 8 poles in the rotor) switched-reluctance motor operating in liquid nitrogen (boiling point, 77 K (-196 C or -321 F)) was presented. We pushed previous disciplinary limits of electromagnetic controller technique by extending the state-of-the-art bearingless motor operating at liquid nitrogen for high-specific-power applications. The motor was levitated even in its nonlinear region of magnetic saturation, which is believed to be a world first for the motor type. Also we used only motoring coils to generate motoring torque and levitation force, which is an important feature for developing a high specific power motor.

Space Nuclear Power Public and Stakeholder Risk Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Dawson, Sandra M.; Sklar, Maria

2005-01-01

The 1986 Challenger accident coupled with the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident increased public concern about the safety of spacecraft using nuclear technology. While three nuclear powered spacecraft had been launched before 1986 with little public interest, future nuclear powered missions would see significantly more public concern and require NASA to increase its efforts to communicate mission risks to the public. In 1987 a separate risk communication area within the Launch Approval Planning Group of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory was created to address public concern about the health, environmental, and safety risks of NASA missions. The lessons learned from the risk communication strategies developed for the nuclear powered Galileo, Ulysses, and Cassini missions are reviewed in this paper and recommendations are given as to how these lessons can be applied to future NASA missions that may use nuclear power systems and other potentially controversial NASA missions.

Brayton Power Conversion Unit Tested: Provides a Path to Future High-Power Electric Propulsion Missions

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Lee S.

2003-01-01

Closed-Brayton-cycle conversion technology has been identified as an excellent candidate for nuclear electric propulsion (NEP) power conversion systems. Advantages include high efficiency, long life, and high power density for power levels from about 10 kWe to 1 MWe, and beyond. An additional benefit for Brayton is the potential for the alternator to deliver very high voltage as required by the electric thrusters, minimizing the mass and power losses associated with the power management and distribution (PMAD). To accelerate Brayton technology development for NEP, the NASA Glenn Research Center is developing a low-power NEP power systems testbed that utilizes an existing 2- kWe Brayton power conversion unit (PCU) from previous solar dynamic technology efforts. The PCU includes a turboalternator, a recuperator, and a gas cooler connected by gas ducts. The rotating assembly is supported by gas foil bearings and consists of a turbine, a compressor, a thrust rotor, and an alternator on a single shaft. The alternator produces alternating-current power that is rectified to 120-V direct-current power by the PMAD unit. The NEP power systems testbed will be utilized to conduct future investigations of operational control methods, high-voltage PMAD, electric thruster interactions, and advanced heat rejection techniques. The PCU was tested in Glenn s Vacuum Facility 6. The Brayton PCU was modified from its original solar dynamic configuration by the removal of the heat receiver and retrofitting of the electrical resistance gas heater to simulate the thermal input of a steady-state nuclear source. Then, the Brayton PCU was installed in the 3-m test port of Vacuum Facility 6, as shown. A series of tests were performed between June and August of 2002 that resulted in a total PCU operational time of about 24 hr. An initial test sequence on June 17 determined that the reconfigured unit was fully operational. Ensuing tests provided the operational data needed to characterize PCU

Seasonal optimal mix of wind and solar power in a future, highly renewable Europe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heide, Dominik [Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS) and Frankfurt International Graduate School for Science, Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universitaet, Ruth-Moufang-Strasse 1, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main (Germany); von Bremen, Lueder [ForWind - Center for Wind Energy Research, University of Oldenburg, Marie-Curie-Str. 1, D-26129 Oldenburg (Germany); Greiner, Martin [Corporate Research and Technology, Siemens AG, D-81730 Muenchen (Germany); Aarhus School of Engineering and Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 118, 8000 Aarhus C (Denmark); Hoffmann, Clemens [Corporate Research and Technology, Siemens AG, D-81730 Muenchen (Germany); Speckmann, Markus; Bofinger, Stefan [Fraunhofer Institut fuer Windenergie und Energiesystemtechnik (IWES), Koenigstor 59, D-34119 Kassel (Germany)

2010-11-15

The renewable power generation aggregated across Europe exhibits strong seasonal behaviors. Wind power generation is much stronger in winter than in summer. The opposite is true for solar power generation. In a future Europe with a very high share of renewable power generation those two opposite behaviors are able to counterbalance each other to a certain extent to follow the seasonal load curve. The best point of counterbalancing represents the seasonal optimal mix between wind and solar power generation. It leads to a pronounced minimum in required stored energy. For a 100% renewable Europe the seasonal optimal mix becomes 55% wind and 45% solar power generation. For less than 100% renewable scenarios the fraction of wind power generation increases and that of solar power generation decreases. (author)

Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. Risk Informed Assessment of Regulatory and Design Requirements for Future Nuclear Power Plants. Annual Report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritterbusch, S.E.

2000-01-01

The overall goal of this research project is to support innovation in new nuclear power plant designs. This project is examining the implications, for future reactors and future safety regulation, of utilizing a new risk-informed regulatory system as a replacement for the current system. This innovation will be made possible through development of a scientific, highly risk-informed approach for the design and regulation of nuclear power plants. This approach will include the development and.lor confirmation of corresponding regulatory requirements and industry standards. The major impediment to long term competitiveness of new nuclear plants in the U.S. is the capital cost component--which may need to be reduced on the order of 35% to 40% for Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWRs) such as System 80+ and Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). The required cost reduction for an ALWR such as AP600 or AP1000 would be expected to be less. Such reductions in capital cost will require a fundamental reevaluation of the industry standards and regulatory bases under which nuclear plants are designed and licensed. Fortunately, there is now an increasing awareness that many of the existing regulatory requirements and industry standards are not significantly contributing to safety and reliability and, therefore, are unnecessarily adding to nuclear plant costs. Not only does this degrade the economic competitiveness of nuclear energy, it results in unnecessary costs to the American electricity consumer. While addressing these concerns, this research project will be coordinated with current efforts of industry and NRC to develop risk-informed, performance-based regulations that affect the operation of the existing nuclear plants; however, this project will go farther by focusing on the design of new plants

Nuclear Energy Research Initiative. Risk Informed Assessment of Regulatory and Design Requirements for Future Nuclear Power Plants. Annual Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ritterbusch, S.E.

2000-08-01

The overall goal of this research project is to support innovation in new nuclear power plant designs. This project is examining the implications, for future reactors and future safety regulation, of utilizing a new risk-informed regulatory system as a replacement for the current system. This innovation will be made possible through development of a scientific, highly risk-informed approach for the design and regulation of nuclear power plants. This approach will include the development and.lor confirmation of corresponding regulatory requirements and industry standards. The major impediment to long term competitiveness of new nuclear plants in the U.S. is the capital cost component--which may need to be reduced on the order of 35% to 40% for Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWRs) such as System 80+ and Advanced Boiling Water Reactor (ABWR). The required cost reduction for an ALWR such as AP600 or AP1000 would be expected to be less. Such reductions in capital cost will require a fundamental reevaluation of the industry standards and regulatory bases under which nuclear plants are designed and licensed. Fortunately, there is now an increasing awareness that many of the existing regulatory requirements and industry standards are not significantly contributing to safety and reliability and, therefore, are unnecessarily adding to nuclear plant costs. Not only does this degrade the economic competitiveness of nuclear energy, it results in unnecessary costs to the American electricity consumer. While addressing these concerns, this research project will be coordinated with current efforts of industry and NRC to develop risk-informed, performance-based regulations that affect the operation of the existing nuclear plants; however, this project will go farther by focusing on the design of new plants.

Nuclear power plants - a solution for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sinn, D.

1978-01-01

This book is not written for experts, but for interested laymen. The arguments in favour of nuclear power plants are presented in an intelligible and critical manner. The problem of nuclear power is reviewed at a moment where the nuclear controversy has even led to lawsuits. Still, there is hope for a secure energy supply - and fear of the risks that the future might bring and which may even endanger our lives. (GL) [de

Power Nuclear Reactors: technology and innovation for development in future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suarez Antola, R.

2009-01-01

The conference is about some historicals task of the fission technology as well as many types of Nuclear Reactors. Enrichment of fuel, wastes, research reactors and power reactors, a brief advertisment about Uruguay electric siystem and power generation, energetic worldwide, proliferation, safety reactors, incidents, accidents, Three-Mile Island accident, Chernobil accident, damages, risks, classification and description of Power reactors steam generation, nuclear reactor cooling systems, future view

Is Power Production Flexibility a Substitute for Storability? Evidence from Electricity Futures Prices

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kilic, M.; Huisman, R. [Erasmus School of Economics, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam (Netherlands)

2010-07-15

Electricity is not storable. As a consequence, electricity demand and supply need to be in balance at any moment in time as a shortage in production volume cannot be compensated with supply from inventories. However, if the installed power supply capacity is very flexible, variation in demand can be counterbalanced with flexible adjustment of production volumes. Therefore, supply flexibility can replace the role of inventory. In this paper, we question whether power production flexibility is a substitute for storability. To do so, we examine power futures prices from countries that differ in their power supply and test whether power futures prices contain information about expected future spot prices and risk premiums and examine whether futures prices from a market in which power supply is more flexible would lead to futures prices that are more in line with the theory of storage. We find the opposite; futures prices from markets with flexible power supply behave according to the expectations theory. The implicit view from futures prices is that flexibility is not a substitute for storability.

Is Power Production Flexibility a Substitute for Storability? Evidence from Electricity Futures Prices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kilic, M.; Huisman, R.

2010-07-01

Electricity is not storable. As a consequence, electricity demand and supply need to be in balance at any moment in time as a shortage in production volume cannot be compensated with supply from inventories. However, if the installed power supply capacity is very flexible, variation in demand can be counterbalanced with flexible adjustment of production volumes. Therefore, supply flexibility can replace the role of inventory. In this paper, we question whether power production flexibility is a substitute for storability. To do so, we examine power futures prices from countries that differ in their power supply and test whether power futures prices contain information about expected future spot prices and risk premiums and examine whether futures prices from a market in which power supply is more flexible would lead to futures prices that are more in line with the theory of storage. We find the opposite; futures prices from markets with flexible power supply behave according to the expectations theory. The implicit view from futures prices is that flexibility is not a substitute for storability.

Future demands highly integrated solutions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mangler, Andreas [Rutronik Elektronische Bauelemente GmbH, Ispringen (Germany). Strategic Marketing

2010-07-01

The future energy supply with a high number of decentral power plants depends on the use of innovative system technology. It is a precondition for a well-functioning grid and power management over all voltage levels. (orig.)

Multiple zone power forwards. A value at risk framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Demers, Jean-Guy

2009-01-01

Over the 1990s, deregulated power markets in New-England provided zones with fluctuating spot prices. Such prices have a notoriously high volatility, owing to the difficulty of storing electrical energy and the delays needed to adjust generation levels. In this context, forward contracts have become increasingly popular and understanding their dynamic is a problem facing many market players. This paper proposes a parsimonious parametric model, based on the price series of all n-month forward contracts (n = 1,2,3..), encompassing multiple zones. The model is then used for value at risk forecasts, which are backtested and compared with the ones in use by the risk management unit of an important electricity producer. Extensions to include natural gas and power-relevant oil-based future markets are discussed. (author)

A non-Gaussian Ornstein-Uhlenbeck model for pricing wind power futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Benth, Fred Espen; Pircalabu, Anca

2018-01-01

generated assuming a recent level of installed capacity. Also, based on one year of observed prices for wind power futures with different delivery periods, we study the market price of risk. Generally, we find a negative risk premium whose magnitude decreases as the length of the delivery period increases....

Future nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mosbah, D.S.; Nasreddine, M.

2006-01-01

The book includes an introduction then it speaks about the options to secure sources of energy, nuclear power option, nuclear plants to generate energy including light-water reactors (LWR), heavy-water reactors (HWR), advanced gas-cooled reactors (AGR), fast breeder reactors (FBR), development in the manufacture of reactors, fuel, uranium in the world, current status of nuclear power generation, economics of nuclear power, nuclear power and the environment and nuclear power in the Arab world. A conclusion at the end of the book suggests the increasing demand for energy in the industrialized countries and in a number of countries that enjoy special and economic growth such as China and India pushes the world to search for different energy sources to insure the urgent need for current and anticipated demand in the near and long-term future in light of pessimistic and optimistic outlook for energy in the future. This means that states do a scientific and objective analysis of the currently available data for the springboard to future plans to secure the energy required to support economy and welfare insurance.

Geothermal power production in future electricity markets-A scenario analysis for Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Purkus, Alexandra; Barth, Volker

2011-01-01

Development and diffusion of new renewable energy technologies play a central role in mitigating climate change. In this context, small-scale deep geothermal power has seen growing interest in recent years as an environmentally friendly, non-intermittent energy source with large technical potential. Following the first successful demonstration projects, the German geothermal industry is currently experiencing an internationally unparalleled growth. In this study we explore the factors driving this development, and the role geothermal power production could play in the future of the German electricity market. For this, we apply the scenario technique, based on literature analysis and interviews with companies operating actively in the field. Our findings highlight the importance of political support and framework conditions in the electricity market, with the best prospects in a decentralised energy system based on renewable energy sources, where high investment costs and the risk of discovery failure are balanced by the benefits of low-carbon base load power. - Research highlights: → Small scale geothermal plants could provide base load for RES based power systems. → New technologies allow its use even in geologically inactive regions like Germany. → Key factors for growth are political support and power market framework conditions. → Main investment barriers are comparatively high investment costs and discovery risks. → Scale of use depends on technological evolution and energy system structure.

Powering the Future Data Centre

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zhang, Zhe

2010-01-01

of the characteristics of these two power sources: long warm-up stage and low dynamics for fuel cell, and variable terminal voltage for supercapacitors. The motivation for this project was to find ways which can overcome those limitations to integrate fuel cells and supercapcitors to the system with high efficiency......The extended run Uninterruptible Power Supply system (UPSs) which powered by fuel cells and supercapcitors, is a promising solution for future data centre to obtain environmentfriendly energy efficient and cost effective. There are many challenges in power electronic interface circuits, because......: • Optimized design method for dual active bridge (DAB) converter and its derived circuits; • A novel hybrid dc-dc converter and its corresponding optimal design method are proposed; • An improved dual input current-fed DC-DC converter with bidirectional power conversion ability is investigated; • Extend...

Addressing the security of a future sustainable power system: The Danish SOSPO project

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Yang, Guangya; Jóhannsson, Hjörtur; Lind, Morten

2012-01-01

evaluated to secure the operation from both transmission and distribution levels. The Danish SOSPO project is launched from 2012 targeting at the system security assessment in the control room for the future scenarios. Methods will be developed in this project to counteract with the future challenges......Current power systems have been undergoing in depth changes by the increasing use of renewable generations. At one hand, the grid is progressively more interconnected in order to collect the renewable generation from geographically dispersed places meanwhile reduce the risks of intermittency......; on the other, the power is increasingly generated at relative low voltage networks which in turn gives rise to new challenges in the conventional system design. The high governmental objective of greenhouse gas reduction provokes accelerating adoptation of the renewables. The effect of this has to be carefully...

Design Considerations for the Electrical Power Supply of Future Civil Aircraft with Active High-Lift Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.-K. Mueller

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Active high-lift systems of future civil aircraft allow noise reduction and the use of shorter runways. Powering high-lift systems electrically have a strong impact on the design requirements for the electrical power supply of the aircraft. The active high-lift system of the reference aircraft design considered in this paper consists of a flexible leading-edge device together with a combination of boundary-layer suction and Coanda-jet blowing. Electrically driven compressors distributed along the aircraft wings provide the required mass flow of pressurized air. Their additional loads significantly increase the electric power demand during take-off and landing, which is commonly provided by electric generators attached to the aircraft engines. The focus of the present study is a feasibility assessment of alternative electric power supply concepts to unburden or eliminate the generator coupled to the aircraft engine. For this purpose, two different concepts using either fuel cells or batteries are outlined and evaluated in terms of weight, efficiency, and technology availability. The most promising, but least developed alternative to the engine-powered electric generator is the usage of fuel cells. The advantages are high power density and short refueling time, compared to the battery storage concept.

CSTI High Capacity Power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winter, J.M.

1989-01-01

The SP-100 program was established in 1983 by DOD, DOE, and NASA as a joint program to develop the technology necessary for space nuclear power systems for military and civil application. During FY-86 and 87, the NASA SP-100 Advanced Technology Program was devised to maintain the momentum of promising technology advancement efforts started during Phase 1 of SP-100 and to strengthen, in key areas, the chances for successful development and growth capability of space nuclear reactor power systems for future space applications. In FY-88, the Advanced Technology Program was incorporated into NASA's new Civil Space Technology Initiative (CSTI). The CSTI Program was established to provide the foundation for technology development in automation and robotics, information, propulsion, and power. The CSTI High Capacity Power Program builds on the technology efforts of the SP-100 program, incorporates the previous NASA SP-100 Advanced Technology project, and provides a bridge to NASA Project Pathfinder. The elements of CSTI High Capacity Power development include Conversion Systems, Thermal Management, Power Management, System Diagnostics, and Environmental Interactions. Technology advancement in all areas, including materials, is required to assure the high reliability and 7 to 10 year lifetime demanded for future space nuclear power systems. The overall program will develop and demonstrate the technology base required to provide a wide range of modular power systems as well as allowing mission independence from solar and orbital attitude requirements. Several recent advancements in CSTI High Capacity power development will be discussed

Control Architecture for Future Power Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heussen, Kai

for assessment of control architecture of electric power systems with a means-ends perspective. Given this purpose-oriented understanding of a power system, the increasingly stochastic nature of this problem shall be addressed and approaches for robust, distributed control will be proposed and analyzed....... The introduction of close-to-real-time markets is envisioned to enable fast distributed resource allocation while guaranteeing system stability. Electric vehicles will be studied as a means of distributed reversible energy storage and a flexible power electronic interface, with application to the case......This project looks at control of future electric power grids with a high proportion of wind power and a large number of decentralized power generation, consumption and storage units participating to form a reliable supply of electrical energy. The first objective is developing a method...

Quantifying the social costs of nuclear energy: Perceived risk of accident at nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huhtala, Anni; Remes, Piia

2017-01-01

The preferences expressed in voting on nuclear reactor licenses and the risk perceptions of citizens provide insights into social costs of nuclear power and decision making in energy policy. We show analytically that these costs consist of disutility caused by unnecessary anxiety - due to misperceived risks relating to existing reactors - and where licenses for new nuclear reactors are not granted, delayed or totally lost energy production. Empirical evidence is derived from Finnish surveys eliciting explicitly the importance of risk perceptions on preferences regarding nuclear power and its environmental and economic impacts. We show that the estimated marginal impact of a high perceived risk of nuclear accident is statistically significant and that such a perception considerably decreases the probability of a person supporting nuclear power. This result holds across a number of robustness checks including an instrumental variable estimation and a model validation by observed voting behavior of the members of Parliament. The public's risk perceptions translate into a significant social cost, and are likely to affect the revenues, costs and financing conditions in the nuclear power sector in the future. - Highlights: • Survey on preferences regarding nuclear power and its environmental and economic impacts utilized. • A high perceived risk of nuclear accident decreases support for nuclear power. • The public's risk perceptions translate into a significant social cost.

Can nuclear power be enough for future technology?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Serizawa, Akimi

2017-01-01

This paper focused on the report 'Can nuclear power be future technology?' published on September 28, 2008 by the Leading R and D Committee of Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. It took up part of the discussions at the general discussion session, and those of two working groups mainly by young committee members, and summarized and compiled them. Regarding 'maturity of nuclear technology as future technology,' this paper summarized and discussed from the technical viewpoint the current situation and problems of nuclear power in consideration of the future. Major topics include (1) nuclear safety and disaster prevention, (2) decommissioning of rectors (normal reactors, and accident reactors), (3) back end, (4) effects of low-level radiation, (5) technology trends, (6) economic efficiency, and (7) human resource development. Regarding 'social acceptability of nuclear energy,' the following were discussed: (1) basic human rights such as 'moral rights' and nuclear technologies, (2) risk communication and its problems, and (3) measures to improve the reliability of stakeholders involved in nuclear power. Regarding 'nuclear accident responding team,' this paper covered the nuclear accident responding unit founded in France after the nuclear accident in Japan, and nuclear accident responding unit founded in Japan. (A.O.)

Future demand scenarios of Bangladesh power sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mondal, Md. Alam Hossain; Boie, Wulf; Denich, Manfred

2010-01-01

Data on the future electricity demand is an essential requirement for planning the expansion of a power system. The purpose of this study is to provide a general overview of electricity consumption in Bangladesh, forecast sector-wise electricity demand up to 2035 considering the base year 2005, and compare the results with official projections. The Long-range Energy Alternative Planning (LEAP) model with three scenarios, namely low gross domestic product (GDP) growth, average GDP growth and high GDP growth, is applied in this study. In the low to high GDP growth scenarios, the extent of industrial restructuring and technical advancement is gradually increased. The findings have significant implications with respect to energy conservation and economic development. The study also compares the projected per capita electricity consumption in Bangladesh with the historical growth in several other developing countries. Such an evaluation can create awareness among the planners of power system expansion in Bangladesh to meet the high future demand.

Risks and factors influencing raw material availability and consequences for the development of future automotive power trains; Risiken und Faktoren der Rohstoffverfuegbarkeit und deren Folgen fuer die Entwicklung zukuenftiger Automobilantriebe

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gagliardi, David; Finken, Thomas [Ricardo Deutschland GmbH, Schwaebisch Gmuend (Germany)

2012-11-01

This paper aims to explore key risks and extraneous factors influencing raw material availability and related consequences for the realization of future automotive power trains. Important raw materials for the electro mobility are presented followed by an evaluation of their future supply risk. A review of the current situation and a summary of expectations for future technological developments are presented. The current situation of political factors, access to resources and other important factors are then discussed, highlighting some of the major risks and their influence on up-take rates of alternative power train technologies. Specifically the specific relationships between demand and supply side for specific rare earth elements and their effects on price development is investigated and suggests how these factors might influence existing relationships within the automotive industry. The paper concludes with suggestions for alternative strategies for specific groups within the automotive value chain to mitigate those risks. (orig.)

Risk management with options and futures under liquidity risk

OpenAIRE

Adam-Müller, A F A; Panaretou, A

2009-01-01

Futures hedging creates liquidity risk through marking to market. Liquidity risk matters if interim losses on a futures position have to be financed at a markup over the risk-free rate. This study analyzes the optimal risk management and production decisions of a firm facing joint price and liquidity risk. It provides a rationale for the use of options on futures in imperfect capital markets. If liquidity risk materializes, the firm sells options on futures in order to partly cover this liqui...

Natural gas for electric power generation: Strategic issues, risks and opportunities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linderman, C.

1992-01-01

Natural gas is again being regarded as a significant fuel for electric power generation. It was once a predominant fuel for utilities in gas-producing areas, but natural gas consumption declined greatly after the 1973 oil shock because of reduced electricity demand and increased coal and nuclear generation. Moreover, wellhead price and other forms of regulation produced gas shortages in the 1970s. The resurgence of natural gas in future resource plans stems from its inherent ideal fuel characteristics: short lead time; low capital costs; small increments of modular capacity; delivered close to load centers; environmentally benign, preferable to oil and coal; and potential for high thermal efficiency in gas turbines. Natural gas, if available and attractively priced, is an ideal fuel for electric power generation. No other fuel shares these attractive characteristics, and utilities, facing higher than expected load growth, are relying on an increasing proportion of gas-fired combustion turbines, combined cycle plants, and cogeneration to meet a growing, yet uncertain, future demand for electricity. Despite these desirable operating characteristics, the varied past and uncertain future of natural gas markets raise legitimate concerns about the riskiness of current utility natural gas strategies. This report, which summarizes the major findings from research efforts, is intended to help utility decision-makers understand the full range of risks they face with natural gas electric power generation and to identify actions they can take to mitigate those risks

Challenges for future space power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandhorst, H.W. Jr.

1989-01-01

Forecasts of space power needs are presented. The needs fall into three broad categories: survival, self-sufficiency, and industrialization. The cost of delivering payloads to orbital locations and from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Mars are determined. Future launch cost reductions are predicted. From these projections the performances necessary for future solar and nuclear space power options are identified. The availability of plentiful cost effective electric power and of low cost access to space are identified as crucial factors in the future extension of human presence in space

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horton, S.G.

1987-01-01

Canadians are heavily dependent upon reliable and affordable sources of energy to sustain their lifestyle. In a world threatened by diminishing energy resources, Canadians need to plan for the future. Canadian electrical utilities must respond to rapidly changing circumstances and uncertainties to ensure that the public's demand for electricity is met with a high quality product. There is a need to strike a proper balance between demand management alternatives and new supply options. Nuclear power will remain as an alternative supply option. The place of CANDU will depend upon its continued high performance, public acceptance and the leadership given to the program

Nuclear power for sustainable development. Current status and future prospects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Adamantiades, A.; Kessides, I.

2009-01-01

Interest in nuclear power has been revived as a result of volatile fossil fuel prices, concerns about the security of energy supplies, and global climate change. This paper describes the current status and future plans for expansion of nuclear power, the advances in nuclear reactor technology, and their impacts on the associated risks and performance of nuclear power. Advanced nuclear reactors have been designed to be simpler and safer, and to have lower costs than currently operating reactors. By addressing many of the public health and safety risks that plagued the industry since the accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, these reactors may help break the current deadlock over nuclear power. In that case, nuclear power could make a significant contribution towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, significant issues persist, fueling reservations among the public and many decision makers. Nuclear safety, disposal of radioactive wastes, and proliferation of nuclear explosives need to be addressed in an effective and credible way if the necessary public support is to be obtained. (author)

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burtak, F.

1993-01-01

Nuclear power in Germany at present is confronting two challenges: On the one hand, technical innovations are required in order to meet the expectations of nuclear proponents while, on the other hand, a public stand must be taken vis-a-vis the demand to opt out of nuclear power. This means that nuclear engineers not only must perform their technical functions, but increasingly also engage themselves socially. Neglecting just one of these two challenges is likely to impair severely the future of nuclear power in Germany. In the absence of a swing in public opinion it will not be possible to build a new nuclear plant, and nuclear power will be doomed to extinction, at least in a number of countries, within a matter of decades. In the absence of technical innovation, today's LWR technology will cause the fissile uranium available naturally to be consumed, thus killing nuclear power for lack of future fissile material. In responding to the two challenges, nuclear technology must safeguard its future by not retreating into an ivory tower of pure technology; on the other hand, technical innovation is a prerequisite for its continued existence. (orig.) [de

Mock Referendum on Nuclear Power with Korean Elementary, Middle, and High School Students

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Seung Koo; Park, Pil Han; Choi, Yoon Seok; Han, Eun Ok

2017-01-01

Today, policies relating to nuclear power generation face a myriad of issues regarding the aspects of understanding, sympathy, acceptance, and satisfaction by policy consumers. This study has provided education on nuclear power for elementary, middle, and high school students who are expected to have high ripple effects of communication and education, and organized a mock referendum on nuclear power generation to observe the results of the referendum. Based on the results of this study, it is important to provide sufficient information on the dangers of nuclear power to the future generation in order to enable them to participate in policies with the right value judgments. Both before and after the educational program, all of elementary, middle, and high school students overwhelmingly indicated that nuclear power was dangerous in presenting their disagreement. The expert groups must consider that students are concerned about the risks of nuclear power generation, despite the explanations from experts on the safety of nuclear power. Based on the results of this study, it is important to provide sufficient information on the dangers of nuclear power to the future generation in order to enable them to participate in policies with the right value judgments. Both before and after the educational program, all of elementary, middle, and high school students overwhelmingly indicated that nuclear power was dangerous in presenting their disagreement.

Mock Referendum on Nuclear Power with Korean Elementary, Middle, and High School Students

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Seung Koo; Park, Pil Han; Choi, Yoon Seok; Han, Eun Ok [Dept. of Education and Research, Korea Academy of Nuclear Safety, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2017-04-15

Today, policies relating to nuclear power generation face a myriad of issues regarding the aspects of understanding, sympathy, acceptance, and satisfaction by policy consumers. This study has provided education on nuclear power for elementary, middle, and high school students who are expected to have high ripple effects of communication and education, and organized a mock referendum on nuclear power generation to observe the results of the referendum. Based on the results of this study, it is important to provide sufficient information on the dangers of nuclear power to the future generation in order to enable them to participate in policies with the right value judgments. Both before and after the educational program, all of elementary, middle, and high school students overwhelmingly indicated that nuclear power was dangerous in presenting their disagreement. The expert groups must consider that students are concerned about the risks of nuclear power generation, despite the explanations from experts on the safety of nuclear power. Based on the results of this study, it is important to provide sufficient information on the dangers of nuclear power to the future generation in order to enable them to participate in policies with the right value judgments. Both before and after the educational program, all of elementary, middle, and high school students overwhelmingly indicated that nuclear power was dangerous in presenting their disagreement.

The present and future place of nuclear power in the world and its role in relation to environmental risks and energy production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blix, H.

1987-03-01

This speech was delivered at a Seminar on Managing Environmental Risks, 1987. It states and enlarges on the three following propositions: First, that the world will need more energy - not least electric energy - energy savings and modified lifestyles will not be enough to compensate for new needs; Second, that our choice of energy mixes is one of the important factors deciding what future environmental risk and damage we shall live with; Third, that nuclear power offers us one of the most environmentally benign sources of energy generation. The paper points to coal and nuclear energy as the two principal realistic options for future large-scale production of electricity in the world. Questions regarding nuclear safety are discussed in particular the accident at Chernobyl. As regards the use of coal and gas it is concluded that it is imperative to tighten the emission restrictions for environmental reasons. It is also stressed that the use of nuclear power should not be examined in isolation. The Agency's nuclear safety standards are mentioned since they are being reviewed to see if some of them should be updated in the light of lessons from Chernobyl. 2 refs

Future perspective of cost for nuclear power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maeda, Ichiro

1988-01-01

The report presents and discussed results of evaluation of the cost for power generation in this and forthcoming years on the basis of an analysis of the current fuel prices and the economics of various power sources. Calculations show that nuclear power generation at present is inferior to coal-firing power generation in terms of required costs, but can become superior in the future due to an increased burn-up and reduced construction cost. Investigations are made of possible contributions of future technical improvements to reduction in the overall cost. Results suggest that nuclear power generation will be the most efficient among the various electric sources because of its technology-intensive feature. Development of improved light water reactors is of special importance to achieve a high burn-up and reduced construction costs. In general, the fixed cost accounts for a large part of the overall nuclear power generation cost, indicating that a reduction in construction cost can greatly increase the economic efficiency. Changes in the yen's exchange rate seem to have little effect on the economics of nuclear power generation, which represents another favorable aspect of this type of energy. (Nogami, K.)

Challenges for future space power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brandhorst, H.W. Jr.

1989-01-01

The future appears rich in missions that will extend the frontiers of knowledge, human presence in space, and opportunities for profitable commerce. The key to success of these ventures is the availability of plentiful, cost effective electric power and assured, low cost access to space. While forecasts of space power needs are problematic, an assessment of future needs based on terrestrial experience was made. These needs fall into three broad categories-survival, self sufficiency and industrialization. The cost of delivering payloads to orbital locations from low earth orbit (LEO) to Mars was determined and future launch cost reductions projected. From these factors, then, projections of the performance necessary for future solar and nuclear space power options were made. These goals are largely dependent upon orbital location and energy storage needs

A seasonal copula mixture for hedging the clean spark spread with wind power futures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Troels Sønderby; Pircalabu, Anca; Høg, Esben

2018-01-01

The recently introduced German wind power futures have brought the opportunity to address the problem of volume risk in wind power generation directly. In this paper we study the hedging benefits of these instruments in the context of gas-fired power plants by employing a strategy that allows...... and the dependence structure, while being straightforward and easy to implement. Based on Monte Carlo simulations from the proposed model, the results indicate that significant benefits can be achieved by using wind power futures to hedge the spot clean spark spread. Moreover, a comparison study shows...... trading in the spot clean spark spread and wind power futures. To facilitate hedging decisions, we propose a time-varying copula mixture for the joint behavior of the spot clean spark spread and the daily wind index. The model describes the data surprisingly well, both in terms of the marginals...

[Risk communication in construction of new nuclear power plant].

Science.gov (United States)

He, Gui-Zhen; Lü, Yong-Long

2013-03-01

Accompanied by construction of new nuclear power plants in the coming decades in China, risk management has become increasingly politicized and contentious. Nuclear risk communication is a critical component in helping individuals prepare for, respond to, and recover from nuclear power emergencies. It was discussed that awareness of trust and public attitudes are important determinants in nuclear power risk communication and management. However, there is limited knowledge about how to best communicate with at-risk populations around nuclear power plant in China. To bridge this gap, this study presented the attitudinal data from a field survey in under-building Haiyang nuclear power plant, Shandong Province to measure public support for and opposition to the local construction of nuclear power plant. The paper discussed the structure of the communication process from a descriptive point of view, recognizing the importance of trust and understanding the information openness. The results showed that decision-making on nuclear power was dominated by a closed "iron nuclear triangle" of national governmental agencies, state-owned nuclear enterprises and scientific experts. Public participation and public access to information on nuclear constructions and assessments have been marginal and media was a key information source. As information on nuclear power and related risks is very restricted in China, Chinese citizens (51%) tend to choose the government as the most trustworthy source. More respondents took the negative attitudes toward nuclear power plant construction around home. It drew on studies about risk communication to develop some guidelines for successful risk communication. The conclusions have vast implications for how we approach risk management in the future. The findings should be of interest to state and local emergency managers, community-based organizations, public health researchers, and policy makers.

Residential Distance to High-voltage Power Lines and Risk of Neurodegenerative Diseases

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frei, Patrizia; Poulsen, Aslak Harbo; Mezei, Gabor

2013-01-01

period 5-20 years before diagnosis were computed. The risks for developing dementia, Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and motor neuron disease were not increased in persons living within close vicinity of a power line. The risk of Alzheimer's disease was not increased for ever living within 50 m...... of a power line (hazard ratio = 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.69, 1.56). No dose-response according to number of years of living within 50 m of a power line was observed, but there were weak indications of an increased risk for persons diagnosed by the age of 75 years. Overall, there was little support...

RISK MANAGEMENT OF INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO BY FUTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K. Kerimov Alexandr

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article considers the problem of the dynamic risk management of the investment portfolio using future con- tracts. The management starts with the concept of effective inhomogeneous portfolios, which contain futures together with underlying asserts. The effective portfolios are defined as the ones of the minimal dispersion with the expected return greater or equal to the specified value. Risk is measured by the probability of losing of a certain part of the portfolio value. The control parameters are the number of futures for each asset of portfolio, which is defined from the condition of effec- tiveness of portfolio and risk acceptability on each step.The effective adaptive strategies of portfolio risk management together with comparative analysis on a concrete example are presented. The proposed approach provides the forecast correction of the expected income and its variance for the assets with the emergence of new data. The financial time series are determined by volatility clustering, i.e. relative or absolute price changes tend to keep high or low magnitude for some time, with the result that clusters are created - periods of high or low volatility. Then adaptive estimate of correlational relationships between asset prices are essential because the degree of correlational relationship also changes in time. So the correlation of future and spot price changes considerably increases while approaching to performance of contracts. For taking into account of data instability of dispersion and correlation simple methods of volatility forecasting and correlation of relative changes of price data based on exponential smoothing are implemented.

Solar power role in the future power engineering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strebkov, D.S.

2006-01-01

One studied the most essential factors, materials and processes governing the role of the solar power in the future power generation. Paper describes new principles to convert solar energy, to produce solar silicon and solar elements, to encapsulate solar modules, to make use of stationary solar concentrators [ru

High to ultra-high power electrical energy storage.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherrill, Stefanie A; Banerjee, Parag; Rubloff, Gary W; Lee, Sang Bok

2011-12-14

High power electrical energy storage systems are becoming critical devices for advanced energy storage technology. This is true in part due to their high rate capabilities and moderate energy densities which allow them to capture power efficiently from evanescent, renewable energy sources. High power systems include both electrochemical capacitors and electrostatic capacitors. These devices have fast charging and discharging rates, supplying energy within seconds or less. Recent research has focused on increasing power and energy density of the devices using advanced materials and novel architectural design. An increase in understanding of structure-property relationships in nanomaterials and interfaces and the ability to control nanostructures precisely has led to an immense improvement in the performance characteristics of these devices. In this review, we discuss the recent advances for both electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors as high power electrical energy storage systems, and propose directions and challenges for the future. We asses the opportunities in nanostructure-based high power electrical energy storage devices and include electrochemical and electrostatic capacitors for their potential to open the door to a new regime of power energy.

Perspectives on the future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chernoff, H.; Friedman, D.

1990-01-01

The US outlook on the future of nuclear power can be divided into three perspectives, here termed the macroeconomic perspective, the technological perspective, and the utility perspective (including independent power producers, or IPPs). A brief review of the macroeconomic and technological perspectives shows how differently the public, the media, politicians, and many nonutility advocates of nuclear power view the future of nuclear power (and, especially, the requirements for new orders) compared with the utilities and prospective IPPs

High power microwaves

CERN Document Server

Benford, James; Schamiloglu, Edl

2016-01-01

Following in the footsteps of its popular predecessors, High Power Microwaves, Third Edition continues to provide a wide-angle, integrated view of the field of high power microwaves (HPMs). This third edition includes significant updates in every chapter as well as a new chapter on beamless systems that covers nonlinear transmission lines. Written by an experimentalist, a theorist, and an applied theorist, respectively, the book offers complementary perspectives on different source types. The authors address: * How HPM relates historically and technically to the conventional microwave field * The possible applications for HPM and the key criteria that HPM devices have to meet in order to be applied * How high power sources work, including their performance capabilities and limitations * The broad fundamental issues to be addressed in the future for a wide variety of source types The book is accessible to several audiences. Researchers currently in the field can widen their understanding of HPM. Present or pot...

The future of nuclear power in Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morales, A.A.

1980-01-01

The future of nuclear power in Mexico shows interesting aspects: the nuclear power is the source of energy that can supply large proportions of energy, that the country needs; the Kw/h of nuclear power is the most economic energy; the installation of 20 nucleoelectric plants will grant future jobs, the associated nuclear industry can be nationally integrated in the natural uranium cycle. (author)

Future Expectation for China's Nuclear Power

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2009-01-01

@@ China:the future of nuclear power Wang Yonggan:In terms of the highlighted issue of energy security,oil is of paramount importance,coal is the foundation and electricity is the pivot according to China's energy strategy.The national total installed power capacity will hit a record high of 900 GW in 2010,and will probably approach 1 500 GW in 2020 when coal-fired power will continue to dominate,and alternative energy such as nuclear energy,hydroenergy,wind energy,and others will take up only 30% at most.Therefore,China remains in dire need to create more room for alternative energy.To solve this problem,solutions should be found in the diversification of energy,especially large-scale development of alternative energy,by which a lowered-and ultimately zeroed-growth of coal-fired generating units could be realized,and the target of low,even zero carbon emission could come true.

Discounting risks in the far future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lind, Niels

2007-01-01

Risks to life and health in the future must be discounted in quantitative risk analysis. Yet, risks in the distant future become trivialized if any reasonable constant interest rate is used. Our responsibility toward future generations rules out such drastic discounting. A solution to this problem is proposed here, resting on the ethical principle that our duty with respect to saving lives is the same to all generations, whether in the near or far future. It is shown that when a choice between prospects involving different risks has a financing horizon T, then ordinary principles of discounting apply up to this time T, while no further discounting is justifiable after T. The principle implies that risk events beyond the financing horizon should be valued as if they occurred at the financing horizon

Risk management of stock index futures

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2008-01-01

The Hong Kong Hang Seng index futures is taken as a study object and a method of empirical analysis is adopted in order to verify the validity of the application of the value-at-risk (VaR) method in the risk measurement of the stock index futures market. The results suggest that under normal market conditions it is feasible to apply the VaR method in the measurement of the market risks of stock index futures. The daily VaR value of the stock index futures provides a foreseeable profit and loss of the stock ...

Advanced Power Converter for Universal and Flexible Power Management in Future Electricity Network

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Iov, Florin; Blaabjerg, Frede; Bassett, R.

2007-01-01

converters for grid connection of renewable sources will be needed. These power converters must be able to provide intelligent power management as well as ancillary services. This paper presents the overall structure and the control aspects of an advanced power converter for universal and flexible power......More "green" power provided by Distributed Generation will enter into the European electricity network in the near future. In order to control the power flow and to ensure proper and secure operation of this future grid, with an increased level of the renewable power, new power electronic...

High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) System Risk-Based Inspection Guide for Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, S.; DiBiasio, A.; Gunther, W.

1993-09-01

The High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system has been examined from a risk perspective. A System Risk-Based Inspection Guide (S-RIG) has been developed as an aid to HPCI system inspections at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3. The role of. the HPCI system in mitigating accidents is discussed in this S-RIG, along with insights on identified risk-based failure modes which could prevent proper operation of the system. The S-RIG provides a review of industry-wide operating experience, including plant-specific illustrative examples to augment the PRA and operational considerations in identifying a catalogue of basic PRA failure modes for the HPCI system. It is designed to be used as a reference for routine inspections, self-initiated safety system functional inspections (SSFIs), and the evaluation of risk significance of component failures at the nuclear power plant

High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) System Risk-Based Inspection Guide for Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Station

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wong, S.; DiBiasio, A.; Gunther, W. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)

1993-09-01

The High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system has been examined from a risk perspective. A System Risk-Based Inspection Guide (S-RIG) has been developed as an aid to HPCI system inspections at the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, Units 1, 2 and 3. The role of. the HPCI system in mitigating accidents is discussed in this S-RIG, along with insights on identified risk-based failure modes which could prevent proper operation of the system. The S-RIG provides a review of industry-wide operating experience, including plant-specific illustrative examples to augment the PRA and operational considerations in identifying a catalogue of basic PRA failure modes for the HPCI system. It is designed to be used as a reference for routine inspections, self-initiated safety system functional inspections (SSFIs), and the evaluation of risk significance of component failures at the nuclear power plant.

Nuclear power: Preparing for the future. International conference on nuclear power for the 21st century, 21 March 2005, Paris, France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ElBaradei, M.

2005-01-01

This statement discusses a few aspects of the evolving global scenario for nuclear power. All indicators show that an increased level of emphasis on subjects such as fast growing energy demands, security of energy supply, and the risk of climate change are driving a re-consideration, in some quarters, of the need for greater investment in nuclear power. The decisions that emerge from this debate will have long range implications, and require a degree of planning that looks at least several decades into the future. This morning I would like to offer a brief review of the current picture, and to outline a number of issues that, in my view, will be crucial in determining the contribution of nuclear power to the future global energy mix

An overview of future sustainable nuclear power reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Poullikkas, Andreas [Electricity Authority of Cyprus, P.O. Box 24506, 1399 Nicosia (Cyprus)

2013-07-01

In this paper an overview of the current and future nuclear power reactor technologies is carried out. In particular, the nuclear technology is described and the classification of the current and future nuclear reactors according to their generation is provided. The analysis has shown that generation II reactors currently in operation all around the world lack significantly in safety precautions and are prone to loss of coolant accident (LOCA). In contrast, generation III reactors, which are an evolution of generation II reactors, incorporate passive or inherent safety features that require no active controls or operational intervention to avoid accidents in the event of malfunction, and may rely on gravity, natural convection or resistance to high temperatures. Today, partly due to the high capital cost of large power reactors generating electricity and partly due to the consideration of public perception, there is a shift towards the development of smaller units. These may be built independently or as modules in a larger complex, with capacity added incrementally as required. Small reactors most importantly benefit from reduced capital costs, simpler units and the ability to produce power away from main grid systems. These factors combined with the ability of a nuclear power plant to use process heat for co-generation, make the small reactors an attractive option. Generally, modern small reactors for power generation are expected to have greater simplicity of design, economy of mass production and reduced installation costs. Many are also designed for a high level of passive or inherent safety in the event of malfunction. Generation III+ designs are generally extensions of the generation III concept, which include advanced passive safety features. These designs can maintain the safe state without the use of any active control components. Generation IV reactors, which are future designs that are currently under research and development, will tend to have closed

Langley Research Center Utility Risk from Future Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

De Young, Russell J.; Ganoe, Rene

2015-01-01

The successful operation of NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) depends on services provided by several public utility companies. These include Newport News Waterworks, Dominion Virginia Power, Virginia Natural Gas and Hampton Roads Sanitation District. LaRC's plan to respond to future climate change should take into account how these companies plan to avoid interruption of services while minimizing cost to the customers. This report summarizes our findings from publicly available documents on how each company plans to respond. This will form the basis for future planning for the Center. Our preliminary findings show that flooding and severe storms could interrupt service from the Waterworks and Sanitation District but the potential is low due to plans in place to address climate change on their system. Virginia Natural Gas supplies energy to produce steam but most current steam comes from the Hampton trash burning plant, thus interruption risk is low. Dominion Virginia Power does not address climate change impacts on their system in their public reports. The potential interruption risk is considered to be medium. The Hampton Roads Sanitation District is projecting a major upgrade of their system to mitigate clean water inflow and infiltration. This will reduce infiltration and avoid overloading the pump stations and treatment plants.

Voltage generators of high voltage high power accelerators

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Svinin, M.P.

1981-01-01

High voltage electron accelerators are widely used in modern radiation installations for industrial purposes. In the near future further increasing of their power may be effected, which enables to raise the efficiency of the radiation processes known and to master new power-consuming production in industry. Improvement of HV generators by increasing their power and efficiency is one of many scientific and engineering aspects the successful solution of which provides further development of these accelerators and their technical parameters. The subject is discussed in detail. (author)

High Temperature, High Power Piezoelectric Composite Transducers

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Hyeong Jae; Zhang, Shujun; Bar-Cohen, Yoseph; Sherrit, StewarT.

2014-01-01

Piezoelectric composites are a class of functional materials consisting of piezoelectric active materials and non-piezoelectric passive polymers, mechanically attached together to form different connectivities. These composites have several advantages compared to conventional piezoelectric ceramics and polymers, including improved electromechanical properties, mechanical flexibility and the ability to tailor properties by using several different connectivity patterns. These advantages have led to the improvement of overall transducer performance, such as transducer sensitivity and bandwidth, resulting in rapid implementation of piezoelectric composites in medical imaging ultrasounds and other acoustic transducers. Recently, new piezoelectric composite transducers have been developed with optimized composite components that have improved thermal stability and mechanical quality factors, making them promising candidates for high temperature, high power transducer applications, such as therapeutic ultrasound, high power ultrasonic wirebonding, high temperature non-destructive testing, and downhole energy harvesting. This paper will present recent developments of piezoelectric composite technology for high temperature and high power applications. The concerns and limitations of using piezoelectric composites will also be discussed, and the expected future research directions will be outlined. PMID:25111242

With power comes responsibility: motorcycle engine power and power-to-weight ratio in relation to accident risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Mattsson, Markus; Summala, Heikki

2010-02-01

Current European legislation allows the EU member states to restrict the maximum power output of motorcycles to 74 kW even though evidence supporting the limit is scarce and has produced mixed results-perhaps because motorcycle performance has been measured by engine displacement, not engine power, in most of the previous studies. This study investigates the relationship of motorcycle engine power and power-to-weight ratio to risk of fatal and nonfatal crashes in Finland. The fatality rate (number of fatal accidents/number of registered motorbikes) for riders of different ages riding bikes belonging to different power and power-to-weight ratio classes was examined using a comprehensive in-depth database. Data on nonfatal accidents were acquired from a Web questionnaire (N = 2708), which also served as a basis for estimating riders' annual mileage. Mileage data allowed the calculation of accident risk per kilometer ridden for bikes differing in power and power-to-weight ratio. The fatality risk per number of registered motorcycles and per kilometer ridden increases both with power and power-to-weight ratio, independently of rider's age. No relationship between performance and risk of a less severe crash was found. The pre-accident speed of the most powerful bikes was 20 km/h or more over the speed limit in a large proportion of the fatal accidents (odds ratio = 4.8 for > 75 kW motorbikes; odds ratio = 6.2 for > 0.3 kW/kg motorbikes). The risk of being involved in a fatal crash is higher among the riders of powerful motorcycles. However, it is not clear whether the results are related to the riding habits of the riders that choose the most powerful bikes available or whether the high risk is due to the properties of the bikes themselves. Therefore, further research is needed before considering legal limits on motorcycle performance.

Voltage control in the future power transmission systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Qin, Nan

Wind energy in Denmark covers 42% of the total power consumption in 2015, and will share up to 50% by 2020. Consequently, the conventional power plants are decommissioning. Under the progress of the green transition, the national decision leads to underground many overhead lines in the future...... stages. The voltage uncertainty caused by the wind power forecasting errors is estimated, which is applied as a voltage security margin to further constrain the voltage magnitude in the optimization problem. The problem under the uncertainty is therefore converted to a deterministic problem, which...... to ensure a highly reliable transmission, e.g. balancing the generation and the consumption in large geographic regions, the exchange capacities will be enlarged by upgrading the interconnections. The Danish power system, the electricity transportation hub between the Nordic and continental European systems...

The future of nuclear energy. Safety and nuclear power plants. Contribution of engineering companies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Rodriguez, A.

1995-01-01

Risk, its consideration and its acceptance or rejection, are parameters which to a large extent are independent and sometimes difficult to interrelate. Nuclear energy, unlike motoring or civil aviation, has not gained sufficient public acceptance, this despite the fact that the risk to population is by far the least of the three. It is therefore necessary to continue with its improvement is an attempt to create the same confidence in the nuclear industry, as society has placed in civil aviation. Improvement in future nuclear power plants must be a combination of improved safety and a reduction in capital investment. This objective can only be reached through standardization and international cooperation. Engineering has a very important part to play in the standardization process. An increase in engineering input during the design, construction, operation and maintenance phases of future nuclear power plants, and the application of increasingly sophisticated analysis and management tools are anticipated. Nevertheless, the financial impact on the cost of each plant will fall as a result of increased input spread throughout the range of standard plants. Our current Advanced Reactor Power Plant Programme enables the Spanish industry to participate actively in the creation of future standards nuclear power plants. Having a presence in selected engineering activities, which guarantees access to the state of the art in this area, is one of our priorities, since it will facilitate the presence of the rest of the industry in future projects. If the objectives described above are to be reached, the present involvement of the spanish industry in this programme must be maintained in the medium and long term. (Author)

Nuclear energy research initiative, an overview of the cooperative program for the risk-informed assessment of regulatory and design requirements for future nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ritterbusch, Stanley E.

2000-01-01

EPRI sstudies have shown that nuclear plant capital costs will have to decrease by about 35% to 40% to be competitive with fossil-generated electricity in the Unite States. Also, the ''first concrete'' to fuel load construction schedule will have to be decreased to less than 40 months. Therefore, the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiate the Nuclear Energy Research Initiative (NERI) and ABB CENP proposed a cooperative program with Sandia National Laboratory (SNL) and Duke Engineering and Services (DE and S) to begin an innovative research effort to drastically cut the cost of new nuclear power plant construction for the U. S. de-regulated market place. This program was approved by the DOE through three separate but coordinated ''cooperative agreements.'' They are the ''Risk-Informed Assessment of Regulatory and Design Requirements for Future Nuclear Power Plants'' (Risk-Informed NPP), the ''Smart Nuclear Power Plant Program'' (Smart-NPP), and ''Design, Procure, Construct, Install and Test'' (DPCIT) Program. DOE funded the three cooperative agreements at a level of $2.6 million for the first year of the program. Funding for the complete program is durrently at a level $6.9 million, however, ABB CENP and all partners anticipate that the scope of the NERI program will be increased as a result of the overall importance of NERI to the U. S. Government. The Risk-Informed NPP program, which is aimed at revising costly regularory and design requirements without reducing overall plant safety, has two basic tasks: ''development of Risk-Informed Methods'' and ''strengthening the Reliability Database.'' The overall objective of the first task is to develop a scientific, risk-informed approach for identifying and simplifying deterministic industry standards, regulatory requirements, and safety systems that do not significantly contribute to nuclear power plant reliability and safety. The second basic task is to develop a means for strengthening the reliability database

Living near nuclear power plants and thyroid cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Jae Young; Bang, Ye Jin; Ee, Won Jin

2016-01-01

There has been public concern regarding the safety of residing near nuclear power plants, and the extent of risk for thyroid cancer among adults living near nuclear power plants has not been fully explored. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies was conducted to investigate the association between living near nuclear power plants and the risk of thyroid cancer. Our study does not support an association between living near nuclear power plants and risk of thyroid cancer but does support a need for well designed future studies given the conflicting results from sensitivity analysis.

Living near nuclear power plants and thyroid cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Jae Young [Dept. of Preventive Medicine, Keimyung University College of Medicine, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Bang, Ye Jin; Ee, Won Jin [Dept. of Preventive Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-04-15

There has been public concern regarding the safety of residing near nuclear power plants, and the extent of risk for thyroid cancer among adults living near nuclear power plants has not been fully explored. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies was conducted to investigate the association between living near nuclear power plants and the risk of thyroid cancer. Our study does not support an association between living near nuclear power plants and risk of thyroid cancer but does support a need for well designed future studies given the conflicting results from sensitivity analysis.

The future of nuclear power in Europe

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kurtz, D.

1996-01-01

The current and future prospects of the nuclear power industry in Europe are assessed in this Financial Times Energy Publishing report. Key issues relating to the development of the industry in both Eastern and Western Europe are addressed. Changing governmental and popular attitudes to nuclear power are described and nuclear energy's likely future contribution to Europe's energy needs is discussed. Detailed production and consumption statistics make the document useful reading for those in nuclear generating companies, electric utilities, major power consumers, waste management companies, governments, regulatory bodies, investors and environmental groups amongst others. (UK)

The future of distributed power in Alberta

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bobenic, J.

2002-01-01

Maxim Power Corporation is a provider of distributed energy and environmental solutions with a total of 55 MW of installed generating capacity in Canada, Europe and Asia, with 35 MW in Alberta. The 8 MW Taber facility in southern Alberta was described. Maxim operates 25 other small scale power generation stations (1 MW units) across 4 sites in southern Alberta. All the sites are interconnected at 25 kV and are eligible for distribution credits. The 3 MW EVI facility which utilizes solution gas was also described in the PowerPoint presentation. Maxim operates an additional 3 projects totaling 10 MW. The paper made reference to issues regarding market attributes for distributed power, policy framework and the transition to a competitive power market in Alberta. The chronology of events in Alberta's power market from August 2000 to June 2001 was outlined. The impacts of deregulation on distributed power include: (1) artificially low price environment from market intervention, (2) high efficiency cogeneration opportunities have been eliminated, (3) business failures and reduced investment, and (4) private investment not afforded the same alternative cost recovery mechanisms as the Alberta balancing pool. The presentation concluded with a report card for Alberta's deregulation, giving a grade F for both present and future opportunities for distributed power in Alberta. 2 figs

Gingin High Optical Power Test Facility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, C; Blair, D G; Barrigo, P

2006-01-01

The Australian Consortium for Gravitational Wave Astronomy (ACIGA) in collaboration with LIGO is developing a high optical power research facility at the AIGO site, Gingin, Western Australia. Research at the facility will provide solutions to the problems that advanced gravitational wave detectors will encounter with extremely high optical power. The problems include thermal lensing and parametric instabilities. This article will present the status of the facility and the plan for the future experiments

RIMAP demonstration project. Risk-based life management of piping system in power plant Heilbronn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareiss, J.; Buck, P.; Matschecko, B.; Jovanovic, A.; Balos, D.; Perunicic, M.

2004-01-01

In the framework of EU project RIMAP [Risk Based Inspection and Maintenance Procedures for European Industry (2000)] a new European Guideline for optimized risk based maintenance and inspection planning of industrial plants (RBLM, Risk Based Life Management) is being developed. The RIMAP project consists of the three clustered projects: - development (RTD); - demonstration (DEMO): - thematic network (TN). Current work and future, planned work in RIMAP demonstration project on applications of the RIMAP methodology in power plants are presented briefly in the first part of the paper. Also presented in the paper are the results of a preliminary analysis of piping system in power plant Heilbronn using the concept of risk-based monitoring as part of overall concept of risk-based life management. Shortly the following issues are discussed in the paper: - identification of critical components; - application of a multilevel risk analysis (...from 'screening' to 'detailed analysis'); - determination of PoF (Probability of Failure); - determination of CoF (Consequence of Failure); - optimation of inspection and maintenance plan. From our experience with the application of the RIMAP methodology the following conclusions can be drawn: The use of risk-based methods in inspection and maintenance of piping systems in power plants gives transparency to the decision making process and gives an optimized maintenance policy based on current state of the components. The results of the work clearly show the power of the proposed method for concentration on critical items: out of 64 monitored components 5 were selected for intermediate analysis and only 1 for the detailed analysis (probabilistic high temperature fracture mechanics)

Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fleming, Patricia

2006-01-01

Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens

Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fleming, Patricia [Creighton Univ., Omaha (United States). College of Arts and Sciences/Philosophy

2006-09-15

Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens.

Global drivers of future river flood risk

Science.gov (United States)

Winsemius, Hessel C.; Aerts, Jeroen C. J. H.; van Beek, Ludovicus P. H.; Bierkens, Marc F. P.; Bouwman, Arno; Jongman, Brenden; Kwadijk, Jaap C. J.; Ligtvoet, Willem; Lucas, Paul L.; van Vuuren, Detlef P.; Ward, Philip J.

2016-04-01

Understanding global future river flood risk is a prerequisite for the quantification of climate change impacts and planning effective adaptation strategies. Existing global flood risk projections fail to integrate the combined dynamics of expected socio-economic development and climate change. We present the first global future river flood risk projections that separate the impacts of climate change and socio-economic development. The projections are based on an ensemble of climate model outputs, socio-economic scenarios, and a state-of-the-art hydrologic river flood model combined with socio-economic impact models. Globally, absolute damage may increase by up to a factor of 20 by the end of the century without action. Countries in Southeast Asia face a severe increase in flood risk. Although climate change contributes significantly to the increase in risk in Southeast Asia, we show that it is dwarfed by the effect of socio-economic growth, even after normalization for gross domestic product (GDP) growth. African countries face a strong increase in risk mainly due to socio-economic change. However, when normalized to GDP, climate change becomes by far the strongest driver. Both high- and low-income countries may benefit greatly from investing in adaptation measures, for which our analysis provides a basis.

Nuclear power generation alternative for a clean energy future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Simionov, V; Ibadula, R.; Popescu, Ion.; Bobric, Elena

2001-01-01

World Energy Council stated that to raise the efficiency in which energy is provided is a huge challenge for power engineering. Over 60% of primary energy is in effect, wasted. At present 63% of the world's electricity comes from thermal power (coal, oil and gas), 19% from hydro, 17% from nuclear, 0.5% from geothermal and 0.1% from solar, wind and biomass. Nuclear power almost completely avoids all the problems associated within fossil fuels: no greenhouse effect, no acid rain, no air pollution with sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, no oil spills, etc. Its impact on health and environment is related to radiation and is relatively minor. Without pretending a high accuracy of numbers, if the first Romanian nuclear power reactor will be replaced by a coal plant of equivalent capacity, about 5 millions tons of CO 2 and large quantities of associated sulfur and nitrous oxides, would be discharged to the atmosphere each year. However, the acceptance of nuclear power is largely an emotional issue. Based on the environmental monitoring program this paper tries to demonstrate that the routine radioactive emissions of Cernavoda NPP, which are limited by competent national authority, constitutes an insignificant risk increase. The concept of sustainable development was elaborated in the late 1980s and defined as a development that fulfil the needs of the present, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. Sustainable development incorporates equity within and across countries as well as across generations, and integrates economic growth, environmental protection and social welfare. To analyze nuclear energy from a sustainable development perspective it is necessary to consider its economic, environmental and social impacts characteristics, both positive and negative. It is obvious that the development of nuclear energy broadens the natural resource base usable for energy production, and increases human and man-made capital. There are also

Achieving safety/risk goals for less ATR backup power upgrades

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Atkinson, S.A.

1995-01-01

The Advanced Test Reactor probabilistic risk assessment for internal fire and flood events defined a relatively high risk for a total loss of electric power possibly leading to core damage. Backup power sources were disabled due to fire and flooding in the diesel generator area with propagation of the flooding to a common switchgear room. The ATR risk assessment was employed to define options for relocation of backup power system components to achieve needed risk reduction while minimizing costs. The risk evaluations were performed using sensitivity studies and importance measures. The risk-based evaluations of relocation options for backup power systems saved over $3 million from what might have been otherwise considered open-quotes necessaryclose quotes for safety/risk improvement. The ATR experience shows that the advantages of a good risk assessment are to define risk significance, risk specifics, and risk solutions which enable risk goals to be achieved at the lowest cost

The future of fission-electric power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morowski, J.V.

1983-06-01

Future worldwide electricity supply needs dictate the necessity of maintaining a sound capability for electricity and electric power generating facilities, including nuclear, as viable export commodities. A survey of fission-power plant types and the status of worldwide nuclear electric power illustrates the primary emphasis on LWR's and HWR's as two leading types in the export market. This survey examines the factors affecting the market prospects for the next five to fifteen years and provides a discussion on some possible improvements to current market circumstances. A comparative description is provided for some of the types of LWR and CANDU characteristics such as quantities, schedules, constructability factors, and equipment and system. Important factors in the selection process for future nuclear power plants are discussed. Some factors included are seismic design requirements; plant design description and possible site layout; plant protection, control and instrumentation; thermal cycle design and arrangement; and special construction and rigging requirements

Assessing Risk in Costing High-energy Accelerators: from Existing Projects to the Future Linear Collider

CERN Document Server

Lebrun, Philippe

2010-01-01

High-energy accelerators are large projects funded by public money, developed over the years and constructed via major industrial contracts both in advanced technology and in more conventional domains such as civil engineering and infrastructure, for which they often constitute one-of markets. Assessing their cost, as well as the risk and uncertainty associated with this assessment is therefore an essential part of project preparation and a justified requirement by the funding agencies. Stemming from the experience with large circular colliders at CERN, LEP and LHC, as well as with the Main Injector, the Tevatron Collider Experiments and Accelerator Upgrades, and the NOvA Experiment at Fermilab, we discuss sources of cost variance and derive cost risk assessment methods applicable to the future linear collider, through its two technical approaches for ILC and CLIC. We also address disparities in cost risk assessment imposed by regional differences in regulations, procedures and practices.

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maichel, G.

2001-01-01

The market and competition, political boundary conditions, ecological boundary conditions, science and technology as well as international aspects are factors decisive in the future use of nuclear power. The agreement reached between the federal government and the power utilities in June 2000 represents a workable compromise - without winners or losers - in a situation in which action was urgently required. Once the agreement has been put into effect by legislators and the executive, operation of the nuclear power plants still on stream can be continued on a long term basis under safe boundary conditions. This requires an amendment to the Atomic Energy Act reflecting the sense of the agreement reached, the constructive inclusion of the federal states, and the immediate, legally assured execution of necessary transports of spent fuel and the construction of on-site stores for spent fuel. In the common interest, the question of final storage should not suffer from politically motivated delays. Factors favoring the further use of nuclear power continue to be mainly ecological and economic ones. The economic performance of plants is being documented very clearly, especially in the course of the deregulation of the electricity market, and the objective of finding a power supply system which protects the climate seems to be attainable only by nuclear power also in countries other than Germany. In the course of globalization, and in the light of thoughts about building new nuclear power plants also in European countries, it must also be in the public interest to preserve competence in nuclear technology, together with a capable infrastructure, in Germany. In addition, strengthening research and development is important in securing the future technical performance capability of Germany. (orig.) [de

The dynamics of risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mork, E.

2006-01-01

Premiums in futures prices are usually considered through the use of 2 models: a no-arbitrage model; and the equilibrium approach or theory of normal backwardation. The no-arbitrage approach equates futures prices with spot prices, storage costs and convenience yields, and is difficult to apply to electricity markets. This paper investigated future electricity prices in Nord Pool's futures market using an equilibrium approach, which split futures prices into an expected spot price component and a risk premium component. Three main hypotheses were used: (1) that risk premiums were present in the Nord Pool futures market during the period 1997-2004; that risk premiums in the Nord Pool futures market were smaller or absent during the period of 2000 to 2002; and, that there was a significant change in risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market after the winter of 2002-2003 due to a change in consumer hedging behaviour. Futures prices were compared to realized spot prices in their delivery periods in order to test the hypotheses. In order to estimate the futures premiums, a 1-sample test was performed on the entire period for 1, 30, 60, and 90 days before delivery of the block or month contract. The test employed the null hypothesis that the futures premiums were 0. Premiums were positive and varied between 3.7 per cent and 9.3 per cent. The purpose of the study was to determine whether risk premiums were present. Results showed that risk premiums varied over time. Two additional hypotheses were then investigated to examine whether the presence of outside speculators reduced risk premiums, and to see if a period of high prices and volatility caused more buyers to hedge in the futures market. Results showed that in the face of volatility and higher prices, consumers do not purchase fixed-price contracts which would ultimately increase futures premiums in the market. It was concluded that premiums are an important element in the pricing of Nord Pool futures and forwards

Nuclear risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levenson, M.

1989-01-01

The title of our session, Nuclear Risk Versus Other Power Options, is provocative. It is also a title with different meanings to different people. To the utility chief executive officer, nuclear power is a high-risk financial undertaking because of political and economic barriers to cost recovery. To the utility dispatcher, it is a high-risk future power source since plant completion and start-up dates can be delayed for very long times due to uncertain legal and political issues. To the environmentalist, concerned about global effects such as greenhouse and acid rain, nuclear power is a relatively low risk energy source. To the financial people, nuclear power is a cash cow turned sour because of uncertainties as to what new plants will cost and whether they will even be allowed to operate. The statistics on risk are known and the results of probability risk assessment calculations of risks are known. The challenge is not to make nuclear power safer, it is already one of the safest, if not the safest, source of power currently available. The challenge is to find a way to communicate this to the public

Loneliness and Suicidal Risk in Young Adults: Does Believing in a Changeable Future Help Minimize Suicidal Risk Among the Lonely?

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Edward C; Wan, Liangqiu; Li, Pengzi; Guo, Yuncheng; He, Jiaying; Gu, Yu; Wang, Yingjie; Li, Xiaoqing; Zhang, Zhan; Sun, Yingrui; Batterbee, Casey N-H; Chang, Olivia D; Lucas, Abigael G; Hirsch, Jameson K

2017-07-04

This study examined loneliness and future orientation as predictors of suicidal risk, namely, depressive symptoms and suicide ideation, in a sample of 228 college students (54 males and 174 females). Results of regression analyses indicated that loneliness was a significant predictor of both indices of suicidal risk. The inclusion of future orientation was found to significantly augment the prediction model of both depressive symptoms and suicide ideation, even after accounting for loneliness. Noteworthy, beyond loneliness and future orientation, the Loneliness × Future Orientation interaction term was found to further augment both prediction models of suicidal risk. Consistent with the notion that future orientation is an important buffer of suicidal risk, among lonely students, those with high future orientation, compared to low future orientation, were found to report significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and suicide ideation. Some implications of the present findings for studying both risk and protective factors associated with suicidal risk in young adults are discussed.

Risk Evaluation on UHV Power Transmission Construction Project Based on AHP and FCE Method

OpenAIRE

Huiru Zhao; Sen Guo

2014-01-01

Ultra high voltage (UHV) power transmission construction project is a high-tech power grid construction project which faces many risks and uncertainty. Identifying the risk of UHV power transmission construction project can help mitigate the risk loss and promote the smooth construction. The risk evaluation on “Zhejiang-Fuzhou” UHV power transmission construction project was performed based on analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE) method in this paper. Afte...

Relationship Power, Sexual Decision Making, and HIV Risk Among Midlife and Older Women.

Science.gov (United States)

Altschuler, Joanne; Rhee, Siyon

2015-01-01

The number of midlife and older women with HIV/AIDS is high and increasing, especially among women of color. This article addresses these demographic realities by reporting on findings about self-esteem, relationship power, and HIV risk from a pilot study of midlife and older women. A purposive sample (N = 110) of ethnically, economically, and educationally diverse women 40 years and older from the Greater Los Angeles Area was surveyed to determine their levels of self-esteem, general relationship power, sexual decision-making power, safer sex behaviors, and HIV knowledge. Women with higher levels of self-esteem exercised greater power in their relationships with their partner. Women with higher levels of general relationship power and self-esteem tend to exercise greater power in sexual decision making, such as having sex and choosing sexual acts. Income and sexual decision-making power were statistically significant in predicting the use of condoms. Implications and recommendations for future HIV/AIDS research and intervention targeting midlife and older women are presented.

Contribution of future urbanisation expansion to flood risk changes

Science.gov (United States)

Bruwier, Martin; Mustafa, Ahmed; Archambeau, Pierre; Erpicum, Sébastien; Pirotton, Michel; Teller, Jacques; Dewals, Benjamin

2016-04-01

The flood risk is expected to increase in the future due to climate change and urban development. Climate change modifies flood hazard and urban development influences exposure and vulnerability to floods. While the influence of climate change on flood risk has been studied widely, the impact of urban development also needs to be considered in a sustainable flood risk management approach. The main goal of this study is the determination of the sensitivity of future flood risk to different urban development scenarios at a relatively short-time horizon in the River Meuse basin in Wallonia (Belgium). From the different scenarios, the expected impact of urban development on flood risk is assessed. Three urban expansion scenarios are developed up to 2030 based on a coupled cellular automata (CA) and agent-based (AB) urban expansion model: (i) business-as-usual, (ii) restrictive and (iii) extreme expansion scenarios. The main factor controlling these scenarios is the future urban land demand. Each urban expansion scenario is developed by considering or not high and/or medium flood hazard zones as a constraint for urban development. To assess the model's performance, it is calibrated for the Meuse River valley (Belgium) to simulate urban expansion between 1990 and 2000. Calibration results are then assessed by comparing the 2000 simulated land-use map and the actual 2000 land-use map. The flood damage estimation for each urban expansion scenario is determined for five flood discharges by overlaying the inundation map resulting from a hydraulic computation and the urban expansion map and by using damage curves and specific prices. The hydraulic model Wolf2D has been extensively validated by comparisons between observations and computational results during flood event .This study focuses only on mobile and immobile prices for urban lands, which are associated to the most severe damages caused by floods along the River Meuse. These findings of this study offers tools to

Future of nuclear power after Chernobyl

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asselstine, J.K.

1987-01-01

If nuclear power plants are to have a future in the US, existing plants must demonstrate a safe and accident-free operation, the public must perceive that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is independent and objective, safety corrections must make operating plants more reliable, and the US must develop an acceptable way to dispose of high-level radioactive wastes. Focusing on safe operation and public confidence in the NRC, the author examines the consequences of the Chernobyl accident and compares public opinion reactions with those following the Three Mile Island accident. He notes the recent NRC decisions have been counterproductive to the nuclear industry, but that other countries have demonstrated that the goal of safe nuclear power is achievable. The NRC will have to increase the level of public participation in the regulatory process if it hopes to restore its former level of credibility

Adequacy of operating reserves for power systems in future european wind power scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Das, Kaushik; Litong-Palima, Marisciel; Maule, Petr

2015-01-01

operating reserves. To study the effects of these imbalances, anticipated wind scenarios for European power systems are modelled for 2020 and 2030. Wind power forecasts for different time scales and real-time available wind power are modelled. Based on these studies, this paper qualitatively analyzes......Wind power generation is expected to increase in Europe by large extent in future. This will increase variability and uncertainty in power systems. Imbalances caused due to uncertainty in wind power forecast can trigger frequency instability in the system. These imbalances are handled using...... the adequacy of primary and secondary reserves requirements for future European power systems. This paper also discusses the challenges due to the uncertainty in wind power forecasts and their possible solutions for wind installation scenarios for 2020 and 2030....

Reliability of IGBT-based power devices in the viewpoint of applications in future power supply systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lutz, J.

2011-01-01

IGBT-based high-voltage power devices will be key components for future renewable energy base of the society. Windmills in the range up to 10 MW use converters with IGBTs. HVDC systems with IGBT-based voltage source converters have the advantage of a lower level of harmonics, less efforts for filters and more possibilities for control. The power devices need a lifetime expectation of several ten years. The lifetime is determined by the reliability of the packaging technology. IGBTs are offered packaged in presspacks and modules. The presentation will have the focus on IGBT high power modules. Accelerated power cycling tests for to determine the end-of-life at given conditions and their results are shown. models to calculate the lifetime, and actual work in research for systems with increased reliability.

Future steps toward a Danish power system with 50% wind power

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard, Jacob; Ackermann, Thomas; Bach, Poul-Frederik

.dk. The objective of EcoGrid work package 5 is to suggest future research and development activities in EcoGrid.dk. The future activities will consist of related activities of which some should be directed within an EU framework (EcoGridEU). The delivery of phase 1 work package 5 is a packet of proposals to be used......This report is part of the EcoGrid.dk project phase 1 initiated by Energinet.dk and the result of work package 5 dealing with proposals for future steps toward a Danish power system with 50% wind power. The EcoGrid.dk project has the objective to develop new long term technologies and market...... power system with increased volumes of RE. - Phase 2: Specific projects, analyses and recommendations to Energinet.dk with main focus on research activities - Phase 3: Technologies are implemented in real environment and demonstrated with subsequent adoption and implementation in Energinet...

Voltage and Frequency Control for Future Power Systems: the ELECTRA IRP Proposal

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

D’hulst, R.; Merino Fernandez, J.; Rikos, E.

2015-01-01

In this paper a high level functional architecture for frequency and voltage control for the future (2030+) power system is presented. The proposal suggests a decomposition of the present organization of power system operation into a ”web of cells”. Each cell in this web is managed by a single...

Operation of Power Grids with High Penetration of Wind Power

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Awami, Ali Taleb

The integration of wind power into the power grid poses many challenges due to its highly uncertain nature. This dissertation involves two main components related to the operation of power grids with high penetration of wind energy: wind-thermal stochastic dispatch and wind-thermal coordinated bidding in short-term electricity markets. In the first part, a stochastic dispatch (SD) algorithm is proposed that takes into account the stochastic nature of the wind power output. The uncertainty associated with wind power output given the forecast is characterized using conditional probability density functions (CPDF). Several functions are examined to characterize wind uncertainty including Beta, Weibull, Extreme Value, Generalized Extreme Value, and Mixed Gaussian distributions. The unique characteristics of the Mixed Gaussian distribution are then utilized to facilitate the speed of convergence of the SD algorithm. A case study is carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm. Then, the SD algorithm is extended to simultaneously optimize the system operating costs and emissions. A modified multi-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is suggested to identify the Pareto-optimal solutions defined by the two conflicting objectives. A sensitivity analysis is carried out to study the effect of changing load level and imbalance cost factors on the Pareto front. In the second part of this dissertation, coordinated trading of wind and thermal energy is proposed to mitigate risks due to those uncertainties. The problem of wind-thermal coordinated trading is formulated as a mixed-integer stochastic linear program. The objective is to obtain the optimal tradeoff bidding strategy that maximizes the total expected profits while controlling trading risks. For risk control, a weighted term of the conditional value at risk (CVaR) is included in the objective function. The CVaR aims to maximize the expected profits of the least profitable scenarios, thus

Future view of electric power supply techniques. Distribution techniques

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ito, Toshio

1988-06-20

Present situations surrounding the power distribution are described, and the problems and future trend of the power distribution are reviewed. It is described for the situations that the gravity of a power demand is transfering from industrial use to home use and the dependence on electrical energy is increasing. It is pointed out for the features that the distribution system exists on not only supply side but also customer side, the system is complicated and two-dimentional, and there is a tremendous amount of facility. High voltage, high frequency and automatic distribution, and the distributed power sources such as fuel cells are described in terms of the problems to ensure the power supply. The protection and decreasing of service interruptions, the protection of harmonic wave, and long-life equipments are described in terms of the problems to ensure the power quality. As for the problems to ensure a comfortable life and space, the communication system using the distribution system for a customer service or automatic operation in a house, and the enviromental harmony by a small facility or underground distribution are described. (1 tab)

Power production at minimum risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fremlin, J.H.

1983-01-01

A summary, including extensive quotations, is given of the main themes of a lecture by Prof. Fremlin in which he assessed the risks inherent in the use of various power systems. Considering only hazards which affect members of the public, the methods used to quantify such risks are examined. Both so-called inconspicuous hazards from radiation effects and conspicuous risks from accidents which could arise from nuclear power stations are compared to those from other types of power generation. The small risk arising from nuclear wastes is stressed. The lecturer concluded that he would not let 'tiny differences of risk' affect his decisions on energy planning. (U.K.)

Resiliency of the Nation's Power Grid: Assessing Risks of Premature Failure of Large Power Transformers Under Climate Warming and Increased Heat Waves

Science.gov (United States)

Schlosser, C. A.; Gao, X.; Morgan, E.

2017-12-01

The aging pieces of our nation's power grid - the largest machine ever built - are at a critical time. Key assets in the transmission system, including large power transformers (LPTs), are approaching their originally designed lifetimes. Moreover, extreme weather and climate events upon which these design lifetimes are partially based are expected to change. In particular, more frequent and intense heat waves can accelerate the degradation of LPTs' insulation/cooling system. Thus, there are likely thousands of LPTs across the United States under increasing risk of premature failure - yet this risk has not been assessed. In this study, we investigate the impact of climate warming and corresponding shifts in heat waves for critical LPTs located in the Northeast corridor of the United States to assess: To what extent do changes in heat waves/events present a rising threat to the transformer network over the Northeast U.S. and to what extent can climate mitigation reduce this risk? This study focuses on a collection of LPTs with a high degree of "betweenness" - while recognizing other factors such as: connectivity, voltage rating, MVA rating, approximate price, weight, location/proximity to major transportation routes, and age. To assess the risk of future change in heat wave occurrence we use an analogue method, which detects the occurrence of heat waves based on associated large-scale atmospheric conditions. This method is compared to the more conventional approach that uses model-simulated daily maximum temperature. Under future climate warming scenarios, multi-model medians of both methods indicate strong increases in heat wave frequency during the latter half of this century. Under weak climate mitigation - the risks imposed from heat wave occurrence could quadruple, but a modest mitigation scenario cuts the increasing threat in half. As important, the analogue method substantially improves the model consensus through reduction of the interquartile range by a

Income risk of EU coal-fired power plants after Kyoto

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abadie, Luis M.; Chamorro, Jose M.

2009-01-01

Coal-fired power plants enjoy a significant advantage relative to gas plants in terms of cheaper fuel cost. This advantage may erode (or turn into disadvantage) depending on CO 2 emission allowance price. Financial risks are further reinforced when the price of electricity is determined by natural gas-fired plants' marginal costs. We aim to empirically assess the risks in EU coal plants' margins up to the year 2020. Parameter values are derived from actual market data. Monte Carlo simulation allows compute the expected value and risk profile of coal plants' earnings. Future allowance prices may spell significant risks on utilities' balance sheets. (author)

River flood risk in Jakarta under scenarios of future change

Science.gov (United States)

Budiyono, Yus; Aerts, Jeroen C. J. H.; Tollenaar, Daniel; Ward, Philip J.

2016-03-01

Given the increasing impacts of flooding in Jakarta, methods for assessing current and future flood risk are required. In this paper, we use the Damagescanner-Jakarta risk model to project changes in future river flood risk under scenarios of climate change, land subsidence, and land use change. Damagescanner-Jakarta is a simple flood risk model that estimates flood risk in terms of annual expected damage, based on input maps of flood hazard, exposure, and vulnerability. We estimate baseline flood risk at USD 186 million p.a. Combining all future scenarios, we simulate a median increase in risk of +180 % by 2030. The single driver with the largest contribution to that increase is land subsidence (+126 %). We simulated the impacts of climate change by combining two scenarios of sea level rise with simulations of changes in 1-day extreme precipitation totals from five global climate models (GCMs) forced by the four Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs). The results are highly uncertain; the median change in risk due to climate change alone by 2030 is a decrease by -46 %, but we simulate an increase in risk under 12 of the 40 GCM-RCP-sea level rise combinations. Hence, we developed probabilistic risk scenarios to account for this uncertainty. If land use change by 2030 takes places according to the official Jakarta Spatial Plan 2030, risk could be reduced by 12 %. However, if land use change in the future continues at the same rate as the last 30 years, large increases in flood risk will take place. Finally, we discuss the relevance of the results for flood risk management in Jakarta.

Oxidation performance of high temperature steels and coatings for future supercritical power plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Auerkari, Pertti; Salonen, Jorma; Toivonen, Aki; Penttilae, Sami [VTT, Espoo (Finland); Haekkilae, Juha [Foster Wheeler Energia, Varkaus (Finland); Aguero, Alina; Gutierrez, Marcos; Muelas, Raul [INTA, Madrid (Spain); Fry, Tony [NPL (United Kingdom)

2010-07-01

The operating efficiency of current and future thermal power plants is largely dependent on the applied temperature and pressure, which are in part limited by the internal oxidation resistance of the structural materials in the steam systems. Alternative and reference materials for such systems have been tested within the COST 536 (ACCEPT) project, including bulk reference materials (ferritic P92 and austenitic 316 LN steels) and several types of coatings under supercritical combined (oxygen) water chemistry (150 ppb DO) at 650 C/300 bar. The testing results from a circulating USC autoclave showed that under such conditions the reference bulk steels performed poorly, with extensive oxidation already after relatively short term exposure to the supercritical medium. Better protection was attained by suitable coatings, although there were clear differences in the protective capabilities between different coating types, and some challenges remain in applying (and repairing) coatings for the internal surfaces of welded structures. The materials performance seems to be worse in supercritical than in subcritical conditions, and this appears not to be only due to the effect of temperature. The implications are considered from the point of view of the operating conditions and materials selection for future power plants. (orig.)

Portfolio and risk management for power producers and traders in an open market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2001-01-01

Electricity markets in Europe, South America, Australia and the USA have been liberalized or will be opened in the near future, respectively. In consequence the power business undergoes a fundamental change. In the past electricity markets were monopolies. After the liberalization power producers as well as customers face a market risk with prices which can be very volatile. (author)

Risk assessment and nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bodansky, D.

1982-01-01

The range of risk perceptions involving nuclear power is so great that there is little hope of bridging extreme positions, but a consensus based upon reasoned discussion among uncommitted people could determine a sensible path. Our concerns over the uncertainties of risk assessment have made it increasingly difficult to make responsible decisions fast enough to deal with modern needs. The result is an immobility in energy matters that can point to a 2% reduction in oil use as its only triumph. The risk of nuclear war as a result of military action over energy issues suggests to some that the solution is to abolish nuclear power (however impractical) and to others that a rapid spread of nuclear power will eliminate energy as an incentive for war. If nuclear war is the major risk to consider, risk assessments need to include the risks of war, as well as those of carbon dioxide buildup and socio-economic disruptions, all of which loom larger than the risks of nuclear-plant accidents. Energy choices should be aimed at diminishing these major risks, even if they include the use of nuclear power. 26 references

IEC fusion: The future power and propulsion system for space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hammond, Walter E.; Coventry, Matt; Miley, George H.; Nadler, Jon; Hanson, John; Hrbud, Ivana

2000-01-01

Rapid access to any point in the solar system requires advanced propulsion concepts that will provide extremely high specific impulse, low specific power, and a high thrust-to-power ratio. Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) fusion is one of many exciting concepts emerging through propulsion and power research in laboratories across the nation which will determine the future direction of space exploration. This is part of a series of papers that discuss different applications of the Inertial Electrostatic Confinement (IEC) fusion concept for both in-space and terrestrial use. IEC will enable tremendous advances in faster travel times within the solar system. The technology is currently under investigation for proof of concept and transitioning into the first prototype units for commercial applications. In addition to use in propulsion for space applications, terrestrial applications include desalinization plants, high energy neutron sources for radioisotope generation, high flux sources for medical applications, proton sources for specialized medical applications, and tritium production

The Power Behind the Controversy: Understanding Local Policy Elites' Perceptions on the Benefits and Risks Associated with High Voltage Power Line Installation in the State of Arkansas

Science.gov (United States)

Moyer, Rachael M.

Following a proposal for the installation of high voltage power lines in northwest Arkansas, a controversial policy debate emerged. Proponents of the transmission line argue that such an installation is inevitable and necessary to efficiently and reliably support the identified electric load in the region. Opponents claim that the lines will degrade the natural environment and hamper the tourism-based local economy in affected regions, notably in Ozark Mountain areas. This study seeks to understand how local policy elites perceive the benefits and risks associated with proposed transmission lines, which is a critical step in comprehending the formation and changes of related government policies. First, based upon the dual process theory of judgment, this study systematically investigates the triadic relationships between (a) more profound personal value predispositions, (b) affects and feelings, and (c) perceived benefits and risks related to the proposed installation of high voltage power lines among local policy elites in the state of Arkansas. Next, this study focuses more specifically on the role of value predispositions, specific emotional dimensions of affect heuristics, and perceptions pertaining to high voltage power line risks and benefits. Using original data collected from a statewide Internet survey of 420 local leaders and key policymakers about their opinions on the related issues, other factors claimed by previous literature, including trust, knowledge level, and demographic characteristics are considered. Analytical results suggest that grid-group cultural predispositions, as deeply held core values within local policy elites' individual belief systems, both directly and indirectly -- through affective feelings -- shape perceived utility associated with the installation of high voltage power lines. Recognizing that risk perceptions factor into policy decisions, some practical considerations for better designing policy addressing controversial issues

Credit Risk Evaluation of Large Power Consumers Considering Power Market Transaction

Science.gov (United States)

Fulin, Li; Erfeng, Xu; ke, Sun; Dunnan, Liu; Shuyi, Shen

2018-03-01

Large power users will participate in power market in various forms after power system reform. Meanwhile, great importance has always attached to the construction of the credit system in power industry. Due to the difference between the awareness of performance and the ability to perform, credit risk of power customer will emerge accordingly. Therefore, it is critical to evaluate credit risk of large power customers in the new situation of power market. Firstly, this paper constructs index system of credit risk of large power customers, and establishes evaluation model of interval number and AHP-entropy weight method.

The NASA CSTI High Capacity Power Program

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winter, J.M.

1991-09-01

The SP-100 program was established in 1983 by DOD, DOE, and NASA as a joint program to develop the technology necessary for space nuclear power systems for military and civil applications. During 1986 and 1987, the NASA Advanced Technology Program was responsible for maintaining the momentum of promising technology advancement efforts started during Phase 1 of SP-100 and to strengthen, in key areas, the chances for successful development and growth capability of space nuclear reactor power systems for future space applications. In 1988, the NASA Advanced Technology Program was incorporated into NASA's new Civil Space Technology Initiative (CSTI). The CSTI program was established to provide the foundation for technology development in automation and robotics, information, propulsion, and power. The CSTI High Capacity Power Program builds on the technology efforts of the SP-100 program, incorporates the previous NASA advanced technology project, and provides a bridge to the NASA exploration technology programs. The elements of CSTI high capacity power development include conversion systems: Stirling and thermoelectric, thermal management, power management, system diagnostics, and environmental interactions. Technology advancement in all areas, including materials, is required to provide the growth capability, high reliability, and 7 to 10 year lifetime demanded for future space nuclear power systems. The overall program will develop and demonstrate the technology base required to provide a wide range of modular power systems while minimizing the impact of day/night operations as well as attitudes and distance from the Sun. Significant accomplishments in all of the program elements will be discussed, along with revised goals and project timelines recently developed

MHR fuel cycle options for future sustainability of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baxter, Alan; Venneri, Francesco; Rodriguez, Carmelo; Fikani, Michael

2005-01-01

The future sustainability of the nuclear option is not significantly tied to the level of resources. For example, current high quality uranium reserves (∼3.34x10 6 tons) are enough for more than 55 years at present consumption rates (IAEA estimate). Doubling of the present uranium ore price (∼$26/kg) could create about a tenfold increase in resources, providing more than 550 years of supply at present rates (World Nuclear Association estimate). There are also thorium reserves which are estimated to be about three times those of uranium, and would allow for a significant increase in annual consumption levels. The key to a sustainable nuclear future is really tied to the political and technical problems of long term waste disposal, and the perceived risks of nuclear weapons proliferation. Thus fuel cycle options for a sustainable nuclear future must address and solve these issues. High temperature, Gas-Cooled, Graphite Moderated, reactors (MHRs) have nuclear and operational characteristics to provide multiple fuel cycle options to solve these issues. Three fuel cycles for the MHD are described in this paper, and their capabilities for meeting a sustainable nuclear future in terms of nuclear waste minimization and destruction, and reduction of proliferation risk, are discussed. (author)

HTS technology - Generating the future of offshore wind power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mueller, Jens

2010-09-15

Superconductive generator design is going to become a real competitive alternative in the future. In general, superconductor design is the most competitive out of Direct Drive Systems and best fulfils the needs of the upcoming market - especially in the offshore market, where WECs with higher nominal power up to 10MW are required. Low weight, high reliability and the very good grid behaviour are the main advantages of the superconductor generator design and will lead to lower costs. The other systems are restricted to a smaller energy output range and / or onshore wind power production business.

Inductive power transfer: Powering our future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Covic, Grant A

2013-01-01

The ability to provide power without wires was imagined over a century ago, but assumed commercially impractical and impossible to realise. However for more than two decades the University of Auckland has been at the forefront of developing and commercialising this technology alongside its industrial partners. This research has proven that significant wireless power can be transferred over relatively large air-gaps efficiently and robustly. Early solutions were applied in industrial applications to power moving vehicles in clean room systems, industrial plants, and in theme parks, but more recently this research has helped develop technology that has the ability to impact us directly at home. The seminar will describe some of the early motivations behind this research, and introduce some of the solutions which have been developed by the team of researchers at Auckland over two decades, many of which have found their way into the market. It will also describe how the technology has recently been re-developed to enable battery charging of electric vehicles without the need to plug in, and alongside this how it has the potential to change the way we drive in the future

Risk assessment future cash flows

OpenAIRE

Chachina H. G.

2012-01-01

This article is about risk assessment in planning future cash flows. Discount rate in DCF-model must include four factors: risk cash flow, inflation, value of investments, turnover assets. This has an influence net present value cash flow and make his incomparable.

Nuclear power. What policies for what future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Thiriet, Lucien.

1976-01-01

A long- and very long-dated estimation of the world uranium resources are given comparatively to that of fissile energies, and the short- and mean-dated distributions of these resources and uranium economy are discussed in the light of foresights concerning the energy consumption provided for France and the most important industrial countries in 1985. The competitive character and the economic future of nuclear power are discussed. The incidence that the evolution in the nuclear policies of the principal industrial countries had, in the past, on the formation and growth of the market of nuclear power production is shown. The future possibilities of nuclear reactors and nuclear hydrogen are evaluated with the role of nuclear power in an economic policy in national independence [fr

Valuing future citizens' values regarding risk

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fleming, Patricia [Creighton Univ., Omaha (United States). College of Arts and Sciences/Philosophy

2006-09-15

Valuing present citizen's values regarding the risks they face is an important aspect of risk assessment and risk acceptability. Conferences like VALDOR are held for this reason. Governments like Sweden have national referendums on various risk-prone enterprises. The results of these referendums can determine the future of these programs. In the United States, when guidelines are set for determining acceptable levels of risk, the relevant federal agencies are often required to provide a comment period regarding proposed guidelines in order to ascertain the judgments, including the weights place on certain values, of individual members of society as well as stakeholder groups. After the comment period ends, the agency decides on the acceptable level of risk, taking into account the comments from present citizens. Do we also have a duty to value the not-yet-existing values of future citizens, especially if the risks created by the activities of present citizens extend into the future to citizens not yet living? If so, are there any circumstances which entitle us to de-value those not-yet-existing values. In this paper, I ground my discussion of the question of valuing future citizens' values in one of the areas of focus of the VALDOR conference: nuclear waste management and specifically the question facing the United States' program regarding an acceptable dose standard associated with the release of radioactivity into the biosphere from an underground repository. The underlying conference theme to which this discussion may be attached is community environmental justice as it applies to future citizens. I focus on the role that uncertainty plays is providing justice between present and future citizens.

Credit Risk Evaluation of Power Market Players with Random Forest

Science.gov (United States)

Umezawa, Yasushi; Mori, Hiroyuki

A new method is proposed for credit risk evaluation in a power market. The credit risk evaluation is to measure the bankruptcy risk of the company. The power system liberalization results in new environment that puts emphasis on the profit maximization and the risk minimization. There is a high probability that the electricity transaction causes a risk between companies. So, power market players are concerned with the risk minimization. As a management strategy, a risk index is requested to evaluate the worth of the business partner. This paper proposes a new method for evaluating the credit risk with Random Forest (RF) that makes ensemble learning for the decision tree. RF is one of efficient data mining technique in clustering data and extracting relationship between input and output data. In addition, the method of generating pseudo-measurements is proposed to improve the performance of RF. The proposed method is successfully applied to real financial data of energy utilities in the power market. A comparison is made between the proposed and the conventional methods.

Limitation of fusion power plant installation on future power grids under the effect of renewable and nuclear power sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takeda, Shutaro, E-mail: takeda.shutarou.55r@st.kyoto-u.ac.jp [Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto (Japan); Sakurai, Shigeki [Graduate School of Advanced Integrated Studies in Human Survivability, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Kyoto (Japan); Yamamoto, Yasushi [Faculty of Engineering Science, Kansai University, Suita, Osaka (Japan); Kasada, Ryuta; Konishi, Satoshi [Institute of Advanced Energy, Kyoto University, Uji, Kyoto (Japan)

2016-11-01

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Future power grids would be unstable due to renewable and nuclear power sources. • Output interruptions of fusion plant would cause disturbances to future grids. • Simulation results suggested they would create limitations in fusion installation. • A novel diagram was presented to illustrate this suggested limitation. - Abstract: Future power grids would be unstable because of the larger share of renewable and nuclear power sources. This instability might bring some additional difficulties to fusion plant installation. Therefore, the authors carried out a quantitative feasibility study from the aspect of grid stability through simulation. Results showed that the more renewable and nuclear sources are linked to a grid, the greater disturbance the grid experiences upon a sudden output interruption of a fusion power plant, e.g. plasma disruption. The frequency deviations surpassed 0.2 Hz on some grids, suggesting potential limitations of fusion plant installation on future grids. To clearly show the suggested limitations of fusion plant installations, a novel diagram was presented.

Relationships Between Future Orientation, Impulsive Sensation Seeking, and Risk Behavior Among Adjudicated Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Robbins, Reuben N.; Bryan, Angela

2004-01-01

Because of high levels of risk behavior, adjudicated adolescents are at high risk for negative health outcomes such as nicotine and drug addiction and sexually transmitted diseases. The goal of this article is to examine relationships between future orientation and impulsive-sensation-seeking personality constructs to risk behaviors among 300…

Control Architecture Modeling for Future Power Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heussen, Kai

electricity exchange. However, at the same time, it seems that the overall system design cannot keep up by simply adapting in response to changes, but that also new strategies have to be designed in anticipation. Changes to the electricity markets have been suggested to adapt to the limited predictability...... of wind power, and several new control strategies have been proposed, in particular to enable the control of distributed energy resources, including for example, distributed generation or electric vehicles. Market designs addressing the procurement of balancing resources are highly dependent...... on the operation strategies specifying the resource requirements. How should one decide which control strategy and market configuration is best for a future power system? Most research up to this point has addressed single isolated aspects of this design problem. Those of the ideas that fit with current markets...

The NASA CSTI High Capacity Power Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Winter, J.; Dudenhoefer, J.; Juhasz, A.; Schwarze, G.; Patterson, R.; Ferguson, D.; Schmitz, P.; Vandersande, J.

1992-01-01

This paper describes the elements of NASA's CSTI High Capacity Power Project which include Systems Analysis, Stirling Power Conversion, Thermoelectric Power Conversion, Thermal Management, Power Management, Systems Diagnostics, Environmental Interactions, and Material/Structural Development. Technology advancement in all elements is required to provide the growth capability, high reliability and 7 to 10 year lifetime demanded for future space nuclear power systems. The overall project will develop and demonstrate the technology base required to provide a wide range of modular power systems compatible with the SP-100 reactor which facilitates operation during lunar and planetary day/night cycles as well as allowing spacecraft operation at any attitude or distance from the sun. Significant accomplishments in all of the project elements will be presented, along with revised goals and project timeliness recently developed

The future of nuclear power and fourth-generation reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carre, F.; Renault, C.

2006-01-01

Faced with the exhaustion of fossil fuel resources, the output of existing nuclear power must quadruple between now and 2050, and the Commissariat a l'Energie atomique (CEA) and its industrial partners are cooperating in a programme of R and D on future nuclear power. France strategy puts rapid neutron reactors (RNR) at the forefront, in view of their possible introduction by 2040. These reactors allow a more efficient use of uranium resources and minimise the production of long-life nuclear waste. Two technologies which use respectively, sodium and gas as their coolant are being studied. For the sodium RNR, which benefits from significant existing experience, the key is to first improve its economic performance. For the gas RNR, which draws on the principles and the generic assets of the RNR, for those using helium as the coolant, and those with applications at high temperature, it is important firstly to demonstrate the key technologies such as the fuel. The decision of President Chirac to launch the study of a prototype, fourth-generation reactor for 2020 is stimulating the research effort into France future nuclear power. (author)

Nuclear power in the Asia-Pacific region. Current status and future perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hao, Jia; Otsuki, Takashi; Irie, Kazutomo

2017-01-01

This paper presents the current status and future perspective of nuclear power in the APEC region. We design three scenarios, including Low-nuclear Scenario, Business-as-Usual Scenario (BAU) as well as High-nuclear Scenario, in order to quantitatively evaluate contribution of nuclear power to the low-carbon energy system. Preliminary results from the modeling are presented in the paper, and the drivers and challenges for nuclear power development in the APEC region are discussed. (author)

Key issues in space nuclear power challenges for the future

Science.gov (United States)

Brandhorst, Henry W., Jr.

1991-01-01

The future appears rich in missions that will extend the frontiers of knowledge, human presence in space, and opportunities for profitable commerce. Key to the success of these ventures is the availability of plentiful, cost effective electric power and assured, low cost access to space. While forecasts of space power needs are problematic, an assessment of future needs based on terrestrial experience has been made. These needs fall into three broad categories: survival, self sufficiency, and industrialization. The cost of delivering payloads to orbital locations from LEO to Mars has been determined and future launch cost reductions projected. From these factors, then, projections of the performance necessary for future solar and nuclear space power options has been made. These goals are largely dependent upon orbital location and energy storage needs. Finally the cost of present space power systems has been determined and projections made for future systems.

Dealing with risk in the power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holtan, J.A.; Mo, B.

1995-01-01

The report describes the most important sources of risk in the electric power market and how risk can be dealt with by the actors in the market. It stresses recharge risk, price risk, and quantity risk in various types of contracts. It is shown how these risk sources interact and how power traders can exploit the opportunities in the power market to their own benefit. 17 refs

Predictive power of inspection outcomes for future shipping accidents – an empirical appraisal with special attention for human factor aspects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

C. Heij (Christiaan); S. Knapp (Sabine)

2018-01-01

textabstractThis paper investigates whether deficiencies detected during port state control (PSC) inspections have predictive power for future accident risk, in addition to other vessel-specific risk factors like ship type, age, size, flag, and owner. The empirical analysis links accidents to past

High-power free-electron lasers-technology and future applications

Science.gov (United States)

Socol, Yehoshua

2013-03-01

Free-electron laser (FEL) is an all-electric, high-power, high beam-quality source of coherent radiation, tunable - unlike other laser sources - at any wavelength within wide spectral region from hard X-rays to far-IR and beyond. After the initial push in the framework of the “Star Wars” program, the FEL technology benefited from decades of R&D and scientific applications. Currently, there are clear signs that the FEL technology reached maturity, enabling real-world applications. E.g., successful and unexpectedly smooth commissioning of the world-first X-ray FEL in 2010 increased in one blow by more than an order of magnitude (40×) wavelength region available by FEL technology and thus demonstrated that the theoretical predictions just keep true in real machines. Experience of ordering turn-key electron beamlines from commercial companies is a further demonstration of the FEL technology maturity. Moreover, successful commissioning of the world-first multi-turn energy-recovery linac demonstrated feasibility of reducing FEL size, cost and power consumption by probably an order of magnitude in respect to previous configurations, opening way to applications, previously considered as non-feasible. This review takes engineer-oriented approach to discuss the FEL technology issues, keeping in mind applications in the fields of military and aerospace, next generation semiconductor lithography, photo-chemistry and isotope separation.

Risk management for independent power projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Owen, J.L.

1993-01-01

Independent Power, where electric utilities or other bulk electric power users contract with individual electric power generation facilities to meet their projected long term power needs, has grown dramatically over the past ten years or more. This concept, to contract with Independent Power Producers (IPP), is not a new concept and in fact goes back to the early formation of the electric power industry in this country and worldwide. Successful Risk Management is the foundation for ultimate project completion and operation in fulfilling the expectations of all parties. The primary risks associated with the development of Independent Power projects include: predicting long term fuel availability and cost; predicting long term price for the deliverable of electricity; site selection, site characteristics and permitting; innovative or evolving technology; project execution (design and construction), and; lifetime O ampersand M costs and plant reliability. This paper focuses on the risks inherent in the development of IPPs and addresses the management of these risks

Development of nuclear power plant Risk Monitor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xiaoming; Sun Jinlong; Ma Chao; Wang Lin; Gu Xiaohui; Bao Zhenli; Qu Yong; Zheng Hao

2014-01-01

Risk Monitor is a tool to monitor the real-time risk of a nuclear power plant for risk management and comprehensive decision-making, which has been widely used all over the world. The nuclear power plant Risk Monitor applies the real-time risk model with low-complicacy that could reflect the plant's actual configuration, automatically reads the plant's configuration information from the engineering system through the developed interface, and efficiently analyzes the plant's risk Dy the intelligent parallel-computing method in order to provide the risk basement for the safety management of nuclear power plant. This paper generally introduces the background, architecture, functions and key technical features of a nuclear power plant Risk Monitor, and validates the risk result, which could well reflect the plant's risk information and has a significant practical value. (authors)

Power supply in future: ecological aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hustedt, M.

2000-01-01

The most important prerequisites for an ecological supply of energy in the future is the opting out of nuclear energy and the completion of the second and third phase of the socio-ecological tax reform. As a part of our energy will continue to be generated on the basis of fossil fuels in the foreseeable future, it is essential that a radical change takes place in the efficiency of fossil energy engineering. In addition to this, any possible energy-saving potential must be exploited; this includes the new energy-saving law, promoting the modernisation of old buildings and modern energy management (heat insulation, heating engineering, warm water heating etc.). For an ecological power supply the share of renewable energies must be increased to form a major pillar of our power supply. The '100,000-roof' programme of the German federal government and the development programme for near-market renewable energy sources form part of this approach. Energy research should shift its orientation and accelerate the conversion of our power supply: priority should be given to developing energy-saving technologies and renewable energy. Supporting municipalities and public utilities is especially important. This means revising the basic conditions of energy laws so that they assist public utilities to face competition as power utilities. (orig.) [de

Pulsed Power Applications in High Intensity Proton Rings

CERN Document Server

Zhang, Wu; Ducimetière, Laurent; Fowler, Tony; Kawakubo, Tadamichi; Mertens, Volker; Sandberg, Jon; Shirakabe, Yoshihisa

2005-01-01

The pulsed power technology has been applied in particle accelerators and storage rings for over four decades. It is most commonly used in injection, extraction, beam manipulation, source, and focusing systems. These systems belong to the class of repetitive pulsed power. In this presentation, we review and discuss the history, present status, and future challenge of pulsed power applications in high intensity proton accelerators and storage rings.

The future of nuclear power

CERN Document Server

Mahaffey, James

2012-01-01

Newly conceived, safer reactor designs are being built in the United States (and around the world) to replace the 104 obsolete operating nuclear power reactors in this country alone. The designs--which once seemed exotic and futuristic--are now 40 years old, and one by one these vintage Generation II plants will reach the end of productive service in the next 30 years. The Future of Nuclear Power examines the advanced designs, practical concepts, and fully developed systems that have yet to be used. This book introduces readers to the traditional, American system of units, with some archaic te

Using financial futures in trading and risk management

OpenAIRE

Mas, Ignacio; Saa-Requejo, Jesus

1995-01-01

The authors explain the features of an array of futures contracts and their basic pricing relationships and describe a few applications to show how investors and risk managers can use these contracts. Futures - and derivatives generally - allow economic agents to fine-tune the structure of their assets and liabilities to suit their risk preferences and market expectations. Futures are not a financing or investment vehicle per se, but a tool for transferring price risks associated with fluctua...

Operational flexibility and economics of power plants in future low-carbon power systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brouwer, Anne Sjoerd; van den Broek, Machteld; Seebregts, Ad; Faaij, André

2015-01-01

Future power systems will require large shares of low-carbon generators such as renewables and power plants with Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) to keep global warming below 2. °C. Intermittent renewables increase the system-wide demand for flexibility and affect the operation of thermal power

Laser prostatectomy in high-risk patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tayib, Abdulmalik M.

2008-01-01

Objective was to evaluate the short-term tolerability and outcome of high power green light potassium titanyl phosphate laser prostatectomy in high-risk patients with symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia. Eleven high risk operative patients were included in this study at the International Medical Center, Jeddah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, between January and September 2007. Patients enrolled in this study underwent preoperative and postoperative, cardiac and anesthesia evaluation. Clinical presentations, ultrasound of urinary tract and preoperative laboratory investigation were recorded. All patients underwent high power green light laser prostatectomy using the green light photo vaporization system with setting of 120 watts. The intraoperative and postoperative complications and follow-up were recorded. The patient's age varied between 65-82 years with a mean age of 75.3+-8.6 years old. Seven patients presented with refractory acute urinary retention and 4 patients presented with severe lower urinary tract symptoms. The average prostate volume was 61.22 cc. All patients had uneventful intra- and postoperative course, without the intensive care. The average blood loss was insignificant and only one of the patients required blood transfusion. Foley catheters were removed one day after the procedure. All patients voided satisfactorily after removal of catheter and 8 patients complained of urgency. High power green light laser prostatectomy is a safe and effective method of treating symptomatic benign prostatic hyperplasia in patients with high operative risk. (author)

Risk management and nuclear human resources management in construction nuclear power plants in the Gulf Countries

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saeed Hakami; Salim Almarmary

2009-01-01

The countries of the Gulf region have the capacity to rapidly expand their economic growth and gross domestic product (GDP). Also, one may observe that their growth rate is very high. To match this, they need a mix of energy sources for this economic growth. Nuclear power plants can have a significant role as a source of energy in the Gulf countries. Although, some of the Gulf countries signed contracts to construct nuclear power plants, they still require high a level of education as well as sufficient and adequate human resources in order to solve complex issues which may happen at nuclear power plants. The objective of this paper is to identify the complex issues that may arise at a nuclear site. Then the paper goes on to discuss how to evaluate these issues. Finally, the paper studies how to manage and control such complex issues in the work place. The advantage of highly educated people as well as sufficient and adequate human resource can increasingly protect and save human health and the natural environment from issues relating to the use of nuclear energy. There are vast theories, strategies and tools that have discussed in regards to human resources management in the nuclear industries. However, this paper chiefly provides a new risk management methodology. This methodology helps to highlight the risk factors and their consequences at nuclear sites. This paper is intended to decrease risks; to protect human health in the work place at nuclear power plants and save the environment within and beyond national borders and for future generations. It aims to increase safety from the use of nuclear energy, particularly in the Gulf countries.(Author)

The future of power transmission and distribution in India

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Parakh, S.C.

1995-01-01

India's growing economy requires considerable investment in the power sector. Though rapid strides have been made, the power sector has been unable to supply quality power and demand is continuously outstripping supply. The future of power transmission and distribution in India is discussed. 2 tabs

Predictors of future anabolic androgenic steroid use.

Science.gov (United States)

Wichstrøm, Lars

2006-09-01

To prospectively study the stability of anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) use and predictors of AAS use, and to investigate whether AAS use alters the risk of later emotional and behavioral problems. Survey of a national sample of Norwegian high school students (age 15-19) in 1994 followed up in 1999 (N = 2924). Measures of frequent alcohol intoxication (50+ times per 12 months), cannabis use (12 months), hard drug use (12 months), being offered cannabis, eating problems, conduct problems, sexual debut before age 15, BMI, involvement in power sports, perceived physical appearance, and satisfaction with body parts were obtained. Life-time prevalence of AAS use were 1.9 and 0.8% in the follow-up period. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that future AAS use was predicted by young age, male gender, previous AAS use, involvement in power sports, and frequent alcohol intoxication. AAS use did not predict future emotional or behavioral problems other than reducing the risk of future frequent alcohol intoxication. Frequent alcohol intoxication and involvement in power sports appear to predict future AAS use. At the population level there was little stability in individual AAS use from adolescence to early adulthood. No detrimental effects of AAS use could be detected in this study, but low statistical power limits this conclusion.

Nuclear power - a reliable future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Valeca, Serban

2002-01-01

The Ministry of Education and Research - Department of Research has implemented a national Research and Development program taking into consideration the following: - the requirements of the European Union on research as a factor of development of the knowledge-based society; - the commitments to the assimilation and enforcement of the recommendations of the European Union on nuclear power prompted by the negotiations of the sections 'Science and Research' and ' Energy' of the aquis communautaire; - the major lines of interest in Romania in the nuclear power field established by National Framework Program of Cooperation with IAEA, signed on April 2001; - the short and medium term nuclear options of the Romanian Government; - the objectives of the National Nuclear Plan. The major elements of the nuclear research and development program MENER (Environment, Energy, Resources) supported by the Department of Research of the Ministry of Education and Research are the following: - reactor physics and nuclear fuel management; - operation safety of the Power Unit 1 of Cernavoda Nuclear Electric Power Station; - improved nuclear technological solutions at the Cernavoda NPP; - development of technologies for nuclear fuel cycle; - operation safety of the other nuclear plants in Romania; - assessment of nuclear risks and estimation of the radiological impact on the environment; - behavior of materials under the reactor service conditions and environmental conditions; - design of nuclear systems and equipment for the nuclear power stations and nuclear facilities; - radiological safety; - application of nuclear techniques and technologies in industry, agriculture, medicine and other fields of social life. Research to develop high performance methods and equipment for monitoring nuclear impact on environment are conducted to endorse the measures for radiation protection. Also mentioned are the research on implementing a new type of nuclear fuel cycle in CANDU reactors as well as

Silicon-Based Lithium-Ion Capacitor for High Energy and High Power Application

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, James J.; Demattia, Brianne; Loyselle, Patricia; Reid, Concha; Kohout, Lisa

2017-01-01

Si-based Li-ion capacitor has been developed and demonstrated. The results show it is feasible to improve both power density and energy density in this configuration. The applied current density impacts the power and energy density: low current favors energy density while high current favors power density. Active carbon has a better rate capability than Si. Next StepsFuture Directions. Si electrode needs to be further studied and improved. Further optimization of SiAC ratio and evaluation of its impact on energy density and power density.

Hydroelectric power in Romania. Past - present - future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bogan, V.

1996-01-01

This paper presents an analysis of the past and present situation in hydroelectric power (achievements, rates of commissioning and so on) and the future strategies for the hydroelectric power resource development in the conditions of a free market economy. At present the contribution of hydroelectric power in the Romania's total power balance is about 16,500 GW h/year which represents nearly 28 %. The theoretical hydroelectric power potential of Romania is 75,000 GW h/year while the technical potential, which could actually be developed, is only 40,000 GW h/year. Finally, there are presented the main directions in the hydroelectric power development up to the year 2020. (author) 3 tabs

The dynamics of risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Mork, E. [Consultant, Oslo (Norway)

2006-04-15

Premiums in futures prices are usually considered through the use of 2 models: a no-arbitrage model; and the equilibrium approach or theory of normal backwardation. The no-arbitrage approach equates futures prices with spot prices, storage costs and convenience yields, and is difficult to apply to electricity markets. This paper investigated future electricity prices in Nord Pool's futures market using an equilibrium approach, which split futures prices into an expected spot price component and a risk premium component. Three main hypotheses were used: (1) that risk premiums were present in the Nord Pool futures market during the period 1997-2004; that risk premiums in the Nord Pool futures market were smaller or absent during the period of 2000 to 2002; and, that there was a significant change in risk premiums in Nord Pool's futures market after the winter of 2002-2003 due to a change in consumer hedging behaviour. Futures prices were compared to realized spot prices in their delivery periods in order to test the hypotheses. In order to estimate the futures premiums, a 1-sample test was performed on the entire period for 1, 30, 60, and 90 days before delivery of the block or month contract. The test employed the null hypothesis that the futures premiums were 0. Premiums were positive and varied between 3.7 per cent and 9.3 per cent. The purpose of the study was to determine whether risk premiums were present. Results showed that risk premiums varied over time. Two additional hypotheses were then investigated to examine whether the presence of outside speculators reduced risk premiums, and to see if a period of high prices and volatility caused more buyers to hedge in the futures market. Results showed that in the face of volatility and higher prices, consumers do not purchase fixed-price contracts which would ultimately increase futures premiums in the market. It was concluded that premiums are an important element in the pricing of Nord Pool futures and

Risk-averse and Risk-seeking Investor Preferences for Oil Spot and Futures

NARCIS (Netherlands)

H.H. Lean (Hooi Hooi); M.J. McAleer (Michael); W.-K. Wong (Wing-Keung)

2013-01-01

textabstractThis paper examines risk-averse and risk-seeking investor preferences for oil spot and futures prices by using the mean-variance (MV) criterion and stochastic dominance (SD) approach. The MV findings cannot distinguish between the preferences of spot and futures markets. However, the SD

Investigation of Insulation Materials for Future Radioisotope Power Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Cornell, Peggy A.; Hurwitz, Frances I.; Ellis, David L.; Schmitz, Paul C.

2013-01-01

NASA's Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS) Technology Advancement Project is developing next generation high-temperature insulation materials that directly benefit thermal management and improve performance of RPS for future science missions. Preliminary studies on the use of multilayer insulation (MLI) for Stirling convertors used on the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) have shown the potential benefits of MLI for space vacuum applications in reducing generator size and increasing specific power (W/kg) as compared to the baseline Microtherm HT (Microtherm, Inc.) insulation. Further studies are currently being conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center on candidate MLI foils and aerogel composite spacers. This paper presents the method of testing of foils and spacers and experimental results to date.

Risk assessment of power systems models, methods, and applications

CERN Document Server

Li, Wenyuan

2014-01-01

Risk Assessment of Power Systems addresses the regulations and functions of risk assessment with regard to its relevance in system planning, maintenance, and asset management. Brimming with practical examples, this edition introduces the latest risk information on renewable resources, the smart grid, voltage stability assessment, and fuzzy risk evaluation. It is a comprehensive reference of a highly pertinent topic for engineers, managers, and upper-level students who seek examples of risk theory applications in the workplace.

Risk analyses of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jehee, J.N.T.; Seebregts, A.J.

1991-02-01

Probabilistic risk analyses of nuclear power plants are carried out by systematically analyzing the possible consequences of a broad spectrum of causes of accidents. The risk can be expressed in the probabilities for melt down, radioactive releases, or harmful effects for the environment. Following risk policies for chemical installations as expressed in the mandatory nature of External Safety Reports (EVRs) or, e.g., the publication ''How to deal with risks'', probabilistic risk analyses are required for nuclear power plants

A review on risk-constrained hydropower scheduling in deregulated power market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hongling, Liu; Chuanwen, Jiang; Yan, Zhang

2008-01-01

In deregulated power market, hydro producer has in principle no other objective than to produce electricity and sell with maximum profit with lower market risk. Attention must focus on profit uncertainty caused by uncertainty in spot prices and reservoir inflow. The purpose of this review is to assess the state-of-the-art in hydropower operations considering profit risk under uncertainty and consider future directions for additional research and application. Physical and financial tools to hedge risk in bilateral market and risk-assessment methods are all discussed in detail. Furthermore, production resources can also be used to manage risk to a certain extent. This concept, when be integrated with variety of risk-management methods under stochastic optimal framework, has operational significance for hydro producer participating in electricity market. (author)

Identification of athletes at future risk of anterior cruciate ligament ruptures by neuromuscular screening

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zebis, Mette K; Andersen, Lars L; Bencke, Jesper

2009-01-01

Noninjured athletes with low knee flexor electromyography (EMG) preactivity and high knee extensor EMG preactivity during sidecutting are at increased risk of future ACL rupture. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study (prognosis); Level of evidence, 2. METHODS: Fifty-five elite female athletes (team handball and soccer......: During the subsequent 2 match seasons, 5 athletes sustained a confirmed noncontact ACL rupture. Before injury, all 5 players displayed a neuromuscular pattern that differed from the noninjured players, characterized by reduced EMG preactivity for the semitendinosus (ST) and elevated EMG preactivity...... study, currently noninjured female athletes with reduced EMG preactivity of the ST and increased EMG preactivity of the VL during side cutting were at increased risk of future noncontact ACL rupture. Our data indicate that a high-risk zone can be used to identify noninjured players at high risk...

Future of Nuclear Power: NRC emergency preparedness licensing activities agenda

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Essig, T.H.

1995-01-01

This talk summary addresses the issue of how future policies of the NRC will affect nuclear power in areas such as construction, emergency preparedness, and licensing. Specific topics covered include the following: Emergent EP licensing issues for operating nuclear Power Plants; 10CFR Part 52 and the process for licensing of Advanced Light Water Reactors (ALWRs); and potential revisions to emergency preparedness programs for future nuclear power plants

National Academy of Sciences survey on risks associated with nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buchanan, J.R.

1980-01-01

A critical review of the literature pertaining to the risks associated with nuclear electric power was sponsored by the Committee on Science and Public Policy of the National Academy of Sciences. Although the full report (consisting of over 25 chapters) has not yet been published, this paper presents highlights from the Summary and Synthesis Chapter, which was released separately. Of the risks whose magnitudes can be estimated with reasonable accuracy, the most serious is the exposure of future generations to 14 C from reactors and reprocessing plants. Prospects are good for reducing this risk considerably, since carbon can be collected and stored as waste

The risk of nuclear power in Germany compared with the risk other electricity generating technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preiss, P.; Wissel, S.; Fahl, U.; Friedrich, R.; Voss, A.

2013-01-01

The report shows that no electricity generation technology is without risk and without environmental impact. Taking into account the quantifiable risks of loss expenses in case of accidents the study shows that the health hazards and economical risk are by trend about equal for nuclear power and renewable energy sources. The study is based on the statement that the severe accident in Fukushima-Daiichi cannot be ascribed to so-called remaining risk since the NPP was not designed for tsunamis of the size that occurred in 2011 although this size was of high probability and that the calculated very low probabilities for severe accidents in German nuclear power plants correspond to the reality.

Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control (HIRARC Accidents at Power Plant

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Asmalia Che

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Power plant had a reputation of being one of the most hazardous workplace environments. Workers in the power plant face many safety risks due to the nature of the job. Although power plants are safer nowadays since the industry has urged the employer to improve their employees’ safety, the employees still stumble upon many hazards thus accidents at workplace. The aim of the present study is to investigate work related accidents at power plants based on HIRARC (Hazard Identification, Risk Assessment and Risk Control process. The data were collected at two coal-fired power plant located in Malaysia. The finding of the study identified hazards and assess risk relate to accidents occurred at the power plants. The finding of the study suggested the possible control measures and corrective actions to reduce or eliminate the risk that can be used by power plant in preventing accidents from occurred

Hydro-power: a long history, a bright future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Deudney, D

1981-07-01

A brief history of the spread of hydro-power in the world was given. Tables showing hydro-power potential and use, and the % electricity from hydro-power for 13 countries were included along with a graph showing % hydro-power operating, planned and under construction by region. The need for committed and farsighted political leadership for future development and the possibility of hydro production reaching 4 to 6 times its present level were discussed.

Nuclear power and Imatran Voima in the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Numminen, K.

1995-01-01

As the owner of the Loviisa NPS with two VVER-440 units, Imatran Voima (IVO) has worked with nuclear power for more than twenty years. After the negative decision of the Finnish Parliament in 1993 there are no possibilities to build nuclear power in Finland in the near future. However, the preparation work for increasing the produced power of all four operating NPP's of Finland is going on. The emphasis in the work with new nuclear energy is on the supporting programs in Eastern Europe and the preparation of a building contract of a new NPS to China together with the Russians. With a new decision of the Finnish Parliament, the nuclear option could still be an important part of the future energy strategy of Finland. (orig.)

Commercial nuclear power: Assuring safety for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ramsey, C.B.; Modarres, M.

1998-03-01

This timely book offers insights into the benefits of nuclear power as well as the technological and environmental challenges facing the nuclear industry. Containing the results of worldwide scientific studies and industrial site visits, the book represents a timely focus on the applications of commercial nuclear power, the potential benefits to be gained from contained nuclear use, the environmental risks of nuclear power, and the prevention of nuclear accidents.This timely book offers insights into the benefits of nuclear power as well as the technological and environmental challenges facing the nuclear industry. Containing the results of worldwide scientific studies and industrial site visits, the book represents a timely focus on the applications of commercial nuclear power, the potential benefits to be gained from contained nuclear use, the environmental risks of nuclear power, and the prevention of nuclear accidents

A high pulsed power supply system designed for pulsed high magnetic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Kefu; Wang Shaorong; Zhong Heqing; Xu Yan; Pan Yuan

2008-01-01

This paper introduces the design of high pulsed power supply system for producing pulsed high magnetic field up to 70 T. This system consists of 58 sets of 55 μF of capacitor bank which provides 1.0 MJ energy storage. A set of vacuum closing switch is chosen as main switch for energy discharge into magnetic coil. A crowbar circuit with high power diodes in series with resistor is used to absorb the redundant energy and adjust pulse width. The resistance of magnetic coil changing with current is deduced by energy balance equations. A capacitor-charging power supply using a series-resonant, constant on-time variable frequency control, and zero-current switching charges the capacitor bank in one minute time with high efficiency. The pulsed power supply provides adjustable current and pulse width with 30 kA peak and 30 ms maximum. The primary experiments demonstrate the system reliability. This work provides an engineering guidance for future development of pulsed high magnetic field. (authors)

Risk-informed design guidance for future reactor systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Delaney, Michael J.; Apostolakis, George E.; Driscoll, Michael J.

2005-01-01

Future reactor designs face an uncertain regulatory environment. It is anticipated that there will be some level of probabilistic insights in the regulations and supporting regulatory documents for Generation-IV nuclear reactors. Central to current regulations are design basis accidents (DBAs) and the general design criteria (GDC), which were established before probabilistic risk assessments (PRAs) were developed. These regulations implement a structuralist approach to safety through traditional defense in depth and large safety margins. In a rationalist approach to safety, accident frequencies are quantified and protective measures are introduced to make these frequencies acceptably low. Both approaches have advantages and disadvantages and future reactor design and licensing processes will have to implement a hybrid approach. This paper presents an iterative four-step risk-informed methodology to guide the design of future-reactor systems using a gas-cooled fast reactor emergency core cooling system as an example. This methodology helps designers to analyze alternative designs under potential risk-informed regulations and to anticipate design justifications the regulator may require during the licensing process. The analysis demonstrated the importance of common-cause failures and the need for guidance on how to change the quantitative impact of these potential failures on the frequency of accident sequences as the design changes. Deliberation is an important part of the four-step methodology because it supplements the quantitative results by allowing the inclusion in the design choice of elements such as best design practices and ease of online maintenance, which usually cannot be quantified. The case study showed that, in some instances, the structuralist and the rationalist approaches were inconsistent. In particular, GDC 35 treats the double-ended break of the largest pipe in the reactor coolant system with concurrent loss of offsite power and a single

CO2 reduction potential of future coal gasification based power generation technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansen, D.; Oudhuis, A.B.J.; Van Veen, H.M.

1992-03-01

Assessment studies are carried out on coal gasification power plants integrated with gas turbines (IGCC) or molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) without and with CO 2 -removal. System elements include coal gasification, high-temperature gas-cleaning, molten carbonate fuel cells or gas turbines, CO shift, membrane separation, CO 2 recovery and a bottoming cycle. Various system configurations are evaluated on the basis of thermodynamic computations. The energy balances of the various system configurations clearly indicate that integrated coal gasification MCFC power plants (IGMCFC) with CO 2 removal have high efficiencies (42-47% LHV) compared to IGCC power plants with CO 2 -removal (33-38% LHV) and that the CO 2 -removal is simplified due to the specific properties of the molten carbonate fuel cells. IGMCFC is therefore an option with future prospective in the light of clean coal technologies for power generation with high energy efficiencies and low emissions. 2 figs., 3 tabs., 10 refs

Concept, Design, and Prototyping of XSAS: A High Power Extendable Solar Array for CubeSat Applications

Science.gov (United States)

Senatore, Patrick; Klesh, Andrew; Zurbuchen, Thomas H.; McKague, Darren; Cutler, James

2010-01-01

CubeSats have proven themselves as a reliable and cost-effective method to perform experiments in space, but they are highly constrained by their specifications and size. One such constraint is the average continuous power, about 5 W, which is available to the typical CubeSat. To improve this constraint, we have developed the eXtendable Solar Array System (XSAS), a deployable solar array prototype in a CubeSat package, which can provide an average 23 W of continuous power. The prototype served as a technology demonstrator for the high risk mechanisms needed to release, deploy, and control the solar array. Aside from this drastic power increase, it is in the integration of each mechanism, their application within the small CubeSat form-factor, and the inherent passive control benefit of the deployed geometry that make XSAS a novel design. In this paper, we discuss the requirements and design process for the XSAS system and mechanical prototype, and provide qualitative and quantitative results from numerical simulations and prototype tests. We also discuss future work, including an upcoming NASA zero-gravity flight campaign, to further improve on XSAS and prepare it for future launch opportunities.

Relationship power and sexual risk among women in community-based substance abuse treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Aimee N C; Tross, Susan; Dworkin, Shari L; Hu, Mei-Chen; Manuel, Jennifer; Pavlicova, Martina; Nunes, Edward V

2009-11-01

Relationship power has been highlighted as a major factor influencing women's safer sex practices. Little research, however, has specifically examined relationship power in drug-involved women, a population with increased risk for HIV transmission. Using baseline data from a National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network multisite trial of a women's HIV prevention intervention in community-based drug treatment programs, this paper examined the association between sexual relationship power and unprotected vaginal or anal sex. The Sexual Relationship Power Scale, a measure of relationship control and decision-making dominance, was used to assess the association between power and unprotected sex in relationships with primary male partners. It was hypothesized that increased relationship power would be associated with decreased unprotected sexual occasions, after controlling for relevant empirical and theoretical covariates. Findings show a more complex picture of the association between power and sexual risk in this population, with a main effect in the hypothesized direction for decision-making dominance but not for relationship control. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed, and future research directions for examining power constructs and developing interventions targeting relationship power among drug-involved women are suggested.

High Flux Isotope Reactor power upgrade status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rothrock, R.B.; Hale, R.E.; Cheverton, R.D.

1997-01-01

A return to 100-MW operation is being planned for the High Flux Isotope Reactor (HFIR). Recent improvements in fuel element manufacturing procedures and inspection equipment will be exploited to reduce hot spot and hot streak factors sufficiently to permit the power upgrade without an increase in primary coolant pressure. Fresh fuel elements already fabricated for future use are being evaluated individually for power upgrade potential based on their measured coolant channel dimensions

Future Computing Platforms for Science in a Power Constrained Era

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abdurachmanov, David; Eulisse, Giulio; Elmer, Peter; Knight, Robert

2015-01-01

Power consumption will be a key constraint on the future growth of Distributed High Throughput Computing (DHTC) as used by High Energy Physics (HEP). This makes performance-per-watt a crucial metric for selecting cost-efficient computing solutions. For this paper, we have done a wide survey of current and emerging architectures becoming available on the market including x86-64 variants, ARMv7 32-bit, ARMv8 64-bit, Many-Core and GPU solutions, as well as newer System-on-Chip (SoC) solutions. We compare performance and energy efficiency using an evolving set of standardized HEP-related benchmarks and power measurement techniques we have been developing. We evaluate the potential for use of such computing solutions in the context of DHTC systems, such as the Worldwide LHC Computing Grid (WLCG). (paper)

Health Risk Assessment of Nitrogen Dioxide and Sulfur Dioxide Exposure from a New Developing Coal Power Plant in Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tin Thongthammachart

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Krabi coal-fired power plant is the new power plant development project of the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT. This 800 megawatts power plant is in developing process. The pollutants from coal-fired burning emissions were estimated and included in an environmental impact assessment report. This study aims to apply air quality modeling to predict nitrogen dioxide (NO2 and sulfur dioxide (SO2 concentration which could have health impact to local people. The health risk assessment was studied following U.S. EPA regulatory method. The hazard maps were created by ArcGIS program. The results indicated the influence of the northeast and southwest monsoons and season variation to the pollutants dispersion. The daily average and annual average concentrations of NO2 and SO2 were lower than the NAAQS standard. The hazard quotient (HQ of SO2 and NO2 both short-term and long-term exposure were less than 1. However, there were some possibly potential risk areas indicating in GIS based map. The distribution of pollutions and high HI values were near this power plant site. Although the power plant does not construct yet but the environment health risk assessment was evaluated to compare with future fully developed coal fire plant.

Discussions and projections about the future demand for nuclear power in Brazil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliveira, Fabio Branco Vaz de, E-mail: fabio@ipen.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Nuclear and Engineering Center; Imakuma, Kengo, E-mail: kimakuma@ipen.b [Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares (IPEN/CNEN-SP), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil). Information Technology Development Dept.

2011-07-01

This paper aims mainly to discuss the current scenarios of power consumption, nuclear power and conventional and uranium resources and, based on that, present projections about the future demand for power generated through atomic fissions in Brazil, showing that there may be differences in estimates of future projections, depending on the indexes considered: global or domestic. The time horizon for the analysis was studied up to the maximum for the national population, for some of the world and Brazil's governmental data in terms of population growth, energy consumption and energy consumption per capita. To introduce the importance of the methodology adopted, data and some problems presented about the current world energy and Brazilian scenarios are discussed. Calculations show that the power consumption projections for Brazil, when using global indexes, are very high. According to our methodology, power consumption in Brazil is nearly 4.5 times below the estimates presented by the global indexes. The conclusion is that applying global indexes and their extension to domestic scenarios lead to errors of orders of magnitudes, due to the specific particularities of each country, and must be avoided if accurate projections about energy and nuclear scenarios must be considered. (author)

Discussions and projections about the future demand for nuclear power in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oliveira, Fabio Branco Vaz de; Imakuma, Kengo

2011-01-01

This paper aims mainly to discuss the current scenarios of power consumption, nuclear power and conventional and uranium resources and, based on that, present projections about the future demand for power generated through atomic fissions in Brazil, showing that there may be differences in estimates of future projections, depending on the indexes considered: global or domestic. The time horizon for the analysis was studied up to the maximum for the national population, for some of the world and Brazil's governmental data in terms of population growth, energy consumption and energy consumption per capita. To introduce the importance of the methodology adopted, data and some problems presented about the current world energy and Brazilian scenarios are discussed. Calculations show that the power consumption projections for Brazil, when using global indexes, are very high. According to our methodology, power consumption in Brazil is nearly 4.5 times below the estimates presented by the global indexes. The conclusion is that applying global indexes and their extension to domestic scenarios lead to errors of orders of magnitudes, due to the specific particularities of each country, and must be avoided if accurate projections about energy and nuclear scenarios must be considered. (author)

Power Requirements Determined for High-Power-Density Electric Motors for Electric Aircraft Propulsion

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Dexter; Brown, Gerald V.

2005-01-01

Future advanced aircraft fueled by hydrogen are being developed to use electric drive systems instead of gas turbine engines for propulsion. Current conventional electric motor power densities cannot match those of today s gas turbine aircraft engines. However, if significant technological advances could be made in high-power-density motor development, the benefits of an electric propulsion system, such as the reduction of harmful emissions, could be realized.

The future for distributed power in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanwarpal, Vishvjeet

2000-01-01

The substantial potential market opportunities for on-site tailor-made cogeneration units in Asia generally is discussed. The article also looks at India, Australia, Japan and Indonesia in particular. The article is presented under the sub-headings of (i) Asian power and IPP developments; (ii) captive capacity and rationale; (iii) Asian captive capacity; (iv) captive power plants; (v) key drivers of CPPs in Asia; (vi) cogeneration plants; (vii) cogeneration application industries; (viii) biomass power for Asia (ix) key hurdles in cogeneration development; (x) future potential of cogeneration and (xi) country snapshots

Impacts of Renewable Energy Quota System on China's Future Power Sector

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiong, Weiming; Zhang, Da; Mischke, Peggy

2014-01-01

As the biggest carbon emitting sector which produces 44% of current national carbon emission in China, the coal-dominated power sector has a tremendous potential for CO2 mitigation in the next two decades. Renewable energy quota system is currently discussed as a potential future policy instrument...... for the power sector, which requires certain fraction of renewable energy in total power generation for each province and grid zone. The quantitative studies on renewable energy quota for China are still very limited. Based on a least-cost and technology-rich power generation and transmission expansion model...... for China, this study examines the impacts of renewable energy quota system and carbon cap policy instruments on the future Chinese power sector. Various scenarios are examined toward 2030 and their future power generation mix, capacity installations and carbon emission are discussed. This study concludes...

Prevention of damage and 'residual risk' in nuclear power laws

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greipl, C.

1992-01-01

The concept of prevention of damage within the framework of nuclear power laws includes averting danger for the protection of third parties and preventing risks for the partial protection of third parties with the proviso that still a desire to use the concept 'residual risk' in addition, it should be limited, on the grounds of what can be reasonably expected, to those risks which cannot be reduced any further by the government, i.e. to risks which the public in general and third parties ('actually') must accept. In the future, questions regarding safety systems should be taken into account exclusively withing the context of 'what is necessary for protection against damage in keeping with the latest developments in science and technology' and not at the discretion of the law in denying permission according to Article 7 Paragraph 2 Atomic Energy Law. (orig.) [de

Inexact stochastic risk-aversion optimal day-ahead dispatch model for electricity system management with wind power under uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ji, Ling; Huang, Guo-He; Huang, Lu-Cheng; Xie, Yu-Lei; Niu, Dong-Xiao

2016-01-01

High penetration of wind power generation and deregulated electricity market brings a great challenge to the electricity system operators. It is crucial to make optimal strategy among various generation units and spinning reserve for supporting the system safety operation. By integrating interval two-stage programming and stochastic robust programming, this paper proposes a novel robust model for day-ahead dispatch and risk-aversion management under uncertainties. In the proposed model, the uncertainties are expressed as interval values with different scenario probability. The proposed method requires low computation, and still retains the complete information. A case study is to validate the effectiveness of this approach. Facing the uncertainties of future demand and electricity price, the system operators need to make optimal dispatch strategy for thermal power units and wind turbine, and arrange proper spinning reserve and flexible demand response program to mitigate wind power forecasting error. The optimal strategies provide the system operators with better trade-off between the maximum benefits and the minimum system risk. In additional, two different market rules are compared. The results show that extra financial penalty for the wind power dispatch deviation is another efficient way to enhance the risk consciousness of decision makers and lead to more conservative strategy. - Highlights: • An inexact two-stage stochastic robust programming model for electricity system with wind power penetration. • Uncertainties expressed as discrete intervals and probability distributions. • Demand response program was introduced to adjust the deviation in real-time market. • Financial penalty for imbalance risk from wind power generation was evaluated.

Benefits and risks of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnert, H.; Borsch, P.; Feldmann, A.; Merz, E.; Muench, E.; Oesterwind, D.; Voss, A.

1977-03-01

Discussion, in a popular form, of issues of interest for an unemotional information of the public on problems of nuclear power: 1) Energy consumption, its assumed growth, and possible ways of supply; 2) the physical fundamental and technical realisation of power generation by nuclear fission; 3) problems of the fuel cycle and possible solutions; 4) the effects of radioactive radiation; 5) the safety of nuclear power plants and the risks of nuclear power as compared to other technical and natural risks. (orig./HP) [de

Correlation between high-risk pregnancy and developmental delay ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The future development of children is considered more than ever now due to the advances in medical knowledge and thus the increase in survival rates of high-risk infants. This study investigated the correlation between high-risk pregnancy and developmental delay in children aged 4- 60 months. Methods: ...

Integrated project risk management of nuclear power projects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Xiaohui; Xu Yuanhui

2001-01-01

The concept and the features of risks in nuclear power projects are introduced, and in terms of nuclear power projects' own features, the Nuclear Power Project Integrated Risk Management Model is presented. The identification, estimation, evaluation, response plan development, control of risks and the theoretical basis of risk management are discussed. The model has feedback and control functions in order to control and manage the risks dynamically

On accounting difficulties: risks related to nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plot, E.; Vidal, O.

2014-01-01

An extreme risk has a very slight probability but potentially heavy consequences. Despite the existence of 3 accountancy methods for dealing with them (provisions, contingent liabilities and insurance), the transposition of such risks into financial statements is based on a sequential analysis of both the probability of the risk happening and the ability to estimate the effects. This method keeps us from taking into account risks with a highly uncertain probability of occurrence, such as accidents at nuclear power plants - independently of the 'amount' at stake. As management reports from firms concerned by nuclear risks show, the diffusion of qualitative information does not offset this gap in bookkeeping. (authors)

On accounting difficulties: Risks related to nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Plot, Emmanuelle; Vidal, Olivier

2014-01-01

An extreme risk has a very slight probability but potentially heavy consequences. Despite the existence of three accountancy methods for dealing with them (provisions, contingent liabilities and insurance), the transposition of such risks into financial statements is based on a sequential analysis of both the probability of the risk happening and the ability to estimate the effects. This method keeps us from taking into account risks with a highly uncertain probability of occurrence, such as accidents at nuclear power plants - independently of the 'amount' at stake. As management reports from firms concerned by nuclear risks show, the diffusion of qualitative information does not offset this gap in bookkeeping

Nuclear power. A technology for the future?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Neles, Julia Mareike; Pistner, Christoph

2012-01-01

What exactly is nuclear power? How do nuclear power plants function? What do they contribute to power supply, and at what risk? The authors of this compact and clearly written book provide answers to these and more questions. They present the physical and technical fundamentals as well as safety, nuclear aste management and non-proliferation. The book enables its readers to understand the political consequences of the Fukushima reactor accident.

A comparative TCAD assessment of III-V channel materials for future high speed and low power logic applications

Science.gov (United States)

Gomes, U. P.; Takhar, K.; Ranjan, K.; Rathi, S.; Biswas, D.

2015-02-01

In this work, by means physics based drift-diffusion simulations, three different narrow band gap semiconductors; InAs, InSb and In0.53Ga0.47As, and their associated heterostructures have been studied for future high speed and low power logic applications. It is observed that In0.53Ga0.47As has higher immunity towards short channel effects with low DIBL and sub-threshold slope than InSb and InAs. Also it is observed that for the same device geometry InSb has the highest drive current and lower intrinsic delay but its ION/IOFF figure of merit is deteriorated due to excess leakage current.

Imagining flood futures: risk assessment and management in practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, Stuart N; Landström, Catharina; Whatmore, Sarah J

2011-05-13

The mantra that policy and management should be 'evidence-based' is well established. Less so are the implications that follow from 'evidence' being predictions of the future (forecasts, scenarios, horizons) even though such futures define the actions taken today to make the future sustainable. Here, we consider the tension between 'evidence', reliable because it is observed, and predictions of the future, unobservable in conventional terms. For flood risk management in England and Wales, we show that futures are actively constituted, and so imagined, through 'suites of practices' entwining policy, management and scientific analysis. Management has to constrain analysis because of the many ways in which flood futures can be constructed, but also because of commitment to an accounting calculus, which requires risk to be expressed in monetary terms. It is grounded in numerical simulation, undertaken by scientific consultants who follow policy/management guidelines that define the futures to be considered. Historical evidence is needed to deal with process and parameter uncertainties and the futures imagined are tied to pasts experienced. Reliance on past events is a challenge for prediction, given changing probability (e.g. climate change) and consequence (e.g. development on floodplains). So, risk management allows some elements of risk analysis to become unstable (notably in relation to climate change) but forces others to remain stable (e.g. invoking regulation to prevent inappropriate floodplain development). We conclude that the assumed separation of risk assessment and management is false because the risk calculation has to be defined by management. Making this process accountable requires openness about the procedures that make flood risk analysis more (or less) reliable to those we entrust to produce and act upon them such that, unlike the 'pseudosciences', they can be put to the test of public interrogation by those who have to live with their consequences

Power Nuclear Reactors: technology and innovation for development in future; Centrales Nucleares de Potencia: tecnologias actuales e innovaciones para el futuro

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Suarez Antola, R [Universidad Catolica del Uruguay, Montevideo(Uruguay); Ministerio de Industria Energia y Minerria, Montevideo(Uruguay)

2009-07-01

The conference is about some historicals task of the fission technology as well as many types of Nuclear Reactors. Enrichment of fuel, wastes, research reactors and power reactors, a brief advertisment about Uruguay electric siystem and power generation, energetic worldwide, proliferation, safety reactors, incidents, accidents, Three-Mile Island accident, Chernobil accident, damages, risks, classification and description of Power reactors steam generation, nuclear reactor cooling systems, future view.

Analysis of future nuclear power plants competitiveness with stochastic methods

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feretic, D.; Tomsic, Z.

2004-01-01

To satisfy the increased demand it is necessary to build new electrical power plants, which could in an optimal way meet, the imposed acceptability criteria. The main criteria are potential to supply the required energy, to supply this energy with minimal (or at least acceptable) costs, to satisfy licensing requirements and be acceptable to public. The main competitors for unlimited electricity production in next few decades are fossil power plants (coal and gas) and nuclear power plants. New renewable power plants (solar, wind, biomass) are also important but due to limited energy supply potential and high costs can be only supplement to the main generating units. Large hydropower plans would be competitive under condition of existence of suitable sites for construction of such plants. The paper describes the application of a stochastic method for comparing economic parameters of future electrical power generating systems including conventional and nuclear power plants. The method is applied to establish competitive specific investment costs of future nuclear power plants when compared with combined cycle gas fired units combined with wind electricity generators using best estimated and optimistic input data. The bases for economic comparison of potential options are plant life time levelized electricity generating costs. The purpose is to assess the uncertainty of several key performance and cost of electricity produced in coal fired power plant, gas fired power plant and nuclear power plant developing probability distribution of levelized price of electricity from different Power Plants, cumulative probability of levelized price of electricity for each technology and probability distribution of cost difference between the technologies. The key parameters evaluated include: levelized electrical energy cost USD/kWh,, discount rate, interest rate for credit repayment, rate of expected increase of fuel cost, plant investment cost , fuel cost , constant annual

Sustainable promotion nuclear power enterprise procurement bidding risk management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Yimin

2014-01-01

Nuclear power enterprise procurement bidding work faced with certain risk in recent years, the domestic nuclear power enterprises in the bidding work never stop research and explore the effective ways to guard against legal risks, and has made considerable progress, the eighteenth big country advocates the safety and efficiency of nuclear power development policy, in the face of the subsequent nuclear power construction projects have started, nuclear power enterprise bidding risk management work shoulder heavy responsibilities article through nuclear power enterprise procurement bidding risk management present situation, proposed the sustainable promotion nuclear power enterprise procurement bidding risk management countermeasures. (author)

Risk concept and risk management in the field of power installations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stein, Manfred; Barbulescu, Christiana; Anastasiu, Dan; Ionescu, Dumitru Cezar; Iliescu-Saligny, Paul; Iordache, Vasile

1996-01-01

The paper presents several opinions concerning general as well as specific aspects related to the risk management and the use of this concept in the field of power generation. Assessment possibilities of disturbing phenomena are analyzed including severe events leading to failures in power installations. Circumstances of occurring of such events are considered. This paper contains 4 sections. In the introduction the definition of the concept of risk is given. Risk is thus related to both events of a distinct nature with potentially dangerous consequences and events occurring in current operation of installations of different types. The risk notion is as important as other probabilistic indicators characterizing the power installation operation, i.e. availability, reliability, maintenance, etc. The section 2 approaches the concept of risk and argues for the necessity of quantifying it. Two probabilistic indicators are introduced, namely, the occurring probability of a disturbing event and the occurring frequency. To establish an algorithm of risk evaluation the risk notion should be dissociated into two components, the 'intrinsic' or 'initial' risk and the 'associated' risk. In turn, the latter could be divided into two types of risks, namely, the risk of an extant sustaining factor and the risk characterizing the exposure to the effects of the considered events. Applications of these notions for the cases of nuclear accidents, urban electricity or heating breakdown, energy supply breakdown in chemical facilities and others are given. The third section deals with risk management in power sector. Three objectives are here taken into account, i.e., ensuring the safety in operation of adopted systems, ensuring the safety of these systems from the consumers' standpoints and ensuring the environment protection. Examples for using the concepts introduced in case of electrical power stations or energy supply systems are given

Economics and financing of future power: Is there a case for nuclear?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skinner, R.G.

1993-01-01

The International Energy Agency forecasts world energy demand to increase nearly 50% by 2010, with the developing world consuming over half of global energy output by that time. Of the growth in energy demand, 42% will be for electricity, with fossil-fuel based capacity expected to take up most of this growth. Against this view of a global energy future, the factors that will influence the economics of nuclear energy and the ability to finance it are examined. The context of financing in the power sector is described, noting the increasing emphasis on competition and efficiency within the energy sector and the move toward privatization. For the financing of new nuclear power facilities by investors, the most important influencing factors are the need to achieve progress with a high-level waste repository, a predictable licensing process and stable regulation, and maintaining and improving the high safety and reliability performance of operating plants. Favorable economics is only part of what is required for making nuclear commercially viable; other conditions include public acceptance, strong institutional support, high rate of growth of base-load electricity demand, and lack of more satisfactory alternatives. Since public perception may hinge on future nuclear performance in eastern Europe, the power sector in that region is briefly reviewed. Finally, reference is made to some of the principal issues that might bear on the role of nuclear power into the 21st century, in particular its relation to environmental policy and the role of natural gas in electricity production. 9 refs. 1 tab

Evidence of arterial wall uptake of fluorodeoxyglucose on imaging can indicate recent or future cardiovascular events in high-risk patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Paulmier, B.; Khayat, R.; Duet, M.; Pierquet-Ghazzar, N.; Maunoury, C.; Sauvaget, E.; Faraggi, M.; Laissy, J.P.

2007-01-01

With this study, we sought to identify plaque inflammation as assessed by 18 FDG uptake on positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) as an independent cardiovascular risk factor in patients at high risk for cardiovascular events. We compared 31 consecutive cancer patients presenting with visually enhanced 18 FDG uptake in arterial walls on PET/CT (Group 1) to a selection of 34 matched cancer patients not showing arterial uptake (Group 2). All patients were followed for two years before and six months after PET/CT... Cardiovascular events were classified as older (>6 months before PET/CT) or recent ( 18 FDG uptake was computed on non-attenuation corrected data by a AW/L ratio: mean Arterial Wall uptake/Lung uptake in a normal area, and by SUV on corrected data. A calcium score (CS) was also calculated. 18 FDG uptake and CS were higher in Group 1 than Group 2 (both p = 0.02), and older and recent cardiovascular events were significantly more frequent in Group 1 than Group 2 (p = 0.001 and p = 0.03. respectively). Among the following parameters: number of conventional risk factor, calcium score and presence of 18 FDG uptake, only the latter was significantly related to the occurrence of a recent event by multivariate analysis (p = 0.02). Patients with elevated arterial 18 FDG uptake have a high risk of immediate or future cardiovascular events. Arterial 18 FDG uptake is an indicator of evolving atherosclerotic process and can indicate future cardiovascular events. (authors)

Nuclear power plant's safety and risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Franzen, L.F.

1975-01-01

Starting with a comprehensive safety strategy as evolved over the past years and the present legal provisions for the construction and operation of nuclear power plants, the risk of the intended operation, of accidents and unforeseen events is discussed. Owing to the excellent safety record of nuclear power plants, main emphasis in discussing accidents is given to the precautionary analysis within the framework of the licensing procedure. In this context, hypothetical accidents are mentioned only as having been utilized for general risk comparisons. The development of a comprehensive risk concept for a completely objective safety assessment of nuclear power plants remains as a final goal. (orig.) [de

ISOFIC/ISSNP 2014: International Symposium on Future I and C for Nuclear Power Plants/International Symposium on Symbiotic Nuclear Power Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-08-01

This proceedings contains articles of ISOFIC/ISSNP 2014: International Symposium on Future I and C for Nuclear Power Plants/International Symposium on Symbiotic Nuclear Power Systems. It was held on Aug. 24-28, 2014 in Jeju. This proceedings is comprised of 14 sessions. The subject titles of I and C session are sensor, modern control, diagnostics and surveillance, digital upgrades, software V and V, cyber security, safety and reliability of digital systems, risk and safety evaluation, etc. The subject titles of HMI session are Human factors engineering, human performance, human reliability assessment, control room design, operator support systems, etc. The subject titles of ISSNP session are Safety and risk studies from social, environmental and economic aspects, other general nuclear engineering (ex. Reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, reactor core and plant behavior, nuclear fuel behavior, etc.) and integrated aspects of energy systems (ex. Multipurpose utilization of nuclear energy, nuclear fuel cycle, plant decommissioning, comparative study of nuclear energy with other energy technologies, etc.)

ISOFIC/ISSNP 2014: International Symposium on Future I and C for Nuclear Power Plants/International Symposium on Symbiotic Nuclear Power Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2014-08-15

This proceedings contains articles of ISOFIC/ISSNP 2014: International Symposium on Future I and C for Nuclear Power Plants/International Symposium on Symbiotic Nuclear Power Systems. It was held on Aug. 24-28, 2014 in Jeju. This proceedings is comprised of 14 sessions. The subject titles of I and C session are sensor, modern control, diagnostics and surveillance, digital upgrades, software V and V, cyber security, safety and reliability of digital systems, risk and safety evaluation, etc. The subject titles of HMI session are Human factors engineering, human performance, human reliability assessment, control room design, operator support systems, etc. The subject titles of ISSNP session are Safety and risk studies from social, environmental and economic aspects, other general nuclear engineering (ex. Reactor physics, thermal-hydraulics, reactor core and plant behavior, nuclear fuel behavior, etc.) and integrated aspects of energy systems (ex. Multipurpose utilization of nuclear energy, nuclear fuel cycle, plant decommissioning, comparative study of nuclear energy with other energy technologies, etc.)

Nuclear power plant risk assembly and decomposition for risk management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Iden, D.C.

1985-01-01

The state-of-the-art method for analyzing the risk from nuclear power plants is probabilistic risk assessment (PRA). The intermediate results of a PRA are first assembled to quantify the risk from operating a nuclear power plant in the form of (1) core damage (or core melt) frequency, (2) plant damage state frequencies, (3) release category frequencies, and (4) the frequency of exceeding specific levels of offsite consequences. Once the overall PRA results have been quantified, the next step is to decompose those results into the individual contributors to each of the four forms of risk in some rank order. The way in which the PRA model is set up to assemble and decompose the plant risk determines the ease and usefulness of the PRA model as a risk management tool for evaluating perturbations to the PRA model. These perturbations can take the form of technical specification changes, hardware modifications, procedural changes, etc. The matrix formalism developed by Dr. Stan Kaplan for risk assembly and decomposition represents a significant breakthrough in making the PRA model an effective risk management tool. The key to understanding the matrix formalism and making it a useful tool for managing nuclear power plant risk is the structure of the PRA model. PRA risk model structure and decomposition of the risk results are discussed with the Seabrook PRA as an example

Risk Reduction Methods for Managing the Development of Regional Electric Power Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mikhail Kozhevnikov

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The development of the regional electric power industry has come to the forefront due to the changing scale, quality, and configuration of electric power infrastructure, and the spread of distributed generation. This gives rise to more stringent requirements regarding the reliability, safety, and environmental impact of electric power supply. This article aims to justify a package of methods that make it possible to identify and minimize investment, production, financial, and environmental risks in order to ensure sustainable development of the regional electric power industry that performs anti-crisis functions, and of individual energy companies. The key method to be employed is integrated resource planning (IRP. As a part of the method, energy conservation, renewable energy sources, and combined heat and power production are considered as equally valid ways of meeting future demand. The authors have designed a methodology for taking into account uncertainty and risk when implementing IRP. The methodology includes analysis of scenarios and decision making processes by calculating past and projected values of profit indicators. When conducting the environmental and economic assessment of an investment project in the electric power industry, the authors suggest using an aggregate indicator of environmental and economic effectiveness that is calculated on the basis of a combination of locally significant positive and negative environmental and economic impacts of the project. The authors formulate conceptual provisions that serve as the foundation for a promising model of the regional electric power industry and which contain recommendations for managing the development of the industry while minimizing organizational, market, and technological risks.

Investigation of Insulation Materials for Future Radioisotope Power Systems (RPS)

Science.gov (United States)

Cornell, Peggy A.; Hurwitz, Frances I.; Ellis, David L.; Schmitz, Paul C.

2013-01-01

NASA's Radioisotope Power System (RPS) Technology Advancement Project is developing next generation high temperature insulation materials that directly benefit thermal management and improve performance of RPS for future science missions. Preliminary studies on the use of multilayer insulation (MLI) for Stirling convertors used on the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG) have shown the potential benefits of MLI for space vacuum applications in reducing generator size and increasing specific power (W/kg) as compared to the baseline Microtherm HT (Microtherm, Inc.) insulation. Further studies are currently being conducted at NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) on candidate MLI foils and aerogel composite spacers. This paper presents the method of testing of foils and spacers and experimental results to date.

Challenges and opportunities for wind power for future energy supplies in Pakistan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Farooq, M.; Javed, M.T.; Waheed, K.; Khan, N.A.

2009-01-01

Due to rapid modernization the energy resources are depleting rapidly throughout the world while the energy demand is rising steadily. The crude oil price has soared upto $140.0 per barrel that has triggered the use of renewable energy recourses. Pakistan particular is the most energy deficient country where a shortfall of as high as 4500 MW is recorded in the recent year. The Renewable Energy Technologies (RET's) are important and had gained the prime importance these days with specific focus on solar and wind power. This paper highlights the challenges and opportunities for wind power in Pakistan. The wind potential in different areas has been explored, including a vital area of about 9700 km/sup 2/ in Sindh. Wind power is a new energy resource in Pakistan's history, uptil now main resources are Fossil Fuel contributing 65%, hydel 33% and nuclear only 2% respectively. Wind is an environment friendly resource and its appreciable contribution will be achieved in future. Paper analyses the present energy scenario through wind power in Pakistan and leads to future progress in order to secure energy security in the country. (author)

Living near nuclear power plants and thyroid cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jaeyoung; Bang, Yejin; Lee, Won Jin

2016-02-01

There has been public concern regarding the safety of residing near nuclear power plants, and the extent of risk for thyroid cancer among adults living near nuclear power plants has not been fully explored. In the present study, a systematic review and meta-analysis of epidemiologic studies was conducted to investigate the association between living near nuclear power plants and the risk of thyroid cancer. A comprehensive literature search was performed on studies published up to March 2015 on the association between nuclear power plants and thyroid cancer risk. The summary standardized incidence ratio (SIR), standardized mortality ratio (SMR), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using a random-effect model of meta-analysis. Sensitivity analyses were performed by study quality. Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis, covering 36 nuclear power stations in 10 countries. Overall, summary estimates showed no significant increased thyroid cancer incidence or mortality among residents living near nuclear power plants (summary SIR=0.98; 95% CI 0.87-1.11, summary SMR=0.80; 95% CI 0.62-1.04). The pooled estimates did not reveal different patterns of risk by gender, exposure definition, or reference population. However, sensitivity analysis by exposure definition showed that living less than 20 km from nuclear power plants was associated with a significant increase in the risk of thyroid cancer in well-designed studies (summary OR=1.75; 95% CI 1.17-2.64). Our study does not support an association between living near nuclear power plants and risk of thyroid cancer but does support a need for well-designed future studies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

World energy supply and demand and the future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lantzke, U.

1977-01-01

The author discusses the OECD's report ''World Energy Outlook'', which concluded that a severe energy gap could, and probably would, develop by the mid-1980s if present energy policies continue. Should nuclear power fail to make a substantial contribution, this situation is predicted to become even worse. The author states that an energy gap can only be realistically avoided by a combination of (a) deep energy conservation, (b) even greater use of coal, and (c) nuclear power. New energy technologies cannot realistically be expected to make a significant contribution much before the end of the century. Conservation and coal alone, however, will not be sufficient. It is difficult to envisage energy savings of more than 10% without reducing economic activity to a degree that becomes politically unacceptable. Greater use of coal is undoubtedly feasible, but the potential is severely constrained in the medium term for economic, technological and environmental reasons. Nuclear power must also make a significant contribution. However, estimates of OECD nuclear energy supply for 1985 have been scaled drastically downwards during 1976 owing to: uncertainty in the utility sector over future growth in electricity demand; continued, and in some cases increased, opposition to nuclear power; and delays and uncertainties in government nuclear policies and programmes. The author concludes that we cannot afford any further shortfall and we must move urgently to: (a) give strong and unswerving support to thermal nuclear reactor programmes (requiring that governments adopt clear and coherent nuclear policies, taking into account the legitimate concern expressed by the public); (b) develop stable and long-term international arrangements so that the necessary nuclear fuel facilities can be made available on a secure basis for peaceful uses of nuclear power; (c) decide what the real proliferation risk is and agree on action to avoid it; and (d) make renewed and stronger efforts to solve

Indian power sector: past, present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varma, C.V.J.; Lal, P.K.

1994-01-01

In India population and economic growth is expected to create serious power shortages triggering the need for new power generation capacity. The situation is worsened on account of stagnant conditions prevailing in the country during the past few years. The opening of economy to the global market is expected to usher in an increased economic growth bringing in its wake greater demand for power. It will, thus, be seen that to cater these requirements the power sector industry in the country will have to grow at a much faster rate in the near future. However, to have a correct perspective of the emerging scenario, it might be worthwhile to have a look at the past patterns of development. (author). 9 refs., 5 tabs

Future energy mix - also without nuclear power?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, C.

2005-01-01

The considerable rises in the price of oil in the months of October and November 2004 assigned topical importance to the 'Future Energy Mix - also without Nuclear Power?' meeting of young nuclear engineers and students with experts from politics, industry, and research at the YOUNG GENERATION event organized at the Biblis nuclear power station on November 4-6, 2004. Specialized presentations were made about these topics: The Biblis Nuclear Power Plant Site. The Effects of Deregulation on the Electricity Market Emission Trading - a Combination of Economy and Ecology? Energy Mix for the 21 st Century. The event was completed by a round-table discussion among leading experts, and a presentation of perspectives in university education in areas encompassing power technology. (orig.)

High Pressure Coolant Injection system risk-based inspection guide for Hatch Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

DiBiasio, A.M.

1993-05-01

A review of the operating experience for the High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system at the Hatch Nuclear Power Station, Units 1 and 2, is described in this report. The information for this review was obtained from Hatch Licensee Event Reports (LERs) that were generated between 1980 and 1992. These LERs have been categorized into 23 failure modes that have been prioritized based on probabilistic risk assessment considerations. In addition, the results of the Hatch operating experience review have been compared with the results of a similar, industry wide operating, experience review. This comparison provides an indication of areas in the Hatch HPCI system that should be given increased attention in the prioritization of inspection resources

High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system risk-based inspection guide: Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shier, W.; Gunther, W.

1992-10-01

A review of the operating experience for the High Pressure Coolant Injection (HPCI) system at the Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station is described in this report. The information for this review was obtained from Pilgrim Licensee Event Reports (LERs) that were generated between 1980 and 1989. These LERs have been categorized into 23 failure modes that have been prioritized based on probabilistic risk assessment considerations. In addition, the results of the Pilgrim operating experience review have been compared with the results of of a similar, industry wide operating experience review. this comparison provides an indication of areas in the Pilgrim HPCI system that should be given increased attention in the prioritization of inspection resources

Business case uncertainty of power plants in future energy systems with wind power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brouwer, Anne Sjoerd; Broek, Machteld van den; Özdemir, Özge; Koutstaal, Paul; Faaij, André

2016-01-01

The European power sector is transforming due to climate policies and an increased deployment of intermittent RES. The sector will require thermal power plants for the decades to come, but their business cases are (negatively) affected by this transformation. This study presents a novel tool to quantify the effect of policy, price and project-related uncertainties on power plant business cases. This tool can support policymakers in stimulating necessary investments in new thermal generation capacity. We find that these investments are currently unsound (power plants recoup on average –12% to 59% of their initial investment). Future climate policy, i.e. the CO_2 price, has a very strong impact on business cases (affects the profitability by 5–40%-points). The impact of the deployment of wind power is average (2–8%-point difference between 10% and 21% wind penetration). Variations in annual wind power production barely affect the profitability (variation of ±1%-point). To stimulate new investments, policymakers should first decrease the uncertainty in business cases caused by policy. Durable climate policy is especially important. Also, policies to increase the profits of thermal power plants should be carefully considered and implemented. This combined approach will reduce the revenue gap that needs to be bridged by supportive policies. - Highlights: • The operation of thermal power plants is affected by CO_2 prices and wind power. • A new tool quantifies the effect of their uncertainty on power plant profitability. • New power plants are unprofitable and show a large spread in expected profits. • Uncertain future climate policy is a key factor in all business cases (±56% change). • Increasing wind power penetration (10–21%) decreases profitability by 14%.

High-Power Ka-Band Window and Resonant Ring

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jay L. Hirshfield

2006-01-01

A stand-alone 200 MW rf test station is needed for carrying out development of accelerator structures and components for a future high-gradient multi-TeV collider, such as CLIC. A high-power rf window is needed to isolate the test station from a structure element under test. This project aimed to develop such a window for use at a frequency in the range 30-35 GHz, and to also develop a high-power resonant ring for testing the window. During Phase I, successful conceptual designs were completed for the window and the resonant ring, and cold tests of each were carried out that confirmed the designs

Design of measurement equipment for high power laser beam shapes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, K. S.; Olsen, F. O.; Kristiansen, Morten

2013-01-01

To analyse advanced high power beam patterns, a method, which is capable of analysing the intensity distribution in 3D is needed. Further a measuring of scattered light in the same system is preferred. This requires a high signal to noise ratio. Such a system can be realised by a CCD-chip impleme...... by a commercial product has been done. The realised system might suffer from some thermal drift at high power; future work is to clarify this....

Thermal power plant operating regimes in future British power systems with increasing variable renewable penetration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Edmunds, Ray; Davies, Lloyd; Deane, Paul; Pourkashanian, Mohamed

2015-01-01

Highlights: • This work investigates thermal power operating regimes in future power systems. • Gas plants have low utilisation in the scenarios considered. • Ramping intensity increases for gas plants and pumped storage. • Coal plants frequently operate at minimum stable levels and start-ups increase. • Grid emission intensity and total emission production remains substantial. - Abstract: This work investigates the operational requirements of thermal power plants in a number of potential future British power systems with increasing variable renewable penetration. The PLEXOS Integrated Energy Model has been used to develop the market models, with PLEXOS employing mixed integer programming to solve the unit commitment and economic dispatch problem, subject to a number of constraints. Initially, a model of the British power system was developed and validated. Subsequently, a 2020 test model was developed to analyse a number of future system structures with differing fuel and carbon prices and generation mixes. The study has found that in three of the four scenarios considered, the utilisation of gas power plants will be relatively low, but remains fundamental to the security of supply. Also, gas plants will be subject to more intense ramping. The findings have consequent implications for energy policy as expensive government interventions may be required to prevent early decommissioning of gas capacity, should the prevailing market conditions not guarantee revenue adequacy.

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Corak, Z.

2004-01-01

Energy production and use will contribute to global warming through greenhouse gas emissions in the next 50 years. Although nuclear power is faced with a lot of problems to be accepted by the public, it is still a significant option for the world to meet future needs without emitting carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other atmospheric pollutants. In 2002, nuclear power provided approximately 17% of world energy consumption. There is belief that worldwide electricity consumption will increase in the next few years, especially in the developing countries followed by economic growth and social progress. Official forecasts shows that there will be a mere increase of 5% in nuclear electricity worldwide by 2020. There are also predictions that electricity use may increase at 75%. These predictions require a necessity for construction of new nuclear power plants. There are only a few realistic options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation: Increase efficiency in electricity generation and use; Expand use of renewable energy sources such as wind, solar, biomass and geothermal; Capture carbon dioxide emissions at fossil-fuelled electric generating plants and permanently sequester the carbon; Increase use of nuclear power. In spite of the advantages that nuclear power has, it is faced with stagnation and decline today. Nuclear power is faced with four critical problems that must be successfully defeat for the large expansion of nuclear power to succeed. Those problems are cost, safety, waste and proliferation. Disapproval of nuclear power is strengthened by accidents that occurred at Three Mile Island in 1979, at Chernobyl in 1986 and by accidents at fuel cycle facilities in Japan, Russia and in the United States of America. There is also great concern about the safety and security of transportation of nuclear materials and the security of nuclear facilities from terrorist attack. The paper will provide summarized review regarding cost, safety, waste and

Radiation and temperature effects on electronic components investigated under the CSTI high capacity power project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schwarze, G.E.; Niedra, J.M.; Frasca, A.J.; Wieserman, W.R.

1993-01-01

The effects of nuclear radiation and high temperature environments must be fully known and understood for the electronic components and materials used in both the Power Conditioning and Control subsystem and the reactor Instrumentation and Control subsystem of future high capacity nuclear space power systems. This knowledge is required by the designer of these subsystems in order to develop highly reliable, long-life power systems for future NASA missions. A review and summary of the experimental results obtained for the electronic components and materials investigated under the power management element of the CSTI high capacity power project will be presented in this paper: (1) Neutron, gamma ray, and temperature effects on power semiconductor switches, (2) Temperature and frequency effects on soft magnetic materials; and (3) Temperature effects on rare-earth permanent magnets

Radiation and temperature effects on electronic components investigated under the CSTI High Capacity Power Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shwarze, G.E.; Wieserman, W.R.

1994-01-01

The effects of nuclear radiation and high temperature environments must be fully known and understood for the electronic components and materials used in both the Power Conditioning and Control subsystem and the reactor Instrumentation and Control subsystem of future high capacity nuclear space power systems. This knowledge is required by the designer of these subsystems in order to develop highly reliable, long-life power systems for future NASA missions. A review and summary of the experimental results obtained for the electronic components and materials investigated under the power management element of the CSTI high capacity power project will be presented in this paper: (1) Neutron, gamma ray, and temperature effects on power semiconductor switches, (2) Temperature and frequency effects on soft magnetic materials; and (3) Temperature effects on rare earth permanent magnets

Biodiversity at risk under future cropland expansion and intensification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kehoe, Laura; Romero-Muñoz, Alfredo; Polaina, Ester; Estes, Lyndon; Kreft, Holger; Kuemmerle, Tobias

2017-08-01

Agriculture is the leading driver of biodiversity loss. However, its future impact on biodiversity remains unclear, especially because agricultural intensification is often neglected, and high path-dependency is assumed when forecasting agricultural development-although the past suggests that shock events leading to considerable agricultural change occur frequently. Here, we investigate the possible impacts on biodiversity of pathways of expansion and intensification. Our pathways are not built to reach equivalent production targets, and therefore they should not be directly compared; they instead highlight areas at risk of high biodiversity loss across the entire option space of possible agricultural change. Based on an extensive database of biodiversity responses to agriculture, we find 30% of species richness and 31% of species abundances potentially lost because of agricultural expansion across the Amazon and Afrotropics. Only 21% of high-risk expansion areas in the Afrotropics overlap with protected areas (compared with 43% of the Neotropics). Areas at risk of biodiversity loss from intensification are found in India, Eastern Europe and the Afromontane region (7% species richness, 13% abundance loss). Many high-risk regions are not adequately covered by conservation prioritization schemes, and have low national conservation spending and high agricultural growth. Considering rising agricultural demand, we highlight areas where timely land-use planning may proactively mitigate biodiversity loss.

Understanding Local Policy Elites' Perceptions on the Benefits and Risks Associated with High-Voltage Power Line Installations in the State of Arkansas.

Science.gov (United States)

Moyer, Rachael M; Song, Geoboo

2016-10-01

Recently, a controversial policy debate has arisen concerning the installation of high-voltage power lines in northwest Arkansas. While proponents argue that such an installation is inevitable to efficiently and reliably support the identified electric load in the region, opponents claim that the lines will degrade the natural environment and hamper the tourism-based local economy in affected regions, notably in Ozark Mountain areas. Of particular interest is to understand how local policy elites perceive the benefits and risks associated with such divisive proposals, which is critical for comprehending the formation and changes of related government policies. Based upon the dual process theory of judgment, this study systematically investigates the triadic relationships between (a) more profound personal value predispositions, (b) affects and feelings, and (c) perceived benefits and risks related to the proposed installation of high-voltage power lines among local policy elites in the state of Arkansas. In doing so, we analyze original data collected from a statewide Internet survey of 420 local leaders and key policymakers about their opinions on the related issues, while considering other factors claimed by previous literature to influence risk perceptions, including trust, knowledge level, and demographic characteristics. Analytical results suggest that grid-group cultural predispositions, as deeply held core values within local policy elites' individual belief systems, both directly and indirectly-through affective feelings-shape perceived utility associated with the installation of high-voltage power lines. We conclude this article by suggesting some practical considerations for better designing policy addressing controversial issues of this nature. © 2016 Society for Risk Analysis.

Modelling the energy future of Switzerland after the phase out of nuclear power plants

Science.gov (United States)

Diaz, Paula; Van Vliet, Oscar

2015-04-01

HES [Pfenninger, 2015]. It has been specifically design to represent high shares of renewable energy, allowing for the estimation of the Swiss energy transition with high level of detail. Calliope includes topology characteristics of the electricity system, and variability of radiation and wind, which enables the analysis of intermittency in renewable electricity sources, in order to fulfil the electricity demand at all hours. Three energy scenarios are modelled; first, the higher energy production of renewables in Switzerland and the import of natural gas to supply the demand; second, imports of wind power from North Sea with high level of intermittency; and third, imports of solar power from North Africa, with less intermittency but with higher risk of internal turmoil. To summarise, we analyse in detail the energy scenarios of Switzerland when the nuclear power plants will be ceased. A gap currently present in academia, such as the future energy security in Switzerland, is covered by our Calliope modelling. References: Abt, M.; E. Bernhard, A. Kolliker, T. Roth, M. Spicher, L. Stieger, Volkswirtschaftliche Massnahmenanalyse zur Energiestrategie 2050: Tiel I: Gesamtergebnisse und Empfehlungen, Staatssekretariat fur Wirtschaft SECO, Bern, CH, 2012. Busser, M; T. Kaiser, E. Wassermann, K. Ammon, S. Reichen, A. Gunzinger, et al., Energiestrategie 2050 aus Sicht des Energie Trialogs, Energie Trialog Schweiz, 2013. Mathiesen, B. V. and Lund, H. Comparative analyses of seven technologies to facilitate the integration of fluctuating renewable energy sources. IET Renew. Power Gen. 3, 190-204 (2009). Mathys, N. 2012. Modelling contributions to the Swiss energy and environmental challenge. Special issue on energy modelling_introductory article.Swiss journal of economics and statistics. Pfenninger, Stefan. 2015. Calliope: a multi-scale energy systems (MUSES) modeling framework. Available at: http://www.callio.pe/ Piot, M. Energiestrategie 2050 der Schweiz, in: 13. Symp

Danish wind power in Brazil. Part 1. The future of wind power in Brazil - market analysis

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Husted Rich, N

1996-04-01

More than 95% of total energy produced in Brazil comes from highly efficient hydroelectric power plants but, faced with a serious shortage of energy after the year 2000, the country is now considering wind energy as one of the basic alternatives for energy supply. It is suggested that biomass, wind energy and biogas may be included in a future supply policy for the north-east region of the land. The structure of, the privatisation, legislation and the tariff system within the Brazilian power sector are described in addition to the present situation regarding wind energy in the country, including current and coming projects in this field, the excellent wind conditions in Northeastern Brazil and investment possibilities. The political activities in this field of the Danish Folkecenter for Renewable Energy are noted and future developments in Brazil are discussed. It is concluded that there are good prospects for Danish windmill technology on the Brazilian market. Wind measurement programs are presently being carried out in various areas of the country, though a number of impediments to the development of wind energy in Brazil remain. (AB)

Insurance risk of nuclear power plant concentrations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Feldmann, J.

1976-01-01

The limited number of sites available in the Federal Republic of Germany for the erection of nuclear power plants has resulted in the construction of multiple nuclear generating units on a few sites, such as Biblis, Gundremmingen and Neckarwestheim. At a value invested of approximately DM 1,200/kW this corresponds to a property concentration on one site worth DM 2 - 3 billion and more. This raises the question whether a concentration of value of this magnitude does not already exceed the limits of bearable economic risks. The property risk of a nuclear power plant, as that of any other industrial plant, is a function of the property that can be destroyed in a maximum probable loss. Insurance companies subdivide plants into so-called complex areas in which fire damage or nuclear damage could spread. While in some foreign countries twin nuclear power plants are built, where the technical systems of both units are installed in one building without any physical separation, dual unit plants are built in the Federal Republic in which the complexes with a high concentration of valuable property are physically separate building units. As a result of this separation, property insurance companies have no grounds for assessing the risk and hence, the premium different from those of single unit plants. (orig.) [de

Reactor safety study. An assessment of accident risks in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. Executive summary

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1975-10-01

The Reactor Safety Study was sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission to estimate the public risks that could be involved in potential accidents in commercial nuclear power plants of the type now in use. It was performed under the independent direction of Professor Norman C. Rasmussen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The risks had to be estimated, rather than measured, because although there are about 50 such plants now operating, there have been no nuclear accidents to date resulting in significant releases of radioactivity in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The objective of the study was to make a realistic estimate of these risks and, to provide perspective, to compare them with non-nuclear risks to which our society and its individuals are already exposed. This information may be of help in determining the future reliance by society on nuclear power as a source of electricity. The results from this study suggest that the risks to the public from potential accidents in nuclear power plants are comparatively small.

Reactor safety study. An assessment of accident risks in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. Executive summary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1975-10-01

The Reactor Safety Study was sponsored by the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission to estimate the public risks that could be involved in potential accidents in commercial nuclear power plants of the type now in use. It was performed under the independent direction of Professor Norman C. Rasmussen of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The risks had to be estimated, rather than measured, because although there are about 50 such plants now operating, there have been no nuclear accidents to date resulting in significant releases of radioactivity in U.S. commercial nuclear power plants. The objective of the study was to make a realistic estimate of these risks and, to provide perspective, to compare them with non-nuclear risks to which our society and its individuals are already exposed. This information may be of help in determining the future reliance by society on nuclear power as a source of electricity. The results from this study suggest that the risks to the public from potential accidents in nuclear power plants are comparatively small

Dependency Traits, Relationship Power, and Health Risks in Women Receiving Sexually-Transmitted Infection Clinic Services.

Science.gov (United States)

Benotsch, Eric G; Sawyer, Ashlee N; Martin, Aaron M; Allen, Elizabeth S; Nettles, Christopher D; Richardson, Doug; Rietmeijer, Cornelis A

2017-01-01

In prior research, having traits consistent with a personality disorder has been shown to be related to substance use and high-risk sexual activity; however, few studies have examined relationships between dependency traits and health-jeopardizing behaviors. Individuals with traits consistent with dependent personality disorder may be more likely to be in a primary relationship characterized by unhealthy conditions, including physical abuse from a partner, low assertiveness in sexual situations, and partner infidelity. In addition, dependency traits may be associated with unhealthy coping (e.g., through substance use). To examine associations between dependent personality traits and these types of health-related behaviors, 198 women seeking sexually transmitted infection clinic services completed a computer-assisted assessment of dependent personality traits, substance use, unhealthy conditions in primary relationships, perceived sexual and relationship power, and sexual risk related to condom use. Dependency trait scores were correlated with the use of cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine. Participants high in dependency traits reported low perceived power within their relationships and less say in sexual behaviors, including condom use. In a series of multivariate analyses, dependency traits significantly predicted having been hit by a partner, staying with a partner after he cheated, having sex because of threats, and fear of asking a partner to use a condom. Dependency traits were also associated with lower past condom use and lower future condom use intentions. Results suggest that dependent personality traits may place women at higher risk for physical abuse and harmful health behaviors.

Future trends in flood risk in Indonesia - A probabilistic approach

Science.gov (United States)

Muis, Sanne; Guneralp, Burak; Jongman, Brenden; Ward, Philip

2014-05-01

Indonesia is one of the 10 most populous countries in the world and is highly vulnerable to (river) flooding. Catastrophic floods occur on a regular basis; total estimated damages were US 0.8 bn in 2010 and US 3 bn in 2013. Large parts of Greater Jakarta, the capital city, are annually subject to flooding. Flood risks (i.e. the product of hazard, exposure and vulnerability) are increasing due to rapid increases in exposure, such as strong population growth and ongoing economic development. The increase in risk may also be amplified by increasing flood hazards, such as increasing flood frequency and intensity due to climate change and land subsidence. The implementation of adaptation measures, such as the construction of dykes and strategic urban planning, may counteract these increasing trends. However, despite its importance for adaptation planning, a comprehensive assessment of current and future flood risk in Indonesia is lacking. This contribution addresses this issue and aims to provide insight into how socio-economic trends and climate change projections may shape future flood risks in Indonesia. Flood risk were calculated using an adapted version of the GLOFRIS global flood risk assessment model. Using this approach, we produced probabilistic maps of flood risks (i.e. annual expected damage) at a resolution of 30"x30" (ca. 1km x 1km at the equator). To represent flood exposure, we produced probabilistic projections of urban growth in a Monte-Carlo fashion based on probability density functions of projected population and GDP values for 2030. To represent flood hazard, inundation maps were computed using the hydrological-hydraulic component of GLOFRIS. These maps show flood inundation extent and depth for several return periods and were produced for several combinations of GCMs and future socioeconomic scenarios. Finally, the implementation of different adaptation strategies was incorporated into the model to explore to what extent adaptation may be able to

Addressing Human System Risks to Future Space Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Paloski, W. H.; Francisco, D. R.; Davis, J. R.

2015-01-01

NASA is contemplating future human exploration missions to destinations beyond low Earth orbit, including the Moon, deep-space asteroids, and Mars. While we have learned much about protecting crew health and performance during orbital space flight over the past half-century, the challenges of these future missions far exceed those within our current experience base. To ensure success in these missions, we have developed a Human System Risk Board (HSRB) to identify, quantify, and develop mitigation plans for the extraordinary risks associated with each potential mission scenario. The HSRB comprises research, technology, and operations experts in medicine, physiology, psychology, human factors, radiation, toxicology, microbiology, pharmacology, and food sciences. Methods: Owing to the wide range of potential mission characteristics, we first identified the hazards to human health and performance common to all exploration missions: altered gravity, isolation/confinement, increased radiation, distance from Earth, and hostile/closed environment. Each hazard leads to a set of risks to crew health and/or performance. For example the radiation hazard leads to risks of acute radiation syndrome, central nervous system dysfunction, soft tissue degeneration, and carcinogenesis. Some of these risks (e.g., acute radiation syndrome) could affect crew health or performance during the mission, while others (e.g., carcinogenesis) would more likely affect the crewmember well after the mission ends. We next defined a set of design reference missions (DRM) that would span the range of exploration missions currently under consideration. In addition to standard (6-month) and long-duration (1-year) missions in low Earth orbit (LEO), these DRM include deep space sortie missions of 1 month duration, lunar orbital and landing missions of 1 year duration, deep space journey and asteroid landing missions of 1 year duration, and Mars orbital and landing missions of 3 years duration. We then

Development and advances in conventional high power RF systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilson, P.B.

1995-06-01

The development of rf systems capable of producing high peak power (hundreds of megawatts) at relatively short pulse lengths (0.1--5 microseconds) is currently being driven mainly by the requirements of future high energy linear colliders, although there may be applications to industrial, medical and research linacs as well. The production of high peak power rf typically involves four basic elements: a power supply to convert ac from the ''wall plug'' to dc; a modulator, or some sort of switching element, to produce pulsed dc power; an rf source to convert the pulsed dc to pulsed rf power; and possibly an rf pulse compression system to further enhance the peak rf power. Each element in this rf chain from wall plug to accelerating structure must perform with high efficiency in a linear collider application, such that the overall system efficiency is 30% or more. Basic design concepts are discussed for klystrons, modulators and rf pulse compression systems, and their present design status is summarized for applications to proposed linear colliders

Thoughts about the future of nuclear power in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Popp, M.

2008-01-01

On November 6, 2007, the Kerntechnische Gesellschaft conferred its 30 th honorary membership upon Professor Dr. Manfred Popp. The new Honorary Member has a record of outstanding achievements in the interest of nuclear power in Germany. This commitment is also apparent from his professional career, which was devoted to this high technology with impressive scientific and technical knowledge and political acumen, perseverance and stamina. The KTG is most grateful to Professor Popp for accepting its honorary membership. The article includes a revised version of the lecture given by Professor Manfred Popp at the ceremony conferring honorary membership. The author discusses some thoughts about the future of nuclear power in Germany in the light of societal, political, technical and environmental aspects. The status and perspectives of this technology are considered also within the framework of international developments. (orig.)

Harnessing landscape heterogeneity for managing future disturbance risks in forest ecosystems

Science.gov (United States)

Seidl, Rupert; Albrich, Katharina; Thom, Dominik; Rammer, Werner

2018-01-01

In order to prevent irreversible impacts of climate change on the biosphere it is imperative to phase out the use of fossil fuels. Consequently, the provisioning of renewable resources such as timber and biomass from forests is an ecosystem service of increasing importance. However, risk factors such as changing disturbance regimes are challenging the continuous provisioning of ecosystem services, and are thus a key concern in forest management. We here used simulation modeling to study different risk management strategies in the context of timber production under changing climate and disturbance regimes, focusing on a 8127 ha forest landscape in the Northern Front Range of the Alps in Austria. We show that under a continuation of historical management, disturbances from wind and bark beetles increase by +39.5% on average over 200 years in response to future climate change. Promoting mixed forests and climate-adapted tree species as well as increasing management intensity effectively reduced future disturbance risk. Analyzing the spatial patterns of disturbance on the landscape, we found a highly uneven distribution of risk among stands (Gini coefficients up to 0.466), but also a spatially variable effectiveness of silvicultural risk reduction measures. This spatial variability in the contribution to and control of risk can be used to inform disturbance management: Stands which have a high leverage on overall risk and for which risks can effectively be reduced (24.4% of the stands in our simulations) should be a priority for risk mitigation measures. In contrast, management should embrace natural disturbances for their beneficial effects on biodiversity in areas which neither contribute strongly to landscape-scale risk nor respond positively to risk mitigation measures (16.9% of stands). We here illustrate how spatial heterogeneity in forest landscapes can be harnessed to address both positive and negative effects of changing natural disturbance regimes in

Perspectives on Low Power and Shutdown Risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Camp, Allen L.; Whitehead, Donnie W.; Wheeler, Timothy A.; Lehner, John; Chu, Tsong-Lun; Lois, Erasmai; Drouin, Mary

2000-01-01

This paper presents results from a program sponsored by the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission to examine the risks from low power and shutdown operations. Significant progress has been made by the industry in reducing such risks; however, important operational events continue to occur. Current perceptions of low power and shutdown risks are discussed in the paper along with an assessment of the current methods for understanding important events and quantifying their associated risk

Mother-child interactions in depressed children and children at high risk and low risk for future depression.

Science.gov (United States)

Dietz, Laura J; Birmaher, Boris; Williamson, Douglas E; Silk, Jennifer S; Dahl, Ronald E; Axelson, David A; Ehmann, Mary; Ryan, Neal D

2008-05-01

To compare mother-child interactions and parenting styles in families of children with major depressive disorder, youths at high risk for depression, and healthy controls. Currently depressed (n = 43), high-risk (n = 28), and healthy control (n = 41) youths and their mothers engaged in a standardized videotaped problem-solving interaction. Measures of affect and behavior for both mothers and children were obtained, in addition to global measures of parenting. Depressed children demonstrated more negativity and less positivity in dyadic interactions than did children at high risk and control children. Mothers of depressed children were more disengaged than control mothers. Exploratory repeated-measures analyses in a subgroup of depressed children (n = 16) suggested mother-child interactions do not significantly change when children recover from depression. Children at high risk demonstrated less positivity in dyadic interactions than did controls. Mothers with a history of major depressive disorder and mothers with higher current depressive symptoms demonstrated patterns of disengagement and low control in interactions with children. Mother-child interactions in depressed youths are marked by maternal disengagement and low child positivity that may not improve when children recover. The bidirectional effects of maternal disengagement and low levels of child positivity may precede onset of major depressive disorder in children and serve as risk factors for recurrent depression in youths.

The future of nuclear power in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holzer, J.

1993-01-01

The future of nuclear power in Germany is not only a matter of technology, economy and ecology but, above all, a matter of political leadership, the quality of interaction of all groups of society, the need to take ideology out of politico-economico-technical matters, and of firmly standing up for a style of democracy in which majorities, not minorities, decide. The power economy is agreed that nuclear power is indispensable in a powerful electricity supply scheme. These should be the criteria to be met by an energy consensus: No nuclear plants should be sacrificed by being shut down before the end of their technical and economic service life; spent fuel and waste management in Germany should be secured with sufficient interim storage and repository storage capacities. (orig.) [de

Medical aspects of power generation, present and future.

Science.gov (United States)

Linnemann, R E

1979-01-01

It can be seen that the radiation emissions of nuclear power plants are small indeed, compared to natural background radiation and other man-made sources of radiation. For example, the poulation is exposed to 100 times more radiation from television sets than from nuclear power reactors. The assumed risks to the people in this country from nuclear power reactors are also small compared to the normal risks which are tolerated in this society. The complete elimination of all hazards is a most difficult if not impossible task. If we need and desire a certain level of electrical energy, if we must choose between alternative sourves of the energy, then it is apparent that the total impact on our health from nuclear power generation of electricity, under normal operations and in consideration of catastrophic accident probabilities, is significantly less than that of continuing or increasing use of fossil fuels to generate electricity.

The future of integrated coal gasification combined cycle power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, R.; Termuehlen, H.

1991-01-01

This paper examines the future of integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants as affected by various technical, economical and environmental trends in power generation. The topics of the paper include a description of natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants, IGCC plants, coal gasifier concepts, integration of gasifiers into combined cycle power plants, efficiency, environmental impacts, co-products of IGCC power plants, economics of IGCC power plants, and a review of IGCC power plant projects

High Efficiency Power Converter for Low Voltage High Power Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nymand, Morten

The topic of this thesis is the design of high efficiency power electronic dc-to-dc converters for high-power, low-input-voltage to high-output-voltage applications. These converters are increasingly required for emerging sustainable energy systems such as fuel cell, battery or photo voltaic based......, and remote power generation for light towers, camper vans, boats, beacons, and buoys etc. A review of current state-of-the-art is presented. The best performing converters achieve moderately high peak efficiencies at high input voltage and medium power level. However, system dimensioning and cost are often...

High-powered CO2 -lasers and noise control

Science.gov (United States)

Honkasalo, Antero; Kuronen, Juhani

High-power CO2 -lasers are being more and more widely used for welding, drilling and cutting in machine shops. In the near future, different kinds of surface treatments will also become routine practice with laser units. The industries benefitting most from high power lasers will be: the automotive industry, shipbuilding, the offshore industry, the aerospace industry, the nuclear and the chemical processing industries. Metal processing lasers are interesting from the point of view of noise control because the working tool is a laser beam. It is reasonable to suppose that the use of such laser beams will lead to lower noise levels than those connected with traditional metal processing methods and equipment. In the following presentation, the noise levels and possible noise-control problems attached to the use of high-powered CO2 -lasers are studied.

An integrated model for long-term power generation planning toward future smart electricity systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang, Qi; Mclellan, Benjamin C.; Tezuka, Tetsuo; Ishihara, Keiichi N.

2013-01-01

Highlights: • An integrated model for planning future smart electricity systems was developed. • The model consists of an optimization model and an hour-by-hour simulation model. • The model was applied to Tokyo area, Japan in light of the Fukushima Accident. • Paths to best generation mixes of smart electricity systems were obtained. • Detailed hourly operation patterns in smart electricity systems were obtained. - Abstract: In the present study, an integrated planning model was developed to find economically/environmentally optimized paths toward future smart electricity systems with high level penetration of intermittent renewable energy and new controllable electric devices at the supply and demand sides respectively for regional scale. The integrated model is used to (i) plan the best power generation and capacity mixes to meet future electricity demand subject to various constraints using an optimization model; (ii) obtain detailed operation patterns of power plants and new controllable electric devices using an hour-by-hour simulation model based on the obtained optimized power generation mix. As a case study, the model was applied to power generation planning in the Tokyo area, Japan, out to 2030 in light of the Fukushima Accident. The paths toward best generation mixes of smart electricity systems in 2030 based on fossil fuel, hydro power, nuclear and renewable energy were obtained and the feasibility of the integrated model was proven

Nuclear power - assures the energy future. V. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

Papers presented at the conference surveyed the present status of nuclear projects and future nuclear power plans, the export of electricity and technology, Canada's nuclear industry, and innovative nuclear opportunities

Toward High-Power Klystrons With RF Power Conversion Efficiency on the Order of 90%

CERN Document Server

Baikov, Andrey Yu; Syratchev, Igor

2015-01-01

The increase in efficiency of RF power generation for future large accelerators is considered a high priority issue. The vast majority of the existing commercial high-power RF klystrons operates in the electronic efficiency range between 40% and 55%. Only a few klystrons available on the market are capable of operating with 65% efficiency or above. In this paper, a new method to achieve 90% RF power conversion efficiency in a klystron amplifier is presented. The essential part of this method is a new bunching technique - bunching with bunch core oscillations. Computer simulations confirm that the RF production efficiency above 90% can be reached with this new bunching method. The results of a preliminary study of an L-band, 20-MW peak RF power multibeam klystron for Compact Linear Collider with the efficiency above 85% are presented.

Possibilities of Utilization the Risk – Based Techniques in the Field of Offshore Wind Power Plants

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Przemysław Kacprzak

2014-09-01

Full Text Available In the article the risk-based concept that may be applicable to offshore wind power plants has been presented. The aim of the concept is to aid designers in the early design and retrofit phases of the project in case of lack or insufficient information in relevant international standards. Moreover the initial classification of components within main system parts of offshore wind power plant has been performed. Such classification is essential in order to apply risk-based concept. However further scientific researches need to be performed in that field to develop detailed concept useful for future practical applications.

The future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Greenhalgh, G.

1988-01-01

The desire for safe and plentiful forms of energy led to the rapid development of the nuclear power industry in the years following the Second World War. Although initially embraced as the answer to the dwindling supply of non-renewable fuel resources, plans to expand nuclear power generation have met with growing public resistance as investigations point to the possible harmful effects of radiation, an unavoidable by-product of the process. This book presents the case for nuclear power in the light of the increasing amount of controversy surrounding the issue. Diverse and often contradicting nuclear policies in different countries are examined with reference to the political, historical and economic factors which account for these wide variations in public sentiment. A detailed analysis is given of the growth of world energy demand, energy vs economic growth and alternative energies, and particular emphasis is given to aspects of the environment, pollution, safety, health hazards and the measurement and control of radiation. The role of public attitudes and awareness also receives special attention: a fuller and less emotional public understanding of nuclear power is necessary to assess the various benefits and risks which accompany this important source of energy

Futures and forward contract as a route of hedging the risk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Misbahul Islam

2015-10-01

Full Text Available In the present highly uncertain business scenario, the importance of risk management is much greater than ever before. Variations in the prices of agricultural and non-agricultural commodities are induced, over time, by demand-supply dynamics. The last two decades have witnessed many-fold increase in the volume of international trade and business due to the wave of globalization and liberalization sweeping across the world. This has led to rapid and unpredictable variations in financial assets prices, interest rates and exchange rates, and subsequently, to exposing the corporate world to an unwieldy financial risk. As a result, financial markets have experienced rapid variations in interest and exchange rates, stock market prices thus exposing the corporate world to a state of growing financial risk. The emergence of derivatives market is an ingenious feat of financial engineering that provides an effective and less costly solution to the problem of risk that is embedded in the price unpredictability of the underlying asset. Derivatives provide an effective solution to the problem of risk caused by uncertainty and volatility in underlying assets. These are the financial instruments that are linked to a specific financial instrument or indicator or commodity and through which specific risks can be traded in financial markets in their own right. In actual practice there are various different types of derivatives but this paper emphasizes on the two most important types of derivatives i.e. futures and forward contracts. These two are the most commonly used types of derivatives in financial markets. We can hedge the risk of price variations in stocks, bonds, commodities, currencies, interest rates, market indices etc. This study is about the futures and forward contracts. This paper presents various types of futures and forward contract and what advantages and disadvantages these two important types of derivatives have? It also includes that how

Future developments in nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Phillips, G.J.

1978-12-01

To date, the peaceful application of nuclear energy has been largely restricted to the generation of electricity. Even with such an application there is potential for wider use of the nuclear energy generated in providing heat for dwellings, control of climate for the production of vegetables and providing warm water for fish and lobster farming. It is possible to envisage specific applications of nuclear power reactors to process industries requiring large blocks of energy. These and other future developments are reviewed in this report. (author)

The Philippine nuclear power project, its past, present and future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jovellanos, J.U.

1993-01-01

The article discussed the historical background of the nuclear power plants; how it operates; the government opinion on the operation of the nuclear power plant; the application of power resources to industry; the implementation of PNPP-1 particularly the economic aspects of energy in the near future. (IMA)

Risk management on nuclear power plant. Application of probabilistic risk assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kojima, Shigeo

2003-01-01

In U.S.A., nuclear safety regulation is moving to risk-informed regulation (RIR), so necessity of a standard to provide contents of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) constructing its roots has been discussed for a long time. In 1998, the Committee on Nuclear Risk Management (CNRM) of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) began to investigate the standard, of which last edition was published as the Standard for Probabilistic Risk Management for Nuclear Power Plant Applications: RA-S-2002 (PRMA) on April, 2002. As in the Committee, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), electric power companies, national institutes, PRA specialists, and so on took parts to carry out many discussions with full energies of participants on risk management in U.S.A., the standard was finished after about four years' efforts. In U.S.A., risk management having already used PRA is successfully practiced, U.S.A. is at a stage with more advancing steps of the risk management than Japan is. Here was described on the standard of PRA and a concrete method of the risk management carried out at nuclear power stations. (G.K.)

Research on Risk Management and Power Supplying Enterprise Control

Science.gov (United States)

Shen, Jianfei; Wang, Yige

2017-09-01

This paper derived from the background that electric power enterprises strengthen their risk management under requirements of the government. For the power industry, we explained the risk management theory, analysed current macro environment as well as basic situation, then classified and interpreted the main risks. In a case study on a power bureau, we established a risk management system based on deep understanding about the characteristics of its organization system and risk management function. Then, we focused on risks in operation as well as incorrupt government construction to give a more effective framework of the risk management system. Finally, we came up with the problems and specific countermeasures in risk management, which provided a reference for other electric power enterprises.

Hedging LDC price risk in the futures market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Trace, J.W.

1990-01-01

During its first five months the natural gas futures market has seen steady growth and increasing participation by various industry players, particularly producers, marketers, and brokers. Not much has been heard, however, about participation by the principal retailers of the gas industry, the local distribution companies (LDCs). Undoubtedly, various LDCs are now in the process of determining whether or not the gas futures market can serve any useful business purpose in their operations. In examining this question LDCs should keep in mind that the futures market should serve the same purpose for them as it does for any other business engaged in the actual buying and selling of price-volatile commodities - mitigation of price risk. This article looks at the risks of the market, gives examples of investments to hedge risks and looks at the overall performance of the market

Economic assessment of coal-fired and nuclear power generation in the year 2000 -Equal health hazard risk basis-

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seong, Ki Bong; Lee, Byong Whi

1989-01-01

On the basis of equal health hazard risk, economic assessment of nuclear was compared with that of coal for the expansion planning of electric power generation in the year 2000. In comparing health risks, the risk of coal was roughly ten times higher than that of nuclear according to various previous risk assessments of energy system. The zero risk condition can never be achievable. Therefore, only excess relative health risk of coal over nuclear was considered as social cost. The social cost of health risk was estimated by calculation of mortality and morbidity costs. Mortality cost was $250,000 and morbidity cost was $90,000 in the year 2000.(1986US$) Through Cost/Benefit Analysis, the optimal emission standards of coal-fired power generation were predicted. These were obtained at the point of least social cost for power generation. In the year 2000, the optimal emission standard of SO x was analyzed as 165ppm for coal-fired power plants in Korea. From this assessment, economic comparison of nuclear and coal in the year 2000 showed that nuclear would be more economical than coal, whereas uncertainty of future power generation cost of nuclear would be larger than that of coal. (Author)

Advances in Very High Frequency Power Conversion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kovacevic, Milovan

Resonant and quasi-resonant converters operated at frequencies above 30 MHz have attracted special attention in the last two decades. Compared to conventional converters operated at ~100 kHz, they offer significant advantages: smaller volume and weight, lower cost, and faster transient performance....... Excellent performance and small size of magnetic components and capacitors at very high frequencies, along with constant advances in performance of power semiconductor devices, suggests a sizable shift in consumer power supplies market into this area in the near future. To operate dc-dc converter power...... method provides low complexity and low gate loss simultaneously. A direct design synthesis method is provided for resonant SEPIC converters employing this technique. Most experimental prototypes were developed using low cost, commercially available power semiconductors. Due to very fast transient...

High power accelerator for environmental application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, B.; Kim, J.K.; Kim, Y.R.; Kim, S.M.

2011-01-01

The problems of environmental damage and degradation of natural resources are receiving increasing attention throughout the world. The increased population, higher living standards, increased urbanization and enhanced industrial activities of humankind are all leading to degradation of the environment. Increasing urbanization has been accompanied by significant environmental pollution, given the seriousness of the situation and future risk of crises, there is an urgent need to develop the efficient technologies including economical treatment methods. Therefore, cost-effective treatment of the stack gases, wastewater and sludge containing refractory pollutant with electron beam is actively studied in EB TECH Co. Electron beam treatment of such hazardous wastes is caused by the decomposition of pollutants as a result of their reactions with highly reactive species formed from radiolysis. However, to have advantages over existing processes, the electron beam process should have cost-effective and reliable in operation. Therefore high power accelerators (400kW~1MW) are developed for environmental application and they show the decrease in the cost of construction and operation of electron beam plant. In other way to reduce the cost for treatment, radical reactions accompanied by the other processes are introduced, and the synergistic effect upon the use of combined methods such as electron beam treatment with catalytic system, biological treatment and physico-chemical adsorption and others also show the improvement of the effect of electron beam treatment. (author)

High power accelerator for environmental application

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Han, B.; Kim, J. K.; Kim, Y. R.; Kim, S. M. [EB-TECH Co., Ltd., Yuseong-gu Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2011-07-01

The problems of environmental damage and degradation of natural resources are receiving increasing attention throughout the world. The increased population, higher living standards, increased urbanization and enhanced industrial activities of humankind are all leading to degradation of the environment. Increasing urbanization has been accompanied by significant environmental pollution, given the seriousness of the situation and future risk of crises, there is an urgent need to develop the efficient technologies including economical treatment methods. Therefore, cost-effective treatment of the stack gases, wastewater and sludge containing refractory pollutant with electron beam is actively studied in EB TECH Co. Electron beam treatment of such hazardous wastes is caused by the decomposition of pollutants as a result of their reactions with highly reactive species formed from radiolysis. However, to have advantages over existing processes, the electron beam process should have cost-effective and reliable in operation. Therefore high power accelerators (400kW~1MW) are developed for environmental application and they show the decrease in the cost of construction and operation of electron beam plant. In other way to reduce the cost for treatment, radical reactions accompanied by the other processes are introduced, and the synergistic effect upon the use of combined methods such as electron beam treatment with catalytic system, biological treatment and physico-chemical adsorption and others also show the improvement of the effect of electron beam treatment. (author)

Power Systems of the Future: A 21st Century Power Partnership Thought Leadership Report (Fact Sheet)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2015-01-01

Powerful trends in technology, policy environments, financing, and business models are driving change in power sectors globally. In light of these trends, the question is no longer whether power systems will be transformed, but rather how these transformations will occur. Power Systems of the Future, a thought leadership report from the 21st Century Power Partnership, explores these pathways explores actions that policymakers and regulators can take to encourage desired power system outcomes.

The safety of nuclear power: Strategy for the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

The conference took place in Vienna from 2 to 6 September 1991. It was attended by approximately 350 participants from about fifty countries and 12 international organizations. The conference was directed to decision makers on nuclear safety and energy policy at the technical policy level. Its objective was to review the nuclear power safety issues on which international consensus would be desirable, to address the concerns on nuclear safety expressed by the WCED, and to formulate recommendations for future actions by national and international authorities to advance nuclear safety to the highest level, including proposals for the IAEA's future activities for consideration by its governing bodies. Background Papers were prepared in advance of the conference by Expert Groups on the following five issues: Fundamental principles for the safe use of nuclear power; Ensuring and enhancing safety of operating plants; Treatment of nuclear power plants built to earlier safety standards; The next generation of nuclear power plants; Final disposal of radioactive waste. On the basis of comments received on these papers from IAEA Member States, significant topics for discussion were identified. These topics and the papers formed the basis of the discussions from which the conference arrived at recommendations for future action by national and international authorities. A separate abstract was prepared for the opening speeches, background papers, major findings of the conference and the President's closing statement. 2 figs, 1 tab

Feasibility of risk-informed technology for japanese nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshida, Tomoo; Fujioka, Terutaka; Kirimoto, Yorihiro; Ueda, Nobuyuki; Kinoshita, Izumi; Kashima, Koichi

2000-01-01

Risk-informed technology utilizes Probabilistic Safety Assessment for streamlining the maintenance of nuclear power plants. With this technology, plant components are categorized as either high or low-safety-significant components. The Maintenance requirements focuses on high safety-significant components and are relieved for low safety significant ones. This is expected to reduce plant cost while maintaining safety. We investigated especially risk-informed inservice inspection of piping in U.S. nuclear power plants in the interest of determining its feasibility for Japanese plants. Quantitative and qualitative RI-ISI methods were developed by the ASME/Westinghouse Owners Group and EPRI, respectively. These methods have been incorporated in the ASME Section 11 Code Cases and endorsed by the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The quantitative method evaluates component segment risks in terms of pipe failure probability calculated with a probabilistic fracture mechanics(PFM) model and pipe failure impact categorization on core damage frequency(CDF) calculated with PSA. The qualitative method uses pipe failure potential categorization derived from the plant service experiences and pipe failure impact on CDF derived from the PSA insight. The PFM model is applicable only to failures from initial welding defects and stress corrosion cracking, therefore it does not cover such significant failure mechanisms found in nuclear power plants as corrosion or high-cycle fatigue, etc.. Thus, a qualitative failure potential categorization method was developed on the basis of the service experiences of the U.S. nuclear power plants, so that appropriate categorization rules must be developed on the service experiences in Japanese plants. Accordingly, we have devised a software framework with a computer-aided system for the selection of risk significant elements. This system consists of a piping failure database module, a piping failure analysis module, and a piping failure potential

Maintenance risk management in Dayabay nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He Xuhong; Tong Jiejuan

2005-01-01

The importance of proper maintenance to safe and reliable nuclear plant operation has long been recognized by the nuclear utility and regulatory body. This paper presents a process of maintenance risk management developed for a Chinese Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). The process includes three phases: (I) long term maintenance plan risk management, (II) monthly maintenance plan risk management, and (III) detailed risk management for high risk configuration. A risk matrix is developed for phase I whose purpose is to provide a rough guide for risk management in the making of the annual maintenance plan. For Phase II and Phase III, a software tool named Maintenance- Risk-Monitor is developed based on the internal initiating event, level 1 PSA model. The results of Phase II are the risk information of the all plant configurations caused by the unavailability of the components included the monthly maintenance plan. When the increase of core damage frequency (CDF) or the incremental core damage probability (ICDP) of a configuration is higher than the corresponding thresholds, Phase III is needed for this high risk configuration to get the useful information such as risk-importance components, human actions and initial events, from which appropriate preventive measurements could be derived. It is hoped that the provided process of maintenance risk management, together with the developed software tool, could facilitate the maintenance activities in the NPPs of China. (authors)

Modeling high-Power Accelerators Reliability-SNS LINAC (SNS-ORNL); MAX LINAC (MYRRHA)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pitigoi, A. E.; Fernandez Ramos, P.

2013-01-01

Improving reliability has recently become a very important objective in the field of particle accelerators. The particle accelerators in operation are constantly undergoing modifications, and improvements are implemented using new technologies, more reliable components or redundant schemes (to obtain more reliability, strength, more power, etc.) A reliability model of SNS (Spallation Neutron Source) LINAC has been developed within MAX project and analysis of the accelerator systems reliability has been performed within the MAX project, using the Risk Spectrum reliability analysis software. The analysis results have been evaluated by comparison with the SNS operational data. Results and conclusions are presented in this paper, oriented to identify design weaknesses and provide recommendations for improving reliability of MYRRHA linear accelerator. The SNS reliability model developed for the MAX preliminary design phase indicates possible avenues for further investigation that could be needed to improve the reliability of the high-power accelerators, in view of the future reliability targets of ADS accelerators.

Electric vehicles to support large wind power penetration in future danish power systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pillai, Jayakrishnan Radhakrishna; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte; Thøgersen, Paul

2012-01-01

Electric Vehicles (EVs) could play major role in the future intelligent grids to support a large penetration of renewable energy in Denmark, especially electricity production from wind turbines. The future power systems aims to phase-out big conventional fossil-fueled generators with large number...... on low voltage residential networks. Significant amount of EVs could be integrated in local distribution grids with the support of intelligent grid and smart charging strategies....

The Future of Nuclear Power in the Light of European Energy Policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schweickardt, Hans E.

2014-01-01

1. Energy policy post-Fukushima: • Following the initial shock: differentiated development, no cohesive European policy; • EU: Nuclear Power (NP) remains important in the context of climate policy; • Bulk of European countries: Keep or even expand share of NP (UK, Eastern Europe); • Germany and Switzerland (CH): Exit from NP, in Germany based on previously fixed shutdown deadlines for every facility, in CH based on exclusion of new builds. 2. Switzerland's focus: • Current CH electricity supply: twin pillars of NP + hydro power; high sustainability. • Federal Council's new energy strategy and its consequences: Strain on economy and companies due to market distortion and high renovation costs; plus growing environmental stress, dependency on imports and social inequality due to artificially high electricity prices. 3. Future of nuclear power in Switzerland: Conceivable possibilities: • Short-term: Relatively rapid ban on nuclear power (but poss. with back-door research/no ban on thinking about the technology); • Medium-term: Ban on new facilities but old plants continue to operate; • Long-term: Re-entry/new start, poss. even sanctioned by politicians, on the following grounds: rather new facilities than old, good for the climate, costeffectiveness, energy security. 4. A new look for nuclear power? HTR technology of particular interest due to the following benefits: • Disposal (less waste, recycling); • Technical controllability, core meltdown impossible; • Manageable dimensions (particularly important in CH); • Financial feasibility. Whether NP will remain on the agenda, and which technology wins through also depends heavily on external factors: climate policy, cost-effectiveness/financial feasibility, readiness for market, change in value, trends in other energy sources. 5. Summary: Future of NP difficult to predict. If technology is mature and launched on the market within a reasonable time frame, the potential is there. Opportunities

Instrumentation Standard Architectures for Future High Availability Control Systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larsen, R.S.

2005-01-01

Architectures for next-generation modular instrumentation standards should aim to meet a requirement of High Availability, or robustness against system failure. This is particularly important for experiments both large and small mounted on production accelerators and light sources. New standards should be based on architectures that (1) are modular in both hardware and software for ease in repair and upgrade; (2) include inherent redundancy at internal module, module assembly and system levels; (3) include modern high speed serial inter-module communications with robust noise-immune protocols; and (4) include highly intelligent diagnostics and board-management subsystems that can predict impending failure and invoke evasive strategies. The simple design principles lead to fail-soft systems that can be applied to any type of electronics system, from modular instruments to large power supplies to pulsed power modulators to entire accelerator systems. The existing standards in use are briefly reviewed and compared against a new commercial standard which suggests a powerful model for future laboratory standard developments. The past successes of undertaking such projects through inter-laboratory engineering-physics collaborations will be briefly summarized

Dams, Hydrology and Risk in Future River Management

Science.gov (United States)

Wegner, D. L.

2017-12-01

Across America there are over 80,000 large to medium dams and globally the number is in excess of 800,000. Currently there are over 1,400 dams and diversion structures being planned or under construction globally. In addition to these documented dams there are thousands of small dams populating watersheds. Governments, agencies, native tribes, private owners and regulators all have a common interest in safe dams. Often dam safety is characterized as reducing structural risk while providing for maximum operational flexibility. In the 1970's there were a number of large and small dam failures in the United States. These failures prompted the federal government to issue voluntary dam safety guidelines. These guidelines were based on historic information incorporated into a risk assessment process to analyze, evaluate and manage risk with the goal to improve the quality of and support of dam management and safety decisions. We conclude that historic and new risks need to be integrated into dam management to insure adequate safety and operational flexibility. A recent assessment of the future role of dams in the United States premises that future costs such as maintenance or removal beyond the economic design life have not been factored into the long-term operations or relicensing of dams. The converging risks associated with aging water storage infrastructure, multiple dams within watersheds and uncertainty in demands policy revisions and an updated strategic approach to dam safety. Decisions regarding the future of dams in the United States may, in turn, influence regional water planning and management. Leaders in Congress and in the states need to implement a comprehensive national water assessment and a formal analysis of the role dams play in our water future. A research and national policy agenda is proposed to assess future impacts and the design, operation, and management of watersheds and dams.

High power gyrotrons: a close perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kartikeyan, M.V.

2012-01-01

Gyrotrons and their variants, popularly known as gyrodevices are millimetric wave sources provide very high powers ranging from long pulse to continuous wave (CW) for various technological, scientific and industrial applications. From their conception (monotron-version) in the late fifties until their successful development for various applications, these devices have come a long way technologically and made an irreversible impact on both users and developers. The possible applications of high power millimeter and sub-millimeter waves from gyrotrons and their variants (gyro-devices) span a wide range of technologies. The plasma physics community has already taken advantage of the recent advances of gyrotrons in the areas of RF plasma production, heating, non-inductive current drive, plasma stabilization and active plasma diagnostics for magnetic confinement thermonuclear fusion research, such as lower hybrid current drive (LHCD) (8 GHz), electron cyclotron resonance heating (ECRH) (28-170-220 GHz), electron cyclotron current drive (ECCD), collective Thomson scattering (CTS), heat-wave propagation experiments, and space-power grid (SPG) applications. Other important applications of gyrotrons are electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) discharges for the generation of multi- charged ions and soft X-rays, as well as industrial materials processing and plasma chemistry. Submillimeter wave gyrotrons are employed in high frequency, broadband electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Additional future applications await the development of novel high power gyro-amplifiers and devices for high resolution radar ranging and imaging in atmospheric and planetary science as well as deep space and specialized satellite communications, RF drivers for next generation high gradient linear accelerators (supercolliders), high resolution Doppler radar, radar ranging and imaging in atmospheric and planetary science, drivers for next-generation high-gradient linear accelerators

Report for the Prime Minister. Making the future French electric power organization a success

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dumont, J.L.

1998-01-01

This report from the French Deputy of the Meuse region aims at taking stock of four main questions raised by the future organization of the French electric power industry in the context of the opening of the European power market: the public utility of electric power, the future missions of Electricite de france (EdF) company, the questions in relation with the personnel status in the electric power industry, and the status of the regulating authority. In order to give some elements of answer to these questions, the report has been divided into 2 parts: part 1 presents the power production, transport and distribution in the future electric power regulation (the renewal of nuclear facilities, the building of non-nuclear units, the exploitation of the power distribution network, the accounting dissociation and the transparency of accountancy, the organization of network access, the eligible clients, the direct power lines, the obligations of purchase, the distribution and the role of local authorities). Part 2 presents the four main stakes of the modernization of the French electric power sector: the electric power public utility (public concern and rights, government policy, sustain of innovation, environment protection and energy mastery, the transportation and distribution networks, the role of operators and the financing), the future evolution of EdF (missions and organization, future of the public company), the social modernization of the electric power sector (present day status, adaptation, evolution, pensions), the organization and role of the future regulation authority. The propositions of the author are reported in the appendix. (J.S.)

The future of nuclear energy. A perspective on nuclear power development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sackett, J.I.

2000-01-01

Nuclear power has made a huge contribution to the quality of life for millions, providing electrical power without emitting green house gasses to the environment. Its safety record is sterling when compared to any major industrial undertaking by any measure. Yet the much of the public and many policy makers remain skeptical of nuclear power, if not down right frightened of it or opposed to it. 'The Future of Nuclear Power' examines what must be achieved by nuclear power itself to attain public support. Dr. John Sackett, a world leader in nuclear reactor safety, examines the four areas which must be addressed as this technology moves into the future proliferation of weapons material; waste management; safety; and, economics and concludes that the key to success in each of these areas is United States leadership in determining how nuclear power is developed and applied

Future independent power generation and implications for instruments and controls

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Williams, J.H.

1991-01-01

This paper reports that the independent power producers market is comprised of cogeneration, small power generation, and independent power production (IPP) segments. Shortfalls in future electric supply are expected to lead to significant growth in this market. The opportunities for instruments and controls will shift from traditional electric utility applications to the independent power market with a more diverse set of needs. Importance will be placed on system reliability, quality of power and increased demand for clean kWh

High-risk bladder cancer: improving outcomes with perioperative chemotherapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Y.C. Heng

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Despite treatment with radical cystectomy and pelvic lymph node dissection, muscle invasive bladder cancer has a relapse rate of 50%. Patients can develop regionally advanced or metastatic disease that ultimately leads to death. The addition of neoadjuvant or adjuvant chemotherapy to reduce the risk of relapse and death has been extensively studied over the past two decades. Two contemporary trials coupled with a recent meta-analysis evaluating neoadjuvant chemotherapy demonstrated a modest but real improvement in overall survival. This has made neoadjuvant chemotherapy a standard of care. Clinical trials evaluating adjuvant chemotherapy in patients with high-risk disease have been plagued with statistical flaws and have, therefore, been unable to define the survival impact of this approach. It is hoped that ongoing adjuvant trials that are powered to detect small but meaningful clinical differences will clarify the benefit of chemotherapy after cystectomy. Since there are theoretical advantages and disadvantages to each of these approaches, both are widely used in North America. The evidence behind each approach and potential future developments in this field will be described.

Future regulatory research needs on risk-informed and performance-based regulation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Wong Sik; Kim, Hho Jung

2004-01-01

The USNRC has pursued the incorporation of risk-informed and performance-based regulation (RIPBR) into nuclear safety regulatory system, as an alternative to improve existing nuclear safety regulation of nuclear power plants, which is deterministic and prescriptive. It focuses on the use of risk insight from probabilistic safety assessment (PSA). Recently, it becomes necessary to find a way to improve regulatory efficiency and effectiveness in order to cover the increasing regulatory needs in Korea. Also, the utility has optimized design and operation of the plant using PSA insight and equipment performance information. According to the increase of the necessity for regulatory improvement using risk and performance information, KINS (Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety) is developing, as a part of a mid and long-term project of Nuclear R and D program, how to adopt the RIPBR in Korean nuclear regulatory system. As the interim results, three basic directions and several principles that are necessary to implement RIPBR model were already identified from the previous study. This paper suggests a direction to future regulatory research on RIPBR based on the previous studies including the review of international trend of RIPBR and the evaluation of risk-informed regulatory environment

Nuclear Power for Future Electricity Generation in Ghana: Issues and Challenges

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nyarko, B.J.B.; Akaho, E.H.K.; Ennison, I.

2011-01-01

Ghana's electricity demand has been estimated to be growing at a high rate of about 7% per annum over the last ten years. This is due to the relatively high population growth, economic aspiration of the country and the extension of electricity to rural areas. Electricity supply, on the contrary, has been unable to meet the demand due to high dependency on rain-fed hydropower plants, which started operating in 1965 and currently account for about 68% of the total installed capacity. Within the last 28 years, climatic changes and draughts have caused the nation to experience three major power crises. These climate changes resulted in low inflows and thus reduced power generation from hydropower systems. To complement the hydropower systems, the Government in 1997 installed thermal plants based on light crude oil. However, due to the high crude oil prices on the international market in recent times have made the operation of these plants very expensive. Ghana's crude oil find can boost its energy supply when the oil exploration begins somewhere in 2010. For rural cooking, domestic biomass is employed. Ghana has no domestic coal resources. The Government of Ghana is concerned with: limited further growth potential of domestic hydro; high cost of imported oil and gas and environmental issues associated with use of imported coal. Small Solar and wind generation exist in some sectors, but potential large-scale development is not envisioned for the near future. With these in mind, the President of Ghana set up a Committee involving Stakeholder Institutions to formulate the Nuclear Power Policy and develop the basic elements of Nuclear Infrastructure and to assess the viability of introducing the nuclear power option in Ghana's energy mix. Cabinet took a decision to include the nuclear power for electricity generation after the Committee submitted his report to the President in 2008. (author)

Framework for Modeling High-Impact, Low-Frequency Power Grid Events to Support Risk-Informed Decisions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veeramany, Arun; Unwin, Stephen D.; Coles, Garill A.; Dagle, Jeffery E.; Millard, W. David; Yao, Juan; Glantz, Clifford S.; Gourisetti, Sri Nikhil Gup

2015-12-03

Natural and man-made hazardous events resulting in loss of grid infrastructure assets challenge the electric power grid’s security and resilience. However, the planning and allocation of appropriate contingency resources for such events requires an understanding of their likelihood and the extent of their potential impact. Where these events are of low likelihood, a risk-informed perspective on planning can be problematic as there exists an insufficient statistical basis to directly estimate the probabilities and consequences of their occurrence. Since risk-informed decisions rely on such knowledge, a basis for modeling the risk associated with high-impact low frequency events (HILFs) is essential. Insights from such a model can inform where resources are most rationally and effectively expended. The present effort is focused on development of a HILF risk assessment framework. Such a framework is intended to provide the conceptual and overarching technical basis for the development of HILF risk models that can inform decision makers across numerous stakeholder sectors. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) 2014 Standard TPL-001-4 considers severe events for transmission reliability planning, but does not address events of such severity that they have the potential to fail a substantial fraction of grid assets over a region, such as geomagnetic disturbances (GMD), extreme seismic events, and coordinated cyber-physical attacks. These are beyond current planning guidelines. As noted, the risks associated with such events cannot be statistically estimated based on historic experience; however, there does exist a stable of risk modeling techniques for rare events that have proven of value across a wide range of engineering application domains. There is an active and growing interest in evaluating the value of risk management techniques in the State transmission planning and emergency response communities, some of this interest in the context of

Nuclear power and probabilistic safety assessment (PSA): past through future applications

Science.gov (United States)

Stamatelatos, M. G.; Moieni, P.; Everline, C. J.

1995-03-01

Nuclear power reactor safety in the United States is about to enter a new era -- an era of risk- based management and risk-based regulation. First, there was the age of `prescribed safety assessment,' during which a series of design-basis accidents in eight categories of severity, or classes, were postulated and analyzed. Toward the end of that era, it was recognized that `Class 9,' or `beyond design basis,' accidents would need special attention because of the potentially severe health and financial consequences of these accidents. The accident at Three Mile Island showed that sequences of low-consequence, high-frequency events and human errors can be much more risk dominant than the Class 9 accidents. A different form of safety assessment, PSA, emerged and began to gain ground against the deterministic safety establishment. Eventually, this led to the current regulatory requirements for individual plant examinations (IPEs). The IPEs can serve as a basis for risk-based regulation and management, a concept that may ultimately transform the U.S. regulatory process from its traditional deterministic foundations to a process predicated upon PSA. Beyond the possibility of a regulatory environment predicated upon PSA lies the possibility of using PSA as the foundation for managing daily nuclear power plant operations.

Technology developments for ACIGA high power test facility for advanced interferometry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barriga, P [School of Physics, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009 (Australia); Barton, M [California Institute of Technology, LIGO Project, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States); Blair, D G [School of Physics, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA 6009 (Australia)] [and others

2005-05-21

The High Optical Power Test Facility for Advanced Interferometry has been built by the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy north of Perth in Western Australia. An 80 m suspended cavity has been prepared in collaboration with LIGO, where a set of experiments to test suspension control and thermal compensation will soon take place. Future experiments will investigate radiation pressure instabilities and optical spring effects in a high power optical cavity with {approx}200 kW circulating power. The facility combines research and development undertaken by all consortium members, whose latest results are presented.

Technology developments for ACIGA high power test facility for advanced interferometry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barriga, P; Barton, M; Blair, D G

2005-01-01

The High Optical Power Test Facility for Advanced Interferometry has been built by the Australian Consortium for Interferometric Gravitational Astronomy north of Perth in Western Australia. An 80 m suspended cavity has been prepared in collaboration with LIGO, where a set of experiments to test suspension control and thermal compensation will soon take place. Future experiments will investigate radiation pressure instabilities and optical spring effects in a high power optical cavity with ∼200 kW circulating power. The facility combines research and development undertaken by all consortium members, whose latest results are presented

Public perception process of nuclear power risk and some enlightenment to public education for nuclear power acceptance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Bo

2013-01-01

This paper, based on the international research literatures on perception of risks, designs a conceptual model of public perception of nuclear power risk. In this model, it is considered that the public perception of nuclear power risk is a dynamic, complicate and closed system and is a process from subjective perception to objective risk. Based on the features of the public perception of nuclear power risk and multi-faceted dimension influences as discussed, suggestions for the public education for nuclear power acceptance are given in five aspects with indication that the public education for nuclear power acceptance plays an important role in maintaining the public perception of nuclear power risk system. (author)

Management of the high-level nuclear power facilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Preda, Marin

2003-05-01

This thesis approaches current issues in the management of the high power nuclear facilities and as such it appears to be important particularly for nuclear power plant operation topics. Of special interest are the failure events entailing possible catastrophic situations. The contents is structured onto ten chapters. The first chapter describes the operation regimes of the nuclear high power facilities. Highlighted here are the thesis scope and the original features of the work. The second chapter deals with operational policies developed in order to ensure the preventive maintenance of the nuclear installations. Also managing structures are described devoted to practical warranting the equipment safety function of non-classical power stations. In the third chapter cases of nuclear accidents are analyzed especially stressing the probabilistic risk and the operation regimes having in view the elimination of catastrophic events. In the fourth and fifth chapters the control of nuclear radiation emission is treated focusing the quality issue of nuclear installations required to avoid hazardous effects at level of nuclear reactor operation stage. At the same time set of operational measures is given here for preventing risks, catastrophes and chaotic situations. The chapter five presents both theoretical and practical approaches of the nuclear reactor core management concerning particularly the fuel testing, the water primary system and the quality of the involved equipment. In the sixth and seventh chapters issues of risk-quality correlations are approached as well as the structure of expert systems for monitoring the operational regimes of nuclear facilities. The efficiency of the power systems with nuclear injection is discussed and some original ideas developed in this work are evidenced in the eighth and ninth chapters. Presented are here both the operational principles and models of raising the efficiency of the interconnected nuclear stations and prices' policy

Electric Vehicle Based Battery Storages for Future Power System Regulation Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pillai, Jayakrishnan Radhakrishna; Bak-Jensen, Birgitte

2009-01-01

supplying the reserve power requirements. This limited regulation services from conventional generators in the future power system calls for other new reserve power solutions like Electric Vehicle (EV) based battery storages. A generic aggregated EV based battery storage for long-term dynamic load frequency...

Requirements on future energy supply. Analysis on the demand of future power plant capacity and strategy for a sustainable power utilization in Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2003-08-01

This strategy paper was drawn up with a view to maximum ecological compatibility of pwer plant modernization and sustainable power generation and use. The first part of the paper analyzes the power plants to be decommissioned on a medium-term basis and - against the background of several different scenarios for future power demand - an estimate of power plant capacities required by 2020. The second part describes the goals and concrete requirements of sustainable energy use. In the final part, the available instruments are presented, and those instruments are recommended that will be best suited for making power demand and supply efficient, sustainable and environment-friend.y [de

Predicting High-Power Performance in Professional Cyclists.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanders, Dajo; Heijboer, Mathieu; Akubat, Ibrahim; Meijer, Kenneth; Hesselink, Matthijs K

2017-03-01

To assess if short-duration (5 to ~300 s) high-power performance can accurately be predicted using the anaerobic power reserve (APR) model in professional cyclists. Data from 4 professional cyclists from a World Tour cycling team were used. Using the maximal aerobic power, sprint peak power output, and an exponential constant describing the decrement in power over time, a power-duration relationship was established for each participant. To test the predictive accuracy of the model, several all-out field trials of different durations were performed by each cyclist. The power output achieved during the all-out trials was compared with the predicted power output by the APR model. The power output predicted by the model showed very large to nearly perfect correlations to the actual power output obtained during the all-out trials for each cyclist (r = .88 ± .21, .92 ± .17, .95 ± .13, and .97 ± .09). Power output during the all-out trials remained within an average of 6.6% (53 W) of the predicted power output by the model. This preliminary pilot study presents 4 case studies on the applicability of the APR model in professional cyclists using a field-based approach. The decrement in all-out performance during high-intensity exercise seems to conform to a general relationship with a single exponential-decay model describing the decrement in power vs increasing duration. These results are in line with previous studies using the APR model to predict performance during brief all-out trials. Future research should evaluate the APR model with a larger sample size of elite cyclists.

Studies of some risk factors for re-introduction and spread of highly ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

High risk based poultry management and marketing procedures, inadequate poultry housing were areas of major concern in these states. Future high ... Key words: Risk factors, avian influenza, spread, Nigeria ... AJOL African Journals Online.

RIMAP demonstration project. Pat. 1: Risk based life management of piping system in power plant Heilbronn

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bareiss, J.; Puck, P.; Matschecko, B.; Jovanovic, A.; Balos, D.; Perunicic

2003-01-01

In the framework of EU project RIMAP [1] a new European Guideline for optimized risk based maintenance and inspection planning of industrial plants (RBLM - Risk Based Life Management) is being developed. The RIMAP project consists of the three clustered projects: development (RTD), demonstration (DEMO) and thematic network (TN). Current work and future, planned work in RIMAP demonstration project on applications of the RIMAP methodology in power plants are presented briefly in the first part of the paper. Also presented in the paper are the results of a preliminary analysis of piping system in power plant Heilbronn using the concept of risk-based monitoring as part of overall concept of risk-based life management. Shortly the following issues are discussed in the paper: identification of critical components, application of a multilevel risk analysis (..from ''screening'' to ''detailed analysis''), determination of PoF - Probability of Failure, determination of COF - Consequence of Failure and optimation of inspection and maintenance plan. (orig.)

Credit risk management in the power sector

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Allen, D.

2002-01-01

Deregulation of the electric power industry has the potential to put power businesses at market risk particularly when the value of an asset or liability will change with market movements. Market risk gives rise to credit risk where a contract cannot be fulfilled. This presentation describes how credit risks can be identified and measured. Most practitioners use some variant of value-at-risk (VAR) technology for measuring market risk. Under this approach, risk is determined by the volatility implied by the market. Volatility of electricity prices and natural gas prices has increased significantly in Alberta in recent years. The consequence is an increase in both market and credit risk. The author described the difference between the two risks and their significance. An overview of credit risk management with derivatives, an over-the counter contract, was also presented. The author also discusses issue of protection buyers in the event of a failed contract. 9 figs

Innovation on high-power long-pulse gyrotrons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Litvak, Alexander; Sakamoto, Keishi; Thumm, Manfred

2011-01-01

Progress in the worldwide development of high-power gyrotrons for magnetic confinement fusion plasma applications is described. After technology breakthroughs in research on gyrotron components in the 1990s, significant progress has been achieved in the last decade, in particular, in the field of long-pulse and continuous wave (CW) gyrotrons for a wide range of frequencies. At present, the development of 1 MW-class CW gyrotrons has been very successful; these are applicable for self-ignition experiments on fusion plasmas and their confinement in the tokamak ITER, for long-pulse confinement experiments in the stellarator Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) and for EC H and CD in the future tokamak JT-60SA. For this progress in the field of high-power long-pulse gyrotrons, innovations such as the realization of high-efficiency stable oscillation in very high order cavity modes, the use of single-stage depressed collectors for energy recovery, highly efficient internal quasi-optical mode converters and synthetic diamond windows have essentially contributed. The total tube efficiencies are around 50% and the purity of the fundamental Gaussian output mode is 97% and higher. In addition, activities for advanced gyrotrons, e.g. a 2 MW gyrotron using a coaxial cavity, multi-frequency 1 MW gyrotrons and power modulation technology, have made progress.

Present condition and the future of photovoltaic generating systems. Part 5. Future perspective of photovoltaic power systems; Taiyo hikarihatsuden system no genjo to shorai. 5. Taiyo hikarihatsuden system no shorai tenbo

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Horigome, T

1994-12-20

In this paper, as the future perspective of photovoltaic power systems, the establishment of the legal environment for the popularization of the photovoltaic power systems in large amounts and the future prediction of the popularization of power generation are described. Specially the following grand ideas are introduced: building in high seas regeneratable energy transformation plants with solar energy as the main energy, generating combined power of photovoltaic, solar heat, wave and temperature difference of the sea water, biomass, solar-bio power generating without CO2 exhaustion, building hard solar plants to produce electricity, hydrogen, methanol and fresh water from regeneratable energy, and breeding fish, shells and see weed in the sea pasture land under the plants, which are the so called `Energy sea pasture high breed plants (REPO Plan)` and also space power generating i.e. setting up special satellites for solar power generation in synchronous orbits, generating power through solar batteries or solar heat and then transmitting it to the earth through microwave. 12 refs., 4 figs.

Qualitative Description of Electric Power System Future States

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hardy, Trevor D.; Corbin, Charles D.

2018-03-06

The simulation and evaluation of transactive systems depends to a large extent on the context in which those efforts are performed. Assumptions regarding the composition of the electric power system, the regulatory and policy environment, the distribution of renewable and other distributed energy resources (DERs), technological advances, and consumer engagement all contribute to, and affect, the evaluation of any given transactive system, regardless of its design. It is our position that the assumptions made about the state of the future power grid will determine, to some extent, the systems ultimately deployed, and that the transactive system itself may play an important role in the evolution of the power system.

Comparison of inhalation risks : oil- versus gas-fired urban power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levin, L.

2000-01-01

The risks due to inhalation of emitted trace substances from natural gas-fired power plants tend to be significantly lower than those from oil- or coal-fired plants. A 1994 study suggested that the median inhalation life-time cancer risk from gas-fired plants was about 4 in one billion. This is an acceptable risk range according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) classification of risks. In the same study, median oil plant risks were 8 in one billion. coal plant median risks ranged from 2 to 3 in one billion depending on the grade of coal being burned. The US EPA classifies risks from 1 to one million to one to 10,000 as being in an acceptable risk range. In some cases, gas plants were shown to exhibit higher inhalation risks than oil plants due to terrain, air circulation patterns, enhanced stack or building downwash or mechanical turbulence. Higher concentrations of very potent trace substances could also result in high inhalation risks. An examination of several power plants in an urban area showed that initial judgements about risk can often be incorrect

Power source labelling and hydro-power - a chance or a risk?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wurche, P.

2005-01-01

This short article discusses the electricity labelling legislation passed in Switzerland in November 2004 and similar legislation currently being introduced on a Europe-wide basis. In the future, electricity consumers will be provided with regular information on where and in which type of power station their electricity is generated. The article discusses how such a declaration may affect Swiss hydro-power stations and the changes in customer-perception that the power generation declaration will initiate

External hazards in reliability and risk assessment of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stevenson, J.D.

1977-01-01

It is current practice in the design of nuclear power generating stations to protect against the effects of significant natural and man-made external hazards which can occur at the plant site in excess of those hazards normally considered for conventional facilities. This paper is meant to identify those postulated external hazards typically considered in nuclear facility design. The paper also attempts to fulfill the following four objectives: (1) Define the current state of the art in applying reliability and risk analysis to determine external hazard design requirements. (2) Provide a ready source of literature references applicable to probabilistic design for extreme loads. (3) Provide some quantitative probability assessment estimates of external hazards. (4) Develop exclusion criteria by which postulated external hazards can be eliminated as a design basis. Rigorous evaluation of the design requirements for nuclear power plant facilities based on principles of probability and risk analysis is just beginning. It is hoped these techniques will be used more extensively in the future to provide a more rational basis for developing design requirements. (orig.) [de

Strength and balance training for adults with peripheral neuropathy and high risk of fall: current evidence and implications for future research.

Science.gov (United States)

Tofthagen, Cindy; Visovsky, Constance; Berry, Donna L

2012-09-01

To evaluate the evidence for strength- and balance-training programs in patients at high risk for falls, discuss how results of existing studies might guide clinical practice, and discuss directions for additional research. A search of PubMed and CINAHL® databases was conducted in June 2011 using the terms strength, balance training, falls, elderly, and neuropathy. Only clinical trials conducted using specific strength- or balance-training exercises that included community-dwelling adults and examined falls, fall risk, balance, and/or strength as outcome measures were included in this review. One matched case-control study and two randomized, controlled studies evaluating strength and balance training in patients with diabetes-related peripheral neuropathy were identified. Eleven studies evaluating strength and balance programs in community-dwelling adults at high risk for falls were identified. The findings from the reviewed studies provide substantial evidence to support the use of strength and balance training for older adults at risk for falls, and detail early evidence to support strength and balance training for individuals with peripheral neuropathy. The evidence demonstrates that strength and balance training is safe and effective at reducing falls and improving lower extremity strength and balance in adults aged 50 years and older at high risk for falls, including patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy. Future studies should evaluate the effects of strength and balance training in patients with cancer, particularly individuals with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.

A new market risk model for cogeneration project financing---combined heat and power development without a power purchase agreement

Science.gov (United States)

Lockwood, Timothy A.

Federal legislative changes in 2006 no longer entitle cogeneration project financings by law to receive the benefit of a power purchase agreement underwritten by an investment-grade investor-owned utility. Consequently, this research explored the need for a new market-risk model for future cogeneration and combined heat and power (CHP) project financing. CHP project investment represents a potentially enormous energy efficiency benefit through its application by reducing fossil fuel use up to 55% when compared to traditional energy generation, and concurrently eliminates constituent air emissions up to 50%, including global warming gases. As a supplemental approach to a comprehensive technical analysis, a quantitative multivariate modeling was also used to test the statistical validity and reliability of host facility energy demand and CHP supply ratios in predicting the economic performance of CHP project financing. The resulting analytical models, although not statistically reliable at this time, suggest a radically simplified CHP design method for future profitable CHP investments using four easily attainable energy ratios. This design method shows that financially successful CHP adoption occurs when the average system heat-to-power-ratio supply is less than or equal to the average host-convertible-energy-ratio, and when the average nominally-rated capacity is less than average host facility-load-factor demands. New CHP investments can play a role in solving the world-wide problem of accommodating growing energy demand while preserving our precious and irreplaceable air quality for future generations.

Prediction of Maintenance Period of Equipment Through Risk Assessment of Thermal Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Song, Gee Wook; Kim, Bum Shin; Choi, Woo Song; Park, Myung Soo [KEPCO Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2013-10-15

Risk-based inspection (RBI) is a well-known method that is used to optimize inspection activities based on risk analysis in order to identify the high-risk components of major facilities such as power plants. RBI, when implemented and maintained properly, improves plant reliability and safety while reducing unplanned outages and repair costs. Risk is given by the product of the probability of failure (Pof) and the consequence of failure (COF). A semi-quantitative method is generally used for risk assessment. Semi-quantitative risk assessment complements the low accuracy of qualitative risk assessment and the high expense and long calculation time of quantitative risk assessment. The first step of RB I is to identify important failure modes and causes in the equipment. Once these are defined, the Pof and COF can be assessed for each failure. During Pof and COF assessment, an effective inspection method and range can be easily found. In this paper, the calculation of the Pof is improved for accurate risk assessment. A modified semi-quantitative risk assessment was carried out for boiler facilities of thermal power plants, and the next maintenance schedules for the equipment were decided.

Prediction of Maintenance Period of Equipment Through Risk Assessment of Thermal Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song, Gee Wook; Kim, Bum Shin; Choi, Woo Song; Park, Myung Soo

2013-01-01

Risk-based inspection (RBI) is a well-known method that is used to optimize inspection activities based on risk analysis in order to identify the high-risk components of major facilities such as power plants. RBI, when implemented and maintained properly, improves plant reliability and safety while reducing unplanned outages and repair costs. Risk is given by the product of the probability of failure (Pof) and the consequence of failure (COF). A semi-quantitative method is generally used for risk assessment. Semi-quantitative risk assessment complements the low accuracy of qualitative risk assessment and the high expense and long calculation time of quantitative risk assessment. The first step of RB I is to identify important failure modes and causes in the equipment. Once these are defined, the Pof and COF can be assessed for each failure. During Pof and COF assessment, an effective inspection method and range can be easily found. In this paper, the calculation of the Pof is improved for accurate risk assessment. A modified semi-quantitative risk assessment was carried out for boiler facilities of thermal power plants, and the next maintenance schedules for the equipment were decided

Demographic controls of future global fire risk

Science.gov (United States)

Knorr, W.; Arneth, A.; Jiang, L.

2016-08-01

Wildfires are an important component of terrestrial ecosystem ecology but also a major natural hazard to societies, and their frequency and spatial distribution must be better understood. At a given location, risk from wildfire is associated with the annual fraction of burned area, which is expected to increase in response to climate warming. Until recently, however, only a few global studies of future fire have considered the effects of other important global environmental change factors such as atmospheric CO2 levels and human activities, and how these influence fires in different regions. Here, we contrast the impact of climate change and increasing atmospheric CO2 content on burned area with that of demographic dynamics, using ensembles of climate simulations combined with historical and projected population changes under different socio-economic development pathways for 1901-2100. Historically, humans notably suppressed wildfires. For future scenarios, global burned area will continue to decline under a moderate emissions scenario, except for low population growth and fast urbanization, but start to increase again from around mid-century under high greenhouse gas emissions. Contrary to common perception, we find that human exposure to wildfires increases in the future mainly owing to projected population growth in areas with frequent wildfires, rather than by a general increase in burned area.

Present status and future outlook of nuclear power generation in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunikazu Aisaka

1987-01-01

The structure of energy consumption in Japan is heavily dependent on imported oil, therefore Japan has been making its greatest effort in developing nuclear power among other alternatives of oil. The capacity factor of the nuclear power plants in Japan marked 76% in FY 1986, exceeding 70% level for the past several years. The share of nuclear power is expected to increase steadily in the future. Future scale of the nuclear power generation is projected as 62,000 MW in year 2000 and as 137,000 MW in 2030. Nuclear power is expected to produce 58% of the nation's total power generation in 2030. Under the present circumstances, Janpan is executing a nuclear energy policy based on the following guidelines: 1. Promoting the safety advancement program; 2. Improving LWR technologies; 3. Program on use of plutonium in thermal reactors; 4. Advanced thermal reactors (ATRs); 5. Promotion of FBR development; 6. Nuclear fuel cycle. (Liu)

Risk Assessment Method of UHV AC/DC Power System under Serious Disasters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rishang Long

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Based on the theory of risk assessment, the risk assessment method for an ultra-high voltage (UHV AC/DC hybrid power system under severe disaster is studied. Firstly, considering the whole process of cascading failure, a fast failure probability calculation method is proposed, and the whole process risk assessment model is established considering the loss of both fault stage and recovery stage based on Monte Carlo method and BPA software. Secondly, the comprehensive evaluation index system is proposed from the aspects of power system structure, fault state and economic loss, and the quantitative assessment of system risk is carried out by an entropy weight model. Finally, the risk assessment of two UHV planning schemes are carried out and compared, which proves the effectiveness of the research work.

High Input Voltage Discharge Supply for High Power Hall Thrusters Using Silicon Carbide Devices

Science.gov (United States)

Pinero, Luis R.; Scheidegger, Robert J.; Aulsio, Michael V.; Birchenough, Arthur G.

2014-01-01

A power processing unit for a 15 kW Hall thruster is under development at NASA Glenn Research Center. The unit produces up to 400 VDC with two parallel 7.5 kW discharge modules that operate from a 300 VDC nominal input voltage. Silicon carbide MOSFETs and diodes were used in this design because they were the best choice to handle the high voltage stress while delivering high efficiency and low specific mass. Efficiencies in excess of 97 percent were demonstrated during integration testing with the NASA-300M 20 kW Hall thruster. Electromagnet, cathode keeper, and heater supplies were also developed and will be integrated with the discharge supply into a vacuum-rated brassboard power processing unit with full flight functionality. This design could be evolved into a flight unit for future missions that requires high power electric propulsion.

High power accelerators and wastewater treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Han, B.; Kim, J.K.; Kim, Y.R.; Kim, S.M.; Makaov, I.E.; Ponomarev, A.V.

2006-01-01

The problems of environmental damage and degradation of natural resources are receiving increasing attention throughout the world. The increased population, higher living standards, increased urbanization and enhanced industrial activities of humankind are all leading to degradation of the environment. Increasing urbanization has been accompanied by significant water pollution. Given the seriousness of the situation and future risk of crises, there is an urgent need to develop the water-efficient technologies including economical treatment methods of wastewater and polluted water. Therefore, cost-effective treatment of the municipal and industrial wastewater containing refractory pollutant with electron beam is actively studied in EB TECH Co.. Electron beam treatment of wastewater is caused by the decomposition of pollutants as a result of their reactions with highly reactive species formed from water radiolysis (hydrated electron, OH free radical and H atom). However, to have advantages over existing processes, the electron beam process should have cost-effective and reliable in operation. Therefore high power accelerators (400kW∼1MW) are developed for environmental application and they show the decrease in the cost of construction and operation of electron beam plant. In other way to reduce the cost for wastewater treatment, radical reactions accompanied by the other processes are introduced, and the synergistic effect upon the use of combined methods such as electron beam treatment with ozonation, biological treatment and physico-chemical adsorption and others also show the improvement of the effect of electron beam treatment for the wastewater purification. (author)

Distance to high-voltage power lines and risk of childhood leukemia--an analysis of confounding by and interaction with other potential risk factors.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camilla Pedersen

Full Text Available We investigated whether there is an interaction between distance from residence at birth to nearest power line and domestic radon and traffic-related air pollution, respectively, in relation to childhood leukemia risk. Further, we investigated whether adjusting for potential confounders alters the association between distance to nearest power line and childhood leukemia. We included 1024 cases aged <15, diagnosed with leukemia during 1968-1991, from the Danish Cancer Registry and 2048 controls randomly selected from the Danish childhood population and individually matched by gender and year of birth. We used geographical information systems to determine the distance between residence at birth and the nearest 132-400 kV overhead power line. Concentrations of domestic radon and traffic-related air pollution (NOx at the front door were estimated using validated models. We found a statistically significant interaction between distance to nearest power line and domestic radon regarding risk of childhood leukemia (p = 0.01 when using the median radon level as cut-off point but not when using the 75th percentile (p = 0.90. We found no evidence of an interaction between distance to nearest power line and traffic-related air pollution (p = 0.73. We found almost no change in the estimated association between distance to power line and risk of childhood leukemia when adjusting for socioeconomic status of the municipality, urbanization, maternal age, birth order, domestic radon and traffic-related air pollution. The statistically significant interaction between distance to nearest power line and domestic radon was based on few exposed cases and controls and sensitive to the choice of exposure categorization and might, therefore, be due to chance.

Prospects and risks of future network-bound supply systems. A multi-criteria procedure for the assessment of future scenarios; Chancen und Risiken zukuenftiger netzgebundener Versorgung. Ein multi-kriterielles Verfahren zur Bewertung von Zukunftsszenarien

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Karger, C.R.; Hennings, W.; Jaeger, T.

2006-07-01

Shaping the developments of network-based supply systems is a difficult challenge in the context of preparing for the future. The structures for supplying the public with the basic goods electricity, gas and water, and also telecommunication services, have become the subject of public debates. A sustainable future for the supplies is being sought: measures for protecting the climate have been requested; citizens have committed themselves to opposing not only planned power stations, and coal mining, but also wind power plants; energy resources like coal, oil and natural gas are becoming scarce and expensive. At the same time, the supply utilities must meet the challenges of privatization, market openings and globalization. The pressure of high costs necessitates savings. The question is which choices are open within the framework of these determining factors. Setting the course for a sustainable future supply means that a method is needed for diagnosing the opportunities and risks of future developments as early as possible and for leveling out promising paths. The bases upon which decisions are made should be as transparent as possible and hence be easy to understand and put into action. lt is against this background that this study looks at specific options for the future and uses this as a basis for developing a method which tries to answer the question ''What is it that we want?''. It is not about an abstract discussion of the sustainability of future supplies or the contribution of specific technologies to sustainability, but about views of the future of supplies with respect to all societal aspects, with reference to which specific objectives are discussed, the pros and cons of which are weighed up, and regarding which the expected conflicts and potentials for reaching a consensus are leveled out. The essential features of this method are the multiple stages involved and the inclusion of science and society. Scientific and societal actors

High Efficiency Power Converter for Low Voltage High Power Applications

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nymand, Morten

The topic of this thesis is the design of high efficiency power electronic dc-to-dc converters for high-power, low-input-voltage to high-output-voltage applications. These converters are increasingly required for emerging sustainable energy systems such as fuel cell, battery or photo voltaic based...

Risk-benefit evaluation of nuclear power plant siting

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miettinen, J.; Savolainen, I.; Silvennoinen, P.

1976-01-01

An assessment scheme is described for the risk-benefit analyses of nuclear power versus conventional alternatives. Given the siting parameters for the proposed nuclear plant an economic comparison is made with the most advantageous competitive conventional production scenario. The economic benefit is determined from the differential discounted annual energy procurement cost as a function of the real interest rate and amortization time. The risk analysis encompasses the following factors: radiation risks in normal operation, reactor accident hazards and economic risks, atmospheric pollutants from the conventional power plants, and fuel transportation. The hazards are first considered in terms of probabilistic dose distributions. In the second stage risk components are converted to a compatible form where excess mortality is used as the risk indicator. Practical calculations are performed for the power production alternatives of Helsinki where district heat would be extracted from the nuclear power plant. At the real interest rate of 10% and amortization time of 20 yr the 1000 MW(e) nuclear option is found to be Pound9.1 m per yr more economic than the optimal conventional scenario. Simultaneously the nuclear alternative is estimated to reduce excess mortality by 2 to 5 fatal injuries annually. (author)

NdFeB magnets for high-power motors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oswald, B.; Soell, M.; Berberich, A.

1998-01-01

The use of REM in electric motors especially in the case of servo drives is state of the art today. Whether permanent magnet types SmCo or NdFeB are also suitable for high power main drives has to be decided regarding criteria which apply to high power machines. In this paper operation characteristics of common electric motors and especially those of drives with controlled speed are presented. In the case of electric motors with REM, increased output power and high efficiency at the same time are to be expected in comparison to classical drives. This makes them attractive for a number of applications. However their speed range is restricted for fundamental reasons as normally weakening of field is not possible. It is to be expected that due to their advantages the use of permanent magnet motors for elevated output power also will increase. Besides other forms they can be used also as special design such as e.g. round or flat linear motors. Their power density (force density) makes them attractive for numerous applications in this form. A comparison between permanent magnet motors with superconducting motors made of bulk HTS material gives insight into the wide area of future design of electrical machines. (orig.)

Future carbon regulations and current investments in alternative coal-fired power plant technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sekar, Ram C.; Parsons, John E.; Herzog, Howard J.; Jacoby, Henry D.

2007-01-01

We analyze how uncertain future US carbon regulations shape the current choice of the type of power plant to build. Our focus is on two coal-fired technologies, pulverized coal (PC) and integrated coal gasification combined cycle technology (IGCC). The PC technology is cheapest-assuming there is no need to control carbon emissions. The IGCC technology may be cheaper if carbon must be captured. Since power plants last many years and future regulations are uncertain, a US electric utility faces a standard decision under uncertainty. A company will confront the range of possible outcomes, assigning its best estimate of the probability of each scenario, averaging the results and determining the power plant technology with the lowest possible cost inclusive of expected future carbon related costs, whether those costs be in the form of emissions charges paid or capital expenditures for retrofitting to capture carbon. If the company assigns high probability to no regulation or to less stringent regulation of carbon, then it makes sense for it to build the PC plant. But if it assigns sufficient probability to scenarios with more stringent regulation, then the IGCC technology is warranted. We provide some useful benchmarks for possible future regulation and show how these relate back to the relative costs of the two technologies and the optimal technology choice. Few of the policy proposals widely referenced in the public discussion warrant the choice of the IGCC technology. Instead, the PC technology remains the least costly. However, recent carbon prices in the European Emissions Trading System are higher than these benchmarks. If it is any guide to possible future penalties for emissions in the US, then current investment in the IGCC technology is warranted. Of course, other factors need to be factored into the decision as well

Report for the Prime Minister. Making the future French electric power organization a success; Rapport au Premier Ministre. Reussir la future organisation electrique francaise

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dumont, J L

1999-12-31

This report from the French Deputy of the Meuse region aims at taking stock of four main questions raised by the future organization of the French electric power industry in the context of the opening of the European power market: the public utility of electric power, the future missions of Electricite de france (EdF) company, the questions in relation with the personnel status in the electric power industry, and the status of the regulating authority. In order to give some elements of answer to these questions, the report has been divided into 2 parts: part 1 presents the power production, transport and distribution in the future electric power regulation (the renewal of nuclear facilities, the building of non-nuclear units, the exploitation of the power distribution network, the accounting dissociation and the transparency of accountancy, the organization of network access, the eligible clients, the direct power lines, the obligations of purchase, the distribution and the role of local authorities). Part 2 presents the four main stakes of the modernization of the French electric power sector: the electric power public utility (public concern and rights, government policy, sustain of innovation, environment protection and energy mastery, the transportation and distribution networks, the role of operators and the financing), the future evolution of EdF (missions and organization, future of the public company), the social modernization of the electric power sector (present day status, adaptation, evolution, pensions), the organization and role of the future regulation authority. The propositions of the author are reported in the appendix. (J.S.)

Mom Power: preliminary outcomes of a group intervention to improve mental health and parenting among high-risk mothers.

Science.gov (United States)

Muzik, Maria; Rosenblum, Katherine L; Alfafara, Emily A; Schuster, Melisa M; Miller, Nicole M; Waddell, Rachel M; Stanton Kohler, Emily

2015-06-01

Maternal psychopathology and traumatic life experiences may adversely impact family functioning, the quality of the parent-child relationship and the attachment bond, placing the child's early social-emotional development at risk. Attachment-based parenting interventions may be particularly useful in decreasing negative outcomes for children exposed to risk contexts, yet high risk families frequently do not engage in programs to address mental health and/or parenting needs. This study evaluated the effects of Mom Power (MP), a 13-session parenting and self-care skills group program for high-risk mothers and their young children (age parenting competence, and engagement in treatment. Mothers were referred from community health providers for a phase 1 trial to assess feasibility, acceptability, and pilot outcomes. At baseline, many reported several identified risk factors, including trauma exposure, psychopathology, poverty, and single parenthood. Ninety-nine mother-child pairs were initially recruited into the MP program with 68 women completing and providing pre- and post-self-report measures assessing demographics and trauma history (pre-assessment only), maternal mental health (depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)), parenting, and intervention satisfaction. Results indicate that MP participation was associated with reduction in depression, PTSD, and caregiving helplessness. A dose response relationship was evident in that, despite baseline equivalence, women who attended ≥70 % of the 10 groups (completers; N = 68) improved on parenting and mental health outcomes, in contrast to non-completers (N = 12). Effects were most pronounced for women with a mental health diagnosis at baseline. The intervention was perceived as helpful and user-friendly. Results indicate that MP is feasible, acceptable, and holds promise for improving maternal mental health and parenting competence among high-risk dyads. Further research is warranted to evaluate

Personnel Safety for Future Magnetic Fusion Power Plants

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee Cadwallader

2009-07-01

The safety of personnel at existing fusion experiments is an important concern that requires diligence. Looking to the future, fusion experiments will continue to increase in power and operating time until steady state power plants are achieved; this causes increased concern for personnel safety. This paper addresses four important aspects of personnel safety in the present and extrapolates these aspects to future power plants. The four aspects are personnel exposure to ionizing radiation, chemicals, magnetic fields, and radiofrequency (RF) energy. Ionizing radiation safety is treated well for present and near-term experiments by the use of proven techniques from other nuclear endeavors. There is documentation that suggests decreasing the annual ionizing radiation exposure limits that have remained constant for several decades. Many chemicals are used in fusion research, for parts cleaning, as use as coolants, cooling water cleanliness control, lubrication, and other needs. In present fusion experiments, a typical chemical laboratory safety program, such as those instituted in most industrialized countries, is effective in protecting personnel from chemical exposures. As fusion facilities grow in complexity, the chemical safety program must transition from a laboratory scale to an industrial scale program that addresses chemical use in larger quantity. It is also noted that allowable chemical exposure concentrations for workers have decreased over time and, in some cases, now pose more stringent exposure limits than those for ionizing radiation. Allowable chemical exposure concentrations have been the fastest changing occupational exposure values in the last thirty years. The trend of more restrictive chemical exposure regulations is expected to continue into the future. Other issues of safety importance are magnetic field exposure and RF energy exposure. Magnetic field exposure limits are consensus values adopted as best practices for worker safety; a typical

Personnel Safety for Future Magnetic Fusion Power Plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cadwallader, Lee

2009-01-01

The safety of personnel at existing fusion experiments is an important concern that requires diligence. Looking to the future, fusion experiments will continue to increase in power and operating time until steady state power plants are achieved; this causes increased concern for personnel safety. This paper addresses four important aspects of personnel safety in the present and extrapolates these aspects to future power plants. The four aspects are personnel exposure to ionizing radiation, chemicals, magnetic fields, and radiofrequency (RF) energy. Ionizing radiation safety is treated well for present and near-term experiments by the use of proven techniques from other nuclear endeavors. There is documentation that suggests decreasing the annual ionizing radiation exposure limits that have remained constant for several decades. Many chemicals are used in fusion research, for parts cleaning, as use as coolants, cooling water cleanliness control, lubrication, and other needs. In present fusion experiments, a typical chemical laboratory safety program, such as those instituted in most industrialized countries, is effective in protecting personnel from chemical exposures. As fusion facilities grow in complexity, the chemical safety program must transition from a laboratory scale to an industrial scale program that addresses chemical use in larger quantity. It is also noted that allowable chemical exposure concentrations for workers have decreased over time and, in some cases, now pose more stringent exposure limits than those for ionizing radiation. Allowable chemical exposure concentrations have been the fastest changing occupational exposure values in the last thirty years. The trend of more restrictive chemical exposure regulations is expected to continue into the future. Other issues of safety importance are magnetic field exposure and RF energy exposure. Magnetic field exposure limits are consensus values adopted as best practices for worker safety; a typical

Risks in the operation of hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power in Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goldemberg, J.

1986-01-01

A comparison between the utilization of electrical energy generated by hydroelectric power plant and nuclear power plant is made. The risks from nuclear installations and the environmental effects of hydroelectric power plants and nuclear power plants are presented. (E.G.) [pt

Power plants 2020+. Power plant options for the future and the related demand for research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

This short overview already demonstrates that in the foreseeable future all generation options - nuclear power, fossil-fired power plants and renewable sources of energy - will continue to be applied. If, however, due to climate protection targets, energy conversion processes are to be to switched to CO 2 -free or -low carbon energy sources, comprehensive research endeavours will be required in order to advance existing technology options and to adjust them to changing conditions. This paper is bound to recommend individual fields of research from the viewpoint of the VGB Scientific Advisory Board for the period 2020 and beyond. Firstly, the generation structure in the European high-voltage grid and its development until 2020 will be considered, then the research demand for - Hard coal- and lignite-fired power plants, - Renewables-based electricity generation (wind, solar energy) and - Nuclear-based electricity generation will be outlined briefly, listing the main technology issues to be answered by researchers in order to increase efficiency and to settle any ''loose ends''. Apart from generation technologies, the options for storing electrical energy will also be dealt with. These options can contribute to make the feed-in of renewables-based electricity more permanent and sustainable. (orig.)

Markov chain algorithms: a template for building future robust low-power systems

Science.gov (United States)

Deka, Biplab; Birklykke, Alex A.; Duwe, Henry; Mansinghka, Vikash K.; Kumar, Rakesh

2014-01-01

Although computational systems are looking towards post CMOS devices in the pursuit of lower power, the expected inherent unreliability of such devices makes it difficult to design robust systems without additional power overheads for guaranteeing robustness. As such, algorithmic structures with inherent ability to tolerate computational errors are of significant interest. We propose to cast applications as stochastic algorithms based on Markov chains (MCs) as such algorithms are both sufficiently general and tolerant to transition errors. We show with four example applications—Boolean satisfiability, sorting, low-density parity-check decoding and clustering—how applications can be cast as MC algorithms. Using algorithmic fault injection techniques, we demonstrate the robustness of these implementations to transition errors with high error rates. Based on these results, we make a case for using MCs as an algorithmic template for future robust low-power systems. PMID:24842030

Selection of power plant elements for future reactor space electric power systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buden, D.; Bennett, G.A.; Copper, K.

1979-09-01

Various types of reactor designs, electric power conversion equipment, and reject-heat systems to be used in nuclear reactor power plants for future space missions were studied. The designs included gas-cooled, liquid-cooled, and heat-pipe reactors. For the power converters, passive types such as thermoelectric and thermionic converters and dynamic types such as Brayton, potassium Rankine, and Stirling cycles were considered. For the radiators, heat pipes for transfer and radiating surface, pumped fluid for heat transfer with fins as the radiating surface, and pumped fluid for heat transfer with heat pipes as the radiating surface were considered. After careful consideration of weights, sizes, reliabilities, safety, and development cost and time, a heat-pipe reactor design, thermoelectric converters, and a heat-pipe radiator for an experimental program were selected

Key regulatory challenges for future nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Todreas, Neil E.

2001-01-01

Key regulatory challenges for future nuclear power plants are concerned with fuel and cladding materials taken to higher burnup and operated at higher temperatures. Particular challenges are related to reduction in waste toxicity, understanding and control of coolant corrosion, qualification of fuel particles, new maintenance practices

Nuclear power's changing future - Fastest growth in Asia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2004-01-01

Twenty-two of the last 31 nuclear power plants (NPPs) connected to the world's energy grid have been built in Asia, driven by the pressures of economic growth, natural resource scarcity and increasing populations. Of the new NPPs presently under construction, 18 of the 27 are located in Asia, while construction has virtually halted in Western European and North American countries with long-standing nuclear power programmes, says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA reports that although four Western European countries have decided to shut down their nuclear energy plants, the future of nuclear energy in Europe and North America is still far from clear, during a period when energy needs and concerns over global warming are both rising. Only one new NPP is beginning construction in Western Europe. No new NPPs are planned in North America, although that could change very soon. The Conference examines the status and future of nuclear power 50 years after the first nuclear energy producing plant came o n-line , at a plant near Moscow in the then Soviet Union on June 26, 1954. It covers the following topics: Nuclear Prospects in Near and Long-Term; Nuclear Power Today: Shifting to the East; Climate Change and Economics: Factors for Growth (NPPs Avoid Carbon Emissions, Costs are Low at Operating Plants; New Plants are Expensive); the Key Issues are Safety and Waste management; Uranium resources are abundant; sustainable development

LCA of electricity systems with high wind power penetration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Turconi, Roberto; O' Dwyer, C. O.; Flynn, D.

Electricity systems are shifting from being based on fossil fuels towards renewable sources to enhance energy security and mitigate climate change. However, by introducing high shares of variable renewables - such as wind and solar - dispatchable power plants are required to vary their output...... to fulfill the remaining electrical demand, potentially increasing their environmental impacts [1,2]. In this study the environmental impacts of potential short-term future electricity systems in Ireland with high shares of wind power (35-50% of total installed capacity) were evaluated using life cycle...... considered: while not outweighing the benefits from increasing wind energy, cycling emissions are not negligible and should thus be systematically included (i.e. by using emission factors per unit of fuel input rather than per unit of power generated). Cycling emissions increased with the installed wind...

Coal and nuclear power: Illinois' energy future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

This conference was sponsored by the Energy Resources Center, University of Illinois at Chicago; the US Department of Energy; the Illinois Energy Resources Commission; and the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The theme for the conference, Coal and Nuclear Power: Illinois' Energy Future, was based on two major observations: (1) Illinois has the largest reserves of bituminous coal of any state and is surpassed in total reserves only by North Dakota, and Montana; and (2) Illinois has made a heavy commitment to the use of nuclear power as a source of electrical power generation. Currently, nuclear power represents 30% of the electrical energy produced in the State. The primary objective of the 1982 conference was to review these two energy sources in view of the current energy policy of the Reagan Administration, and to examine the impact these policies have on the Midwest energy scene. The conference dealt with issues unique to Illinois as well as those facing the entire nation. A separate abstract was prepared for each of the 30 individual presentations

Fusion reactor development using high power particle beams

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ohara, Y.

1990-01-01

The present paper outlines major applications of the ion source/accelerator to fusion research and also addresses the present status and future plans for accelerator development. Applications of ion sources/accelerators for fusion research are discussed first, focusing on plasma heating, plasma current drive, plasma current profile control, and plasma diagnostics. The present status and future plan of ion sources/accelerators development are then described focusing on the features of existing and future tokamak equipment. Positive-ion-based NBI systems of 100 keV class have contributed to obtaining high temperature plasmas whose parameters are close to the fusion break-even condition. For the next tokamak fusion devices, a MeV class high power neutral beam injector, which will be used to obtain a steady state burning plasma, is considered to become the primary heating and current drive system. Development of such a system is a key to realize nuclear fusion reactor. It will be entirely indebted to the development of a MeV class high current negative deuterium ion source/accelerator. (N.K.)

Nuclear power now and in the future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Collier, J G [Nuclear Electric (United Kingdom)

1991-08-01

The future of the nuclear industry in the United Kingdom is considered from the perspective of the new public sector utility, Nuclear Electric, set up to retain control of nuclear power stations on the privatization of the rest of the electricity supply industry. Two major objectives are the increased nuclear generation of electricity and the cutting of costs. These are discussed in terms of life extension programmes for the magnox reactors, improved performance of AGR reactors and expectations for the Sizewell B PWR station now under construction; waste management, reactor decommissioning and fuel-cycle costs are also considered. Economic, environmental and political criteria are outlined which need to be addressed in relation to the government's review of nuclear power in 1991. Because of the marginal economic advantages of nuclear power in the United Kingdom, it will be important to quantify the environmental and diversity benefits of this source. (UK).

Nuclear power plant safety - the risk of accidents

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higson, D.; Crancher, D.W.

1975-08-01

Although it is physically impossible for any nuclear plant to explode like an atom bomb, an accidental release of radioactive material into the environment is conceivable. Three factors reduce the probability of such releases, in dangerous quantities, to an extremely low level. Firstly, there are many safety features built into the plant including a leaktight containment building to prevent the escape of such material. Secondly, the quality of engineering and standards used are far more demanding than in conventional power engineering. Thirdly, strict government licensing and regulatory control is enforced at all phases from design through construction to operation. No member of the general public is known to have been injured or died as a result of any accident to a commercial nuclear power plant. Ten workers have died as a result of over-exposure to radiation from experimental reactors and laboratory work connected with the development of nuclear plant since 1945. Because of this excellent safety record the risk of serious accidents can only be estimated. On the basis of such estimates, the chance of an accident in a nuclear power reactor which could cause a detectable increase in the incidence of radiation-induced illnesses would be less than one chance in a million per year. In a typical highly industrialised society, such as the USA, the estimated risk of an individual being killed by such accidents, from one hundred operating reactors, is no greater than one chance in sixteen million per year. There are undoubtedly risks from reactor accidents but estimates of these risks show that they are considerably less than from other activities which are accepted by society. (author)

Analyzing Potential Grid Impacts from Future In-Motion Roadway Wireless Power Transfer Scenarios: Preprint

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Meintz, Andrew; Gonder, Jeffrey; Jorgenson, Jennie; Brooker, Aaron

2016-08-01

This work examines the grid impact of in-motion roadway wireless power transfer through the examination of the electrification of high-capacity roadways inside a metropolitan area. The work uses data from a regional travel study and the Federal Highway Administration's Highway Performance Monitoring System to estimate the electrified roadway's hourly power use throughout a week. The data are then combined with hourly grid load estimates for the same metropolitan area to determine the overlay of traditional grid load with additional load from a future electrified roadway.

The nuclear power corporation's foreign exchange risk management research

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yi

2012-01-01

To manage and control foreign exchange rate risk under the floating exchange rate system, historical simulation method of VaR model has been utilized to evaluate the nuclear power corporation's foreign exchange risk and the risk causation has been analyzed. Finally, the measure of enhancing the nuclear power corporation's foreign exchange rate risk management level has been exposed for sharing. (author)

Generating power at high efficiency combined cycle technology for sustainable energy production

CERN Document Server

Jeffs, E

2008-01-01

Combined cycle technology is used to generate power at one of the highest levels of efficiency of conventional power plants. It does this through primary generation from a gas turbine coupled with secondary generation from a steam turbine powered by primary exhaust heat. Generating power at high efficiency thoroughly charts the development and implementation of this technology in power plants and looks to the future of the technology, noting the advantages of the most important technical features - including gas turbines, steam generator, combined heat and power and integrated gasification com

Risk contribution from low power, shutdown, and other operational modes beyond full power

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Whitehead, D.W.; Brown, T.D. [Sandia National Labs., Albuquerque, NM (United States); Chu, T.L. [Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)] [and others

1995-04-01

During 1989 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated an extensive program to carefully examine the potential risks during low power and shutdown operations. Two plants, Surry (a pressurized water reactor) and Grand Gulf (a boiling water reactor), were selected for study by Brookhaven National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, respectively. The program objectives included assessing the risks of severe accidents initiated during plant operational states other than full power and comparing estimated core damage frequencies, important accident sequences, and other qualitative and quantitative results with full power accidents as assessed in NUREG-1150. The scope included a Level 3 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) for traditional internal events and a Level 1 PRA on fire, flooding, and seismically induced core damage sequences. A phased approach was used in Level 1. In Phase 1 the concept of plant operational states (POSs) was developed to provide a better representation of the plant as it transitions from power to nonpower operation. This included a coarse screening analysis of all POSs to identify vulnerable plant configurations, to characterize (on a high, medium, or low basis) potential frequencies of core damage accidents, and to provide a foundation for a detailed Phase 2 analysis. In Phase 2, selected POSs from both Grand Gulf and Surry were chosen for detailed analysis. For Grand Gulf, POS 5 (approximately cold shutdown as defined by Grand Gulf Technical Specifications) during a refueling outage was selected. For Surry, three POSs representing the time the plant spends in midloop operation were chosen for analysis. These included POS 6 and POS 10 of a refueling outage and POS 6 of a drained maintenance outage. Level 1 and Level 2/3 results from both the Surry and Grand Gulf analyses are presented.

Risk contribution from low power, shutdown, and other operational modes beyond full power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitehead, D.W.; Brown, T.D.; Chu, T.L.; Pratt, W.T.

1995-01-01

During 1989 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) initiated an extensive program to carefully examine the potential risks during low power and shutdown operations. Two plants, Surry (a pressurized water reactor) and Grand Gulf (a boiling water reactor), were selected for study by Brookhaven National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, respectively. The program objectives included assessing the risks of severe accidents initiated during plant operational states other than full power and comparing estimated core damage frequencies, important accident sequences, and other qualitative and quantitative results with full power accidents as assessed in NUREG-1150. The scope included a Level 3 probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) for traditional internal events and a Level 1 PRA on fire, flooding, and seismically induced core damage sequences. A phased approach was used in Level 1. In Phase 1 the concept of plant operational states (POSs) was developed to provide a better representation of the plant as it transitions from power to nonpower operation. This included a coarse screening analysis of all POSs to identify vulnerable plant configurations, to characterize (on a high, medium, or low basis) potential frequencies of core damage accidents, and to provide a foundation for a detailed Phase 2 analysis. In Phase 2, selected POSs from both Grand Gulf and Surry were chosen for detailed analysis. For Grand Gulf, POS 5 (approximately cold shutdown as defined by Grand Gulf Technical Specifications) during a refueling outage was selected. For Surry, three POSs representing the time the plant spends in midloop operation were chosen for analysis. These included POS 6 and POS 10 of a refueling outage and POS 6 of a drained maintenance outage. Level 1 and Level 2/3 results from both the Surry and Grand Gulf analyses are presented

Analysis of power system collapse risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eleschova, Z.; Belan, A.; Cintula, B.; Smitkova, M.

2012-01-01

In this paper are analysed the initialization events with considering different scenarios and their impact on the power system transient stability. As an initialization event is considered a short circuit at various places of power line. In each scenario are considered protection failures (backup protection), circuit-breaker failures (breaker failure relay activation). The individual states are analysed and the power system collapse risk assessed based on the simulation experiments results (Authors)

Risk management in nuclear power social aspects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sappa, N.N.

1996-01-01

Problems connected with safety evaluation and risk management during operation of nuclear power installations are considered. Social aspects of risk assessment of enterprises with increased danger are discussed

High power electromagnetic propulsion research at the NASA Glenn Research Center

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

LaPointe, Michael R.; Sankovic, John M.

2000-01-01

Interest in megawatt-class electromagnetic propulsion has been rekindled to support newly proposed high power orbit transfer and deep space mission applications. Electromagnetic thrusters can effectively process megawatts of power to provide a range of specific impulse values to meet diverse in-space propulsion requirements. Potential applications include orbit raising for the proposed multi-megawatt Space Solar Power Satellite and other large commercial and military space platforms, lunar and interplanetary cargo missions in support of the NASA Human Exploration and Development of Space strategic enterprise, robotic deep space exploration missions, and near-term interstellar precursor missions. As NASA's lead center for electric propulsion, the Glenn Research Center is developing a number of high power electromagnetic propulsion technologies to support these future mission applications. Program activities include research on MW-class magnetoplasmadynamic thrusters, high power pulsed inductive thrusters, and innovative electrodeless plasma thruster concepts. Program goals are highlighted, the status of each research area is discussed, and plans are outlined for the continued development of efficient, robust high power electromagnetic thrusters

Probabilistic risk assessment in the nuclear power industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fullwood, R.R.; Hall, R.E.

1988-01-01

This book describes the more important improvements in risk assessment methodology developed over the last decade. The book covers the following areas - a general view of risk pertaining to nuclear power, mathematics necessary to understand the text, a concise overview of the light water reactors and their features for protecting the public, probabilities and consequences calculated to form risk assessment to the plant, and 34 applications of probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) in the power generation industry. There is a glossary of acronyms and unusual words and a list of references. (author)

The global climate change and its effect on power generation in Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, Iftekhar; Alam, Firoz; Alam, Quamrul

2013-01-01

Frequent and intense natural calamities, sea level rises and salinity have been causing adverse impacts on economic, environmental and social aspects of hundreds of millions people across the world. Although a series of studies was undertaken on social and environment impacts, very little information is available on power generation affected by climate change. The power generation in developing countries, especially Bangladesh, whose existence is severely threatened by the rise of sea levels, salinity, the ambient temperature, drought and flood, is not well studied and reported. Therefore, the primary objective of this study was to identify the risks imposed by global climate change on existing and projected power generation in Bangladesh. The climate effect parameters and their impacts on power generation capacity are studied and analysed. The findings indicate that all existing and future power plants and their generation across the country will be affected by global climate change. - Highlights: • Analysed the future climate change impact on power generation in Bangladesh. • Projected future power generation in Bangladesh up to 2100. • Power plant in coastal areas will experience threat of inundation and salinity. • Northwest region power generation in Bangladesh will face more drought threat. • Power generation in middle region of Bangladesh will be in high risk of flood

Market role, profitability and competitive features of thermal power plants in the Swedish future electricity market with high renewable integration

OpenAIRE

Llovera Bonmatí, Albert

2017-01-01

The Swedish energy market is currently undergoing a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, including a potential phase-out of nuclear power. The combination of a phase-out with expansion of intermittent renewable energy leads to the issue of increased fluctuations in electricity production. Energy-related organizations and institutions are projecting future Swedish energy scenarios with different possible transition pathways. In this study the market role of thermal power p...

Use of high temperature superconductors for future fusion magnet systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fietz, W H [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut fuer Technische Physik, Karlsruhe (Germany); Celentano, G; Della Corte, A [Superconductivity Division, ENEA - Frascati Research Center, Frascati (Italy); Goldacker, W; Heller, R; Komarek, P; Kotzyba, G; Nast, R; Obst, B; Schlachter, S I; Schmidt, C; Zahn, G [Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe, Institut fuer Technische Physik, Karlsruhe (Germany); Pasztor, G; Wesche, R [Centre de Recherches en Physique des Plasmas, Villingen (Switzerland); Salpietro, E; Vostner, A [European Fusion Development Agreement, Close Support Unit, Garching (Germany)

2005-01-01

With the construction of ITER the feasibility of a fusion machine will be demonstrated. To commercialize fusion it is essential to keep losses as small as possible in future fusion power plants. One major component where losses can be strongly reduced is the cooling system. For example in ITER where efficiency is not a major goal, a cooling power of 64 kW at 4.4 K is foreseen taking more than 20 MW electric power. Considering the size of future commercial fusion machines this consumption of electric power for cooling will even be higher. With a magnet system working at 20 K a fusion machine would work more efficient by a factor of 5-10 with respect to electric power consumption for cryogenics. Even better than that, would be a machine with a magnet system operating at 65 K to 77 K. In this case liquid nitrogen could be used as coolant saving money for investment and operation costs. Such an increase in the operating temperature of the magnet system can be achieved by the use of High- Temperature Superconductors (HTS). In addition the use of HTS would allow much smaller efforts for thermal shielding and alternative thermal insulation concepts may be possible, e.g. for an HTS bus bar system. This contribution will give an overview about status, promises and challenges of HTS conductors on the way to an HTS fusion magnet system beyond ITER. (author)

Fukushima and thereafter: Reassessment of risks of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Srinivasan, T.N.; Gopi Rethinaraj, T.S.

2013-01-01

The Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11, 2011 in Japan has severely dented the prospects of growth of civilian nuclear power in many countries. Although Japan's worst nuclear accident was triggered by an unprecedented earthquake and tsunami, inadequate safety countermeasures and collusive ties between the plant operators, regulators, and government officials left the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant beyond redemption. A critical examination of the accident reveals that the accumulation of various technical and institutional lapses only compounded the nuclear disaster. Besides technical fixes such as enhanced engineering safety features and better siting choices, the critical ingredient for safe operation of nuclear reactors lie in the quality of human training and transparency of the nuclear regulatory process that keeps public interest—not utility interest—at the forefront. The need for a credible and transparent analysis of the social benefits and risks of nuclear power is emphasized in the context of energy portfolio choice. - Highlights: ► Public perception associates reactor accidents with nuclear weapon explosions. ► Future siting of nuclear plants should avoid coasts prone to flooding and tsunamis. ► Nuclear regulators have to independent from political and industry pressures. ► Building new nuclear power plants will not be feasible without state subsidies. ► Social cost benefit analysis of nuclear power is essential to gain public acceptance.

Future Challenges in Managing Human Health and Performance Risks for Space Flight

Science.gov (United States)

Corbin, Barbara J.; Barratt, Michael

2013-01-01

The global economy forces many nations to consider their national investments and make difficult decisions regarding their investment in future exploration. To enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration, we must pool global resources to understand and mitigate human health & performance risks prior to embarking on human exploration of deep space destinations. Consensus on the largest risks to humans during exploration is required to develop an integrated approach to mitigating risks. International collaboration in human space flight research will focus research on characterizing the effects of spaceflight on humans and the development of countermeasures or systems. Sharing existing data internationally will facilitate high quality research and sufficient power to make sound recommendations. Efficient utilization of ISS and unique ground-based analog facilities allows greater progress. Finally, a means to share results of human research in time to influence decisions for follow-on research, system design, new countermeasures and medical practices should be developed. Although formidable barriers to overcome, International working groups are working to define the risks, establish international research opportunities, share data among partners, share flight hardware and unique analog facilities, and establish forums for timely exchange of results. Representatives from the ISS partnership research and medical communities developed a list of the top ten human health & performance risks and their impact on exploration missions. They also drafted a multilateral data sharing plan to establish guidelines and principles for sharing human spaceflight data. Other working groups are also developing methods to promote international research solicitations. Collaborative use of analog facilities and shared development of space flight research and medical hardware continues. Establishing a forum for exchange of results between researchers, aerospace physicians

Wind power plant system services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basit, Abdul; Altin, Müfit

Traditionally, conventional power plants have the task to support the power system, by supplying power balancing services. These services are required by the power system operators in order to secure a safe and reliable operation of the power system. However, as in the future the wind power...... is going more and more to replace conventional power plants, the sources of conventional reserve available to the system will be reduced and fewer conventional plants will be available on-line to share the regulation burden. The reliable operation of highly wind power integrated power system might...... then beat risk unless the wind power plants (WPPs) are able to support and participate in power balancing services. The objective of this PhD project is to develop and analyse control strategies which can increase the WPPs capability to provide system services, such as active power balancing control...

Estimating and comparing risks in the future

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llewellyn, Gareth

1998-01-01

The current position of power generation in UK is balanced. Recently 16 advanced gas cooled reactors are in operation. Privatisation of most power generation plants is done. Some trialing of environmental premia is performed. Environmental management is very strong. Nuclear power status in the UK is as follows: 16 Advanced gas cooled reactors, 1 Pressurised water reactor, Nuclear Electric/Scottish Nuclear in commercial operation; out of 18 Magnox reactors in operation 3 are decommissioned, 8 are due to stop operating before 2000. Non-nuclear fuel used are coal, oil, gas, hydropower. Besides carbon dioxide emissions emerging issue is rad waste disposal. This presentation deals with the strategic risk assessment in power generation sector

Fabrication and Characterization of Li-ion Electrodes for High-Power Energy Storage Devices

OpenAIRE

Lai, Chun-Han

2017-01-01

Renewable energy technologies have been a rapidly emerging option to meet future energy demand. However, their systems require stable, high-power storage devices to overcome fluctuating energy outputs for consistent distribution. Since traditional Li-ion batteries (LIB) are not considered to be capable of fast charging and discharging, we have to develop devices with new chemistry for high-power operation. This dissertation focuses on the development of supercapacitors and high-rate batteries...

Physics of laser fusion. Volume IV. The future development of high-power solid-state laser systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Emmett, J.L.; Krupke, W.F.; Trenholme, J.B.

1982-11-01

Solid state lasers, particularly neodymium glass systems, have undergone intensive development during the last decade. In this paper, we review solid state laser technology in the context of high-peak-power systems for inertial confinement fusion. Specifically addressed are five major factors: efficiency, wavelength flexibility, average power, system complexity, and cost; these factors today limit broader application of the technology. We conclude that each of these factors can be greatly improved within current fundamental physical limits. We further conclude that the systematic development of new solid state laser madia, both vitreous and crystalline, should ultimately permit the development of wavelength-flexible, very high average power systems with overall efficiencies in the range of 10 to 20%

Current status and future expectation concerning probabilistic risk assessment of NPPs. 1. Features and issues of probabilistic risk assessment methodology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Masahiro

2012-01-01

Probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) of Nuclear Power Plants (NPPs) could play an important role in assuring safety of NPPs. However PRA had not always effectively used, which was indicated in Japanese government's report on Fukushima Daiichi NPP accident. At the Risk Technical Committee (RTC) of Standards Committee of Atomic Energy Society of Japan, preparation of standards (implementing criteria) focusing on PRA methodology and investigation on basic philosophy for use of PRA had been in progress. Based on activities of RTC, a serial in three articles including this described current status and future expectation concerning probabilistic risk assessment of NPPs. This article introduced features and issues of PRA methodology related to the use of PRA. Features of PRA methodology could be shown as (1) systematic and comprehensive understanding of risk, (2) support of grading approach, (3) identification of effective safety upgrade measures and (4) quantitative understanding of effects of uncertainty. Issues of PRA methodology were (1) extension of PRA application area, (2) upgrade of PRA methodology, (3) quality assurance of PRA, (4) treatment of uncertainty and (5) quantitative evaluation criteria. (T. Tanaka)

The importance of fossil-fired power plants for the future energy supply

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Czychon, K.H.

2013-01-01

In response to the nuclear disaster in Fukushima and the phasing out of nuclear energy in Germany which is planned up to the year 2022, in addition to the already decommissioned nuclear power plants, a further outage capacity of approximately 13 MW will result. Against the background of the unresolved storage problem, regardless of further expansion of the use of renewable energy sources, the need arises for additional fossil-fueled power plants, i.e. gas and coal power plants. The development of gas prices shows that a further expansion of the gas turbine power plants is limited for economic reasons. This leads to the consequence that the future coal-fired power plants are needed to produce electricity. To meet the requirements for a reduction of CO 2 emissions laws, new power plants must be built with increased efficiency compared to previous systems. In order to meet the challenges of future fossil fuel power plant generations, the Grosskraftwerk Mannheim (Large-scale Power Plant Mannheim) is involved in numerous research projects to increase efficiency, reduce harmful emissions and economic implementation of ambitious technologies.

Empirical analysis on future-cash arbitrage risk with portfolio VaR

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Rongda; Li, Cong; Wang, Weijin; Wang, Ze

2014-03-01

This paper constructs the positive arbitrage position by alternating the spot index with Chinese Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) portfolio and estimating the arbitrage-free interval of futures with the latest trade data. Then, an improved Delta-normal method was used, which replaces the simple linear correlation coefficient with tail dependence correlation coefficient, to measure VaR (Value-at-risk) of the arbitrage position. Analysis of VaR implies that the risk of future-cash arbitrage is less than that of investing completely in either futures or spot market. Then according to the compositional VaR and the marginal VaR, we should increase the futures position and decrease the spot position appropriately to minimize the VaR, which can minimize risk subject to certain revenues.

Wind Power - A Power Source Enabled by Power Electronics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Blaabjerg, Frede; Chen, Zhe

2004-01-01

. The deregulation of energy has lowered the investment in bigger power plants, which means the need for new electrical power sources may be very high in the near future. Two major technologies will play important roles to solve the future problems. One is to change the electrical power production sources from......The global electrical energy consumption is still rising and there is a steady demand to increase the power capacity. The production, distribution and the use of the energy should be as technological efficient as possible and incentives to save energy at the end-user should be set up...... the conventional, fossil (and short term) based energy sources to renewable energy sources. The other is to use high efficient power electronics in power systems, power production and end-user application. This paper discuss the most emerging renewable energy source, wind energy, which by means of power...

High power klystrons for efficient reliable high power amplifiers

Science.gov (United States)

Levin, M.

1980-11-01

This report covers the design of reliable high efficiency, high power klystrons which may be used in both existing and proposed troposcatter radio systems. High Power (10 kW) klystron designs were generated in C-band (4.4 GHz to 5.0 GHz), S-band (2.5 GHz to 2.7 GHz), and L-band or UHF frequencies (755 MHz to 985 MHz). The tubes were designed for power supply compatibility and use with a vapor/liquid phase heat exchanger. Four (4) S-band tubes were developed in the course of this program along with two (2) matching focusing solenoids and two (2) heat exchangers. These tubes use five (5) tuners with counters which are attached to the focusing solenoids. A reliability mathematical model of the tube and heat exchanger system was also generated.

Advanced Electrodes for High Power Li-ion Batteries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christian M. Julien

2013-03-01

Full Text Available While little success has been obtained over the past few years in attempts to increase the capacity of Li-ion batteries, significant improvement in the power density has been achieved, opening the route to new applications, from hybrid electric vehicles to high-power electronics and regulation of the intermittency problem of electric energy supply on smart grids. This success has been achieved not only by decreasing the size of the active particles of the electrodes to few tens of nanometers, but also by surface modification and the synthesis of new multi-composite particles. It is the aim of this work to review the different approaches that have been successful to obtain Li-ion batteries with improved high-rate performance and to discuss how these results prefigure further improvement in the near future.

Present situation and future prospects for French nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Carle, R.

1984-01-01

The author depicts the present situation and future of the French nuclear power programme which has now become a major industrial reality after successful acceptance of a twofold challenge: the technical problem and that of training the personnel responsible for operating the power stations. The large number of nuclear plants now in operation and planned for the next few years makes electricity generated from nuclear power a ''new industrial reality'', which we must still learn to utilize to the best effect [fr

Some thoughts on risk acceptance and nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brejora, S.

2001-01-01

Risks are assessed very differently in our modern society. While a number of everyday risks, some of which are hardly perceptible while others are quite spectacular, are accepted to a considerable extent, many other risks, often minor ones, are overemphasized and rejected. Risk assessment in the minds of people is a function of a number of subjective, emotional factors with decisive psychological components which lead to irrational assessment especially of a number of manmade risks, including nuclear power. Factors to be mentioned in the assessment of the risks of nuclear power, among others, are the imaginary phenomenon of radioactivity and nuclear fission; the growing intrusion of technology into our living environment; the need to fall back upon expert knowledge; and the intuitive, wrong correlation of technical expense for safety with the perceived risk. As is seen, opinions are formed not solely on the basis of rational findings, but are influenced by many factors, some of which cannot be reproduced in a rational way. This makes it imperative to include in the debate about risks of technology, specifically the discussion about the use of nuclear power, the psychological aspect in order to arrive at a reasonable way for society to handle technology. (orig.) [de

Hydrogen risk reduction in Nuclear power plant

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Movahed, M.A.; Travis, J.R.

1999-01-01

In case of a severe accident in a nuclear power plant with core melt and hydrogen production, the hydrogen risk is one of the main concerns. It may jeopardize the containment integrity due to violent deflagration that can lead to DDT (Deflagration Detonation Transient) or even detonation of proper hydrogen mitigation means are not available. The design of the EPR (European Pressurized water Reactor) Hydrogen mitigation and control system is based on the lumped parameter code WAVCO and the 3D code GASFLOW. The concept consists of recombiners and igniters to cope with all scenarios including those without steam. The system has been checked to avoid DDT by the 7λ criteria that's implemented in GASFLOW. Future analysis could deal with determining dynamic pressure loads, if appropriate, and some sensitivity studies to check the hydrogen control measures with respect to different source locations and mass flow rates. Also a conditional criterion for determining the likelihood of fast deflagration should be developed. (author)

The contracting risks of nuclear power engineering and the risk management strategies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ding Shuying

2010-01-01

With the trend of professional operation on the nuclear power engineering (thereafter using NPE for short) construction, the companies specialized on NPE whole-contracting are established one after the other, the mode of NPE whole-contracting has been wide adopted domestically. As people always concern for the safety of nuclear power, the risks exposed to NPE contractors are also concerned with the operator, the NPE corporations and the society. Therefore, it is very meaningful to analyze on the risks exposed to NPE contractors and the strategies they should take, for it not only determines whether the NPE construction will be finished on time, but also related to sustainable development of the NPE contracting corporations. The main content of this paper includes the analysis on the features and advantages of NPE whole contracting, the major NPE contracting risks, such as nuclear safety risks, strategic risks, market risks, legal risks, financial risks and operation risks, and the strategies to prevent or to control these risks. The paper focuses on identifying those business processes which risks may frequently take place, and how to manage them, illustrating practice cases to explain the theory, in order to make reference to NPE corporations. (author)

Risks of power generation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mostert, P.

1981-01-01

A comparison is made between the various ways of power generation in the Netherlands and the hazards attached to them. Tables are presented of fuels used, the quantities used per annum and in the course of the last 20 years, accidents and pollution types and percentages, as well as the toxicity and waste disposal risks. (Auth.)

The MIT report 'The future of nuclear power' and its implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Suzuki, Tatsujiro; Nagano, Koji

2004-01-01

An interdisciplinary MIT study : 'The Future of Nuclear Power' was published on 29 July, 2003. Its important points and meaning of this report are described. The object of the report is to make clear what should be played a part of nuclear power. From the growth scenario of nuclear power in the world, it concluded nuclear power had to generate 100 million kW, 19% total power generation, in 2050. Three choices for future of nuclear power are expected as followings, 1) once-through operation of the existing thermal neutron reactors and direct processing of spent fuel, 2) closed cycle operation of thermal neutron reactors and recycle burnup of MOX fuel of separated Pu (PUREX/MOX) and 3) introduction of fast reactors for closed cycle operation of both fast and thermal neutron reactors in order of material balance of the latter reactors. It is the most important part of the report that these choices were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively on the view points of economical efficiency, waste disposal (short and long term), non-proliferation and safety (reactor and fuel cycle). Some new politics such as support of nuclear power introduction, waste disposal and development of researches are suggested. (S.Y.)

The safety of future nuclear power plants in France

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Queniart, D.

1988-10-01

The present paper concerns certain personal thoughts on the safety of future French power plants, which will come into operation at the beginning of the next century. These reflections, which are made on the author's own behalf and, under no circumstances, implicate at this stage the official views of the French safety authorities, are aimed at defining some directions for the improvement of safety in these future plants as compared with that of plants presently in operation or under construction

Risk allocation in independent power supply contracts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willrich, M.; Campbell, W.L.

1992-01-01

Congress has made significant progress in recent months toward amending the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (PUHCA). The purposes of such amendment are to broaden power supply options for electric utilities and expand competition in whole-sale power generation markets. PUHCA reform is an integral part of President Bush's National Energy Strategy and has been included in legislation pending in both Houses of Congress. Congress will, hopefully, approve energy legislation that includes PUHCA reform before it adjourns this year. PUHCA reform has, however, stimulated heated debate within the power industry itself as well as among various consumer interest groups. One important issue in the public debate concerns risk allocation. If PUHCA is reformed, will risk be allocated efficiently and equitably between independent power producers and electric utility buyers? This article addresses that important question

A risk-informed perspective on deterministic safety analysis of nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan, P.T.

2009-01-01

In this work, the deterministic safety analysis (DSA) approach to nuclear safety is examined from a risk-informed perspective. One objective of safety analysis of a nuclear power plant is to demonstrate via analysis that the risks to the public from events or accidents that are within the design basis of the power plant are within acceptable levels with a high degree of assurance. This nuclear safety analysis objective can be translated into two requirements on the risk estimates of design basis events or accidents: the nominal risk estimate to the public must be shown to be within acceptable levels, and the uncertainty in the risk estimates must be shown to be small on an absolute or relative basis. The DSA approach combined with the defense-in-depth (DID) principle is a simplified safety analysis approach that attempts to achieve the above safety analysis objective in the face of potentially large uncertainties in the risk estimates of a nuclear power plant by treating the various uncertainty contributors using a stylized conservative binary (yes-no) approach, and applying multiple overlapping physical barriers and defense levels to protect against the release of radioactivity from the reactor. It is shown that by focusing on the consequence aspect of risk, the previous two nuclear safety analysis requirements on risk can be satisfied with the DSA-DID approach to nuclear safety. It is also shown the use of multiple overlapping physical barriers and defense levels in the traditional DSA-DID approach to nuclear safety is risk-informed in the sense that it provides a consistently high level of confidence in the validity of the safety analysis results for various design basis events or accidents with a wide range of frequency of occurrence. It is hoped that by providing a linkage between the consequence analysis approach in DSA with a risk-informed perspective, greater understanding of the limitation and capability of the DSA approach is obtained. (author)

Agency Theory, Futures Markets and Risk Shifting in Commodity Marketing Channels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kuwornu, J.K.M.; Kuiper, W.E.; Pennings, J.M.E.; Meulenberg, M.T.G.

2004-01-01

This paper applies agency theory to access risk shifting between the principal (marketing firms) and the agent (farmers) in a food marketing channel. It compares the case in which there is a futures market available for the risk-averse agents with the case in which there is no futures trading. The

Physics for future Presidents - nuclear power, terrorism, global warming; La physique expliquee a notre futur president - Nucleaire, terrorisme, rechauffement climatique

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muller, Richard A.

2011-04-26

This book explains the science behind the concerns that our nation faces in the immediate future. It outlines the tools of terrorists, the dangers of nuclear power, and the reality of global warming. As citizens who will elect future presidents of the most powerful and influential countries in the world, we need to know-truly understand if Iran's nascent nuclear capability is a genuine threat to the West, if biochemical weapons are likely to be developed by terrorists, if there are viable alternatives to fossil fuels that should be nurtured and supported by the government, if nuclear power should be encouraged, and if global warming is actually happening. This book is written in everyday, nontechnical language on the science behind the concerns that our nations faces in the immediate future. This book is translated from 'Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines', published by W. W. Norton and Company in August 2008. Contents: 1 - Terrorism: Nine-eleven, Terrorist nukes, The next terrorist attack, Biological terrorism; 2 - Energy: Key energy surprises, Solar Power, The end of oil; 3 - Nukes: Radioactivity and death, Radioactive decay, Nuclear weapons, Nuclear madness, Nuclear power, Nuclear waste, Controlled fusion; 4 - Space: Space and satellites, Gravity applications, Humans in space, Spying with invisible light; 5 - Global Warming: A brief history of climate, The greenhouse effect, A very likely cause, Evidence, Non-solutions, The fruit on the ground, New technologies

Evaluation of Risk Perception and Risk-Comparison Information Regarding Dietary Radionuclides after the 2011 Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant Accident.

Science.gov (United States)

Murakami, Michio; Nakatani, Jun; Oki, Taikan

2016-01-01

In the wake of the 2011 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident, to facilitate evidence-based risk communication we need to understand radiation risk perception and the effectiveness of risk-comparison information. We measured and characterized perceptions of dread risks and unknown risks regarding dietary radionuclides in residents of Fukushima, Tokyo, and Osaka to identify the primary factors among location, evacuation experience, gender, age, employment status, absence/presence of spouse, children and grandchildren, educational background, humanities/science courses, smoking habits, and various types of trustworthy information sources. We then evaluated the effects of these factors and risk-comparison information on multiple outcomes, including subjective and objective understanding, perceived magnitude of risk, perceived accuracy of information, backlash against information, and risk acceptance. We also assessed how risk-comparison information affected these multiple outcomes for people with high risk perception. Online questionnaires were completed by people (n = 9249) aged from 20 to 69 years in the three prefectures approximately 5 years after the accident. We gave each participant one of 15 combinations of numerical risk data and risk-comparison information, including information on standards, smoking-associated risk, and cancer risk, in accordance with Covello's guidelines. Dread-risk perception among Fukushima residents with no experience of evacuation was much lower than that in Osaka residents, whereas evacuees had strikingly higher dread-risk perception, irrespective of whether their evacuation had been compulsory or voluntary. We identified location (distance from the nuclear power station), evacuation experience, and trust of central government as primary factors. Location (including evacuation experience) and trust of central government were significantly associated with the multiple outcomes above. Only information on "cancer risk from

Nuclear power for tomorrow

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Csik, B.J.; Konstantinov, L.V.; Dastidar, P.

1989-09-01

The evolution of nuclear power has established this energy source as a viable mature technology, producing at comparative costs more than 16% of the electricity generated world-wide. After outlining the current status of nuclear power, extreme future scenarios are presented, corresponding respectively to maximum penetration limited by technical-economic characteristics, and nuclear phase-out at medium term. The situation is complex and country specific. The relative perception of the importance of different factors and the compensation of advantages vs. disadvantages, or risk vs. benefits, has predominant influence. In order to proceed with an objective and realistic estimate of the future role of nuclear power worldwide, the fundamental factors indicated below pro nuclear power and against are assessed, including expected trends regarding their evolution: Nuclear safety risk; reduction to levels of high improbability but not zero risk. Reliable source of energy; improvements towards uniform standards of excellence. Economic competitiveness vs. alternatives; stabilization and possible reduction of costs. Financing needs and constraints; availability according to requirements. Environmental effects; comparative analysis with alternatives. Public and political acceptance; emphasis on reason and facts over emotions. Conservation of fossil energy resources; gradual deterioration but no dramatic crisis. Energy supply assurance; continuing concerns. Infrastructure requirements and availability; improvements in many countries due to overall development. Non-proliferation in military uses; separation of issues from nuclear power. IAEA forecasts to the year 2005 are based on current projects, national plans and policies and on prevailing trends. Nuclear electricity generation is expected to reach about 18% of total worldwide electricity generation, with 500 to 580 GW(e) installed capacity. On a longer term, to 2030, a stabilized role and place among available viable

Quantifying the hurricane catastrophe risk to offshore wind power.

Science.gov (United States)

Rose, Stephen; Jaramillo, Paulina; Small, Mitchell J; Apt, Jay

2013-12-01

The U.S. Department of Energy has estimated that over 50 GW of offshore wind power will be required for the United States to generate 20% of its electricity from wind. Developers are actively planning offshore wind farms along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts and several leases have been signed for offshore sites. These planned projects are in areas that are sometimes struck by hurricanes. We present a method to estimate the catastrophe risk to offshore wind power using simulated hurricanes. Using this method, we estimate the fraction of offshore wind power simultaneously offline and the cumulative damage in a region. In Texas, the most vulnerable region we studied, 10% of offshore wind power could be offline simultaneously because of hurricane damage with a 100-year return period and 6% could be destroyed in any 10-year period. We also estimate the risks to single wind farms in four representative locations; we find the risks are significant but lower than those estimated in previously published results. Much of the hurricane risk to offshore wind turbines can be mitigated by designing turbines for higher maximum wind speeds, ensuring that turbine nacelles can turn quickly to track the wind direction even when grid power is lost, and building in areas with lower risk. © 2013 Society for Risk Analysis.

Working Group VI Summary Report: New Ideas Employing High-Power Lasers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leemans, W.P.

1999-01-01

The objectives of this working group were to provide the ''Future Light Source Community'' information on: Electron-Laser interaction based sources; Plasma based radiation sources and accelerators; and Present and future high-power laser technology. A summary of presentations, discussions and opinions is presented next. At the end of this report, a few references are given. The list is very far from being complete but is meant as a start for further exploring the various topics discussed in this working group. Based on presentations and discussions during the workshop, a summarizing table of the performance of three different types of laser systems has been made. The emphasis is on listing performance parameters of solid state, FEL and gas based lasers, relevant to the development of a future fourth generation light source. Two types of solid state lasers capable of producing peak power in the multi-terawatt range are described: Nd:glass and Ti:sapphire lasers [1]. The main development for these lasers is towards higher average power levels: from the 10 W to the > 100 W level. An infrared FEL has recently produced 1 kW average power but with peak power on the order of 0.1 GW [2]. A terawatt class, short pulse CO 2 based gas laser is under development at the Advanced Test Facility at BNL [3

Leibstadt nuclear power station (KKL): The Future after twenty years of operation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schoenenberger, M.

2005-01-01

Switzerland's largest power plant, KKL (1 165 MW BWR), is situated on the Swiss side of the Rhine River, not far from the entry of the Aare River. In 2003, the plant generated some 17% of the electricity consumed in the country. In line with the importance of the plant, it shareholders are all major Swiss power utilities. KKL was connected to the power grid in December 1984. Its construction cost amounted to approx. euro 3 200 million. After some backfitting measures at an expense of approx. euro 200 million, the plant is now in excellent technical shape. Generating costs, which were very high in the beginning, have been greatly reduced in the meantime. This was helped by a decrease of borrowed capital, the favorable development of interest rates and, above all, the rise in annual production. This, in turn, was achieved in various programs increasing plant power, and by shortening the annual revision outages. From the coming year onward, costs could be below Eurocent 3.3/kWh. Also the organization and the staff of te plant are prepared for the future. They have demonstrated their fitness in various national and international reviews. Also the political environment is favorable, by and large. In 2003, the Swiss voting population so clearly rejected the two opt-out initiatives that there has been a lasting positive change in the policy of continuing the operation of existing plants. Also for KKL, the waste management problem is still unsolved. This is due primarily to political reasons. The envisaged repository for low-level waste was rejected in a referendum in 2003. Technically and in its organization, the Leibstadt Nuclear Power Station is ready for the future. The electricity generated at Leibstadt is desired and accepted politically. (orig.)

Development and Testing of High Current Hollow Cathodes for High Power Hall Thrusters

Science.gov (United States)

Kamhawi, Hani; Van Noord, Jonathan

2012-01-01

NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist In-Space Propulsion project is sponsoring the testing and development of high power Hall thrusters for implementation in NASA missions. As part of the project, NASA Glenn Research Center is developing and testing new high current hollow cathode assemblies that can meet and exceed the required discharge current and life-time requirements of high power Hall thrusters. This paper presents test results of three high current hollow cathode configurations. Test results indicated that two novel emitter configurations were able to attain lower peak emitter temperatures compared to state-of-the-art emitter configurations. One hollow cathode configuration attained a cathode orifice plate tip temperature of 1132 degC at a discharge current of 100 A. More specifically, test and analysis results indicated that a novel emitter configuration had minimal temperature gradient along its length. Future work will include cathode wear tests, and internal emitter temperature and plasma properties measurements along with detailed physics based modeling.

Next generation information communication infrastructure and case studies for future power systems

Science.gov (United States)

Qiu, Bin

As power industry enters the new century, powerful driving forces, uncertainties and new functions are compelling electric utilities to make dramatic changes in their information communication infrastructure. Expanding network services such as real time measurement and monitoring are also driving the need for more bandwidth in the communication network. These needs will grow further as new remote real-time protection and control applications become more feasible and pervasive. This dissertation addresses two main issues for the future power system information infrastructure: communication network infrastructure and associated power system applications. Optical networks no doubt will become the predominant data transmission media for next generation power system communication. The rapid development of fiber optic network technology poses new challenges in the areas of topology design, network management and real time applications. Based on advanced fiber optic technologies, an all-fiber network is investigated and proposed. The study will cover the system architecture and data exchange protocol aspects. High bandwidth, robust optical networks could provide great opportunities to the power system for better service and efficient operation. In the dissertation, different applications are investigated. One of the typical applications is the SCADA information accessing system. An Internet-based application for the substation automation system will be presented. VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) technology is also used for one-line diagrams auto-generation. High transition rate and low latency optical network is especially suitable for power system real time control. In the dissertation, a new local area network based Load Shedding Controller (LSC) for isolated power system will be presented. By using PMU (Phasor Measurement Unit) and fiber optic network, an AGE (Area Generation Error) based accurate wide area load shedding scheme will also be proposed. The objective

Methods of assessing nuclear power plant risks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Skvarka, P.; Kovacz, Z.

1985-01-01

The concept of safety evalution is based on safety criteria -standards or set qualitative values of parameters and indices used in designing nuclear power plants, incorporating demands on the quality of equipment and operation of the plant, its siting and technical means for achieving nuclear safety. The concepts are presented of basic and optimal risk values. Factors are summed up indispensable for the evaluation of the nuclear power plant risk and the present world trend of evaluation based on probability is discussed. (J.C.)

The effect of costs on the future of nuclear power

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Walske, C.

1984-01-01

The author discusses the future of the nuclear power industry from an economics and cost-factor point of view, from the point of view of plant management, as it affects and requires personnel training, as R and D cost and competition is involved, as end-user cost is involved, and as efficiency and cost effectiveness of nuclear power fare in comparison with other sources of electrical energy

High-power klystrons

Science.gov (United States)

Siambis, John G.; True, Richard B.; Symons, R. S.

1994-05-01

Novel emerging applications in advanced linear collider accelerators, ionospheric and atmospheric sensing and modification and a wide spectrum of industrial processing applications, have resulted in microwave tube requirements that call for further development of high power klystrons in the range from S-band to X-band. In the present paper we review recent progress in high power klystron development and discuss some of the issues and scaling laws for successful design. We also discuss recent progress in electron guns with potential grading electrodes for high voltage with short and long pulse operation via computer simulations obtained from the code DEMEOS, as well as preliminary experimental results. We present designs for high power beam collectors.

Powering the future: Blueprint for a sustainable electricity industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Flavin, C.; Lenssen, N.

1997-01-01

Long known for its vast scale and fierce resistance to change, the US power industry is poised for a sweeping transformation. Although driven by many of the same forces propelling the telecommunications revolution, the electricity industry has received only a fraction as much attention. Yet the electric industry is far larger, with a current investment per customer of $6,000--double that of the phone and cable industries combined. Moreover, unlike telecommunications, the future of the power industry will have an enormous impact on the global environment. The glimmerings of a more efficient, decentralized, and less-polluting power system are beginning to capture the interest--and even the investment dollars--of some. In this paper, the authors describe the route to a more environmentally sustainable electric industry to power the twenty-first century

Prospects for future uranium savings through LWRs with high performance cores

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mochida, T.; Yamamoto, T.; Sasaki, M.; Matsuura, H.; Ueji, M.; Murata, T.; Kanda, K.; Oka, Y.; Kondo, S.

1995-01-01

Since 1986, Nuclear Power Engineering Cooperation (NUPEC) has been studying four types of LWR high performance core concepts (i.e., the uranium saving core I (USC-I), the uranium saving core II (USC-II), the high moderation core (HMC) and the low moderation core (LMC)), which aim at improvement of uranium and plutonium utilization. After the evaluation of fundamental core performance and uranium and plutonium material balance for each reactor, potential uranium savings with different reactor strategies are evaluated for the Japanese scenario with assumption of the growth of future nuclear power plant generation, annual reprocessing capacity and schedules for the introduction of high performance core. At 2030, about 3-6% savings in uranium demand are expected by USC-I or USC-II strategy, while about 14% savings by HMC strategy and about 8% by LMC strategy. (author)

Integrated societal risk assessment framework for nuclear power and renewable energy sources

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Sang Hun; Kang, Hyun Gook

2015-01-01

Recently, the estimation of the social cost of energy sources has been emphasized as various novel energy options become feasible in addition to conventional ones. In particular, the social cost of introducing measures to protect power-distribution systems from power-source instability and the cost of accident-risk response for various power sources must be investigated. To account for these risk factors, an integrated societal risk assessment framework, based on power-uncertainty analysis and accident-consequence analysis, is proposed. In this study, we applied the proposed framework to nuclear power plants, solar photovoltaic systems, and wind-turbine generators. The required capacity of gas-turbine power plants to be used as backup power facilities to compensate for fluctuations in the power output from the main power source was estimated based on the performance indicators of each power source. The average individual health risk per terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity produced by each power source was quantitatively estimated by assessing accident frequency and the consequences of specific accident scenarios based on the probabilistic risk assessment methodology. This study is expected to provide insight into integrated societal risk analysis, and can be used to estimate the social cost of various power sources

Integrated societal risk assessment framework for nuclear power and renewable energy sources

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Sang Hun; Kang, Hyun Gook [Dept. of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

2015-06-15

Recently, the estimation of the social cost of energy sources has been emphasized as various novel energy options become feasible in addition to conventional ones. In particular, the social cost of introducing measures to protect power-distribution systems from power-source instability and the cost of accident-risk response for various power sources must be investigated. To account for these risk factors, an integrated societal risk assessment framework, based on power-uncertainty analysis and accident-consequence analysis, is proposed. In this study, we applied the proposed framework to nuclear power plants, solar photovoltaic systems, and wind-turbine generators. The required capacity of gas-turbine power plants to be used as backup power facilities to compensate for fluctuations in the power output from the main power source was estimated based on the performance indicators of each power source. The average individual health risk per terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity produced by each power source was quantitatively estimated by assessing accident frequency and the consequences of specific accident scenarios based on the probabilistic risk assessment methodology. This study is expected to provide insight into integrated societal risk analysis, and can be used to estimate the social cost of various power sources.

Switching power converters medium and high power

CERN Document Server

Neacsu, Dorin O

2013-01-01

An examination of all of the multidisciplinary aspects of medium- and high-power converter systems, including basic power electronics, digital control and hardware, sensors, analog preprocessing of signals, protection devices and fault management, and pulse-width-modulation (PWM) algorithms, Switching Power Converters: Medium and High Power, Second Edition discusses the actual use of industrial technology and its related subassemblies and components, covering facets of implementation otherwise overlooked by theoretical textbooks. The updated Second Edition contains many new figures, as well as

RF Wireless Power Transfer: Regreening Future Networks

OpenAIRE

Tran, Ha-Vu; Kaddoum, Georges

2017-01-01

Green radio communication is an emerging topic since the overall footprint of information and communication technology (ICT) services is predicted to triple between 2007 and 2020. Given this research line, energy harvesting (EH) and wireless power transfer (WPT) networks can be evaluated as promising approaches. In this paper, an overview of recent trends for future green networks on the platforms of EH and WPT is provided. By rethinking the application of radio frequency (RF)-WPT, a new conc...

The future of nuclear power worldwide and the role of the global nuclear energy partnership

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spurgeon, D.R.

2008-01-01

This presentation is entitled, 'The Future of Nuclear Power Worldwide and the Role of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership', and the core message in one sentence is: When we look at the challenges of meeting our growing energy demands, providing for energy security and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we must conclude that nuclear power has to play a significant and growing role in meeting these challenges. Similarly, the mission of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership is to foster the safe and secure worldwide expansion of nuclear energy. GNEP comes at a crucial time in the burgeoning expansion of nuclear power. It is the only comprehensive proposal to close the nuclear fuel cycle in the United States, and engage the international community to minimize proliferation risks as well as provide and benefit from cooperation in policy formation, technical support, and technology and infrastructure development. Nuclear power's poised renaissance is encouraging, but it will require public support, expanded R and D activities and facilities, and increases in human capital needed for wide-scale construction and operation of new nuclear plants. Despite recent political currents, Germany can, too, become a part of this renaissance and become a full partner in the global partnership that shares a common vision for nuclear power's expansion. (orig.)

Microfabricated Air-core Toroidal Inductor In Very High Frequency Power Converters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lê Thanh, Hoà; Nour, Yasser; Han, Anpan

2018-01-01

Miniaturization of power supplies is required for future intelligent electronic systems e.g. internet of things devices. Inductors play an essential role, and they are by far the most bulky and expensive components in power supplies. This paper presents a miniaturized microelectromechanical systems...... (MEMS) inductor and its performance in a very high frequency (VHF) power converter. The MEMS inductor is a siliconembedded air-core toroidal inductor, and it is constructed with through-silicon vias, suspended copper windings, silicon fixtures, and a silicon support die. The air-core inductors...

Differentiated influences of benefit and risk perceptions on nuclear power acceptance according to acceptance levels. Evidence from Korea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roh, Seungkook; Lee Jinwon

2017-01-01

The perceived benefit and risk of nuclear power generation have received considerable attention as determinants of the public's nuclear power acceptance. However, the contingency of the relative importance of these benefit and risk has been less explored. Using Korea as an example, this study explores the possibility that the relative importance of perceived benefit and risk on nuclear power acceptance depends on acceptance levels. Our results from latent class analysis and multinomial probit show that, in determining whether an individual shows a moderate level of nuclear power acceptance rather than a low level, perceived risk plays a dominant role compared to perceived benefit; however, regarding whether he/she shows a high level of nuclear power acceptance rather than a moderate level, this relative importance is reversed. These results carry practical implications for risk governance of nuclear power, particularly with regard to communication with the public. (author)

Potential future risk of cholera due to climate change in northern ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Cholera is one of the infectious diseases that remains a major health burden in West-Africa and especially in Nigeria. Several studies have raised concern that climate change may exacerbate the risk of the disease in the future. Projecting the future risk of this disease is essential, especially for regions where the projected ...

Health risk in nuclear power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bliznakov, V.

1997-01-01

Worked out are the health risk indices for NPP personnel that could be used in normal operation and in case of accident. These indices concern temporary incapacity for work, invalidity, lethality, cancer, etc. Risk estimation is based on produced energy in NPP or on the collective dose of personnel exposure. Assessed are the specific risk values for NPP ''Kozloduy'', which show that the risk in normal operation is significantly low (of the order of 2.3 ./. 7.2 x 10 -4 for invalidity, lethality and cancer). Health risk indices can be used when comparing various alternative energy sources, as well as for determination of the power strategy of a country. (author)

Understanding the nature of nuclear power plant risk

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Denning, R. S.

2012-01-01

This paper describes the evolution of understanding of severe accident consequences from the non-mechanistic assumptions of WASH-740 to WASH-1400, NUREG-1150, SOARCA and today in the interpretation of the consequences of the accident at Fukushima. As opposed to the general perception, the radiological human health consequences to members of the Japanese public from the Fukushima accident will be small despite meltdowns at three reactors and loss of containment integrity. In contrast, the radiation-related societal impacts present a substantial additional economic burden on top of the monumental task of economic recovery from the nonnuclear aspects of the earthquake and tsunami damage. The Fukushima accident provides additional evidence that we have mis-characterized the risk of nuclear power plant accidents to ourselves and to the public. The human health risks are extremely small even to people living next door to a nuclear power plant. The principal risk associated with a nuclear power plant accident involves societal impacts: relocation of people, loss of land use, loss of contaminated products, decontamination costs and the need for replacement power. Although two of the three probabilistic safety goals of the NRC address societal risk, the associated quantitative health objectives in reality only address individual human health risk. This paper describes the types of analysis that would address compliance with the societal goals. (authors)

MegaFlex Scale-Up Cost & Risk Reduction for >50kW Future Power Demands, Phase I

Data.gov (United States)

National Aeronautics and Space Administration — As the MegaFlex solar array is scaled for power demands greater than 50kW over the next 20 years and deployed load requirements remain high or increase, advanced...

Intervention in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis: a review and future directions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

McGorry, Patrick D; Nelson, Barnaby; Amminger, G Paul

2009-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Over the last 15 years, a focus on early intervention in psychotic disorders has emerged. Initially, the early psychosis movement focused on timely recognition and phase-specific treatment of first-episode psychosis. However, early psychosis researchers suspected that pushing the point...... of intervention even further back to the prodromal phase of psychotic disorders may result in even better outcomes. This article reviews intervention research in the ultra-high-risk phase of psychotic disorders. DATA SOURCES: A literature search of intervention trials with ultra-high-risk cohorts published after...

Computing and cognition in future power plant operations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kisner, R.A.; Sheridan, T.B.

1983-01-01

The intent of this paper is to speculate on the nature of future interactions between people and computers in the operation of power plants. In particular, the authors offer a taxonomy for examining the differing functions of operators in interacting with the plant and its computers, and the differing functions of the computers in interacting with the plant and its operators