3) Indonesia is looking to install reactors. ThorCon submitted the nuclear power plant proposal to the Indonesian government on 11 September 2024. If approved, a 250 MW power plant will be built and operated on 2032.
4) Canada plans to add three BWRX-300 SMRs to the Darlington site. On January 15, 2024, Alberta's Capital Power Corporation entered an agreement with Ontario Power Generation to jointly assess the feasibility of deploying Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Alberta. On June 27, 2022 Saskatchewan Power Corporation selected the BWRX-300 SMR for potential deployment in the mid-2030s.
David - Great article - and thanks for the adds New Thinks. Canada! Our friends to the north…not just SMRs at Darlington site, but plans for a Bruce C - 4 full size Reactors, are moving forward. While Colorado still worships at the alter of Jane Fonda, everyone is moving forward with the safest most reliable form of energy…(if we could only get the costs down - see “Gordian Knot” for ideas)
And nuclear provides stability to the grid with large turbines and generators providing inertia to ride out faults which are a normal part of grid operations.
There’s nothing like a couple of 1000 ton spinning turbines to provide stability to keep the lights on.
Yes absolutely: no sensible energy plan excludes nuclear. But while Colorados 2100 plan needs to.put nuclear first, the 2nd resource should be geothermal, with solar as a niche and lets just scrap the wind turbines already.
Looking for future energy sources ... might as well include
* Devens, Massachusetts (Dec. 17, 2024) – Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the largest private fusion company, today announced that it will build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County, Virginia. As part of this effort, CFS has reached an agreement with Dominion Energy Virginia to provide non-financial collaboration, including development and technical expertise as well as leasing rights for the proposed site. Dominion Energy Virginia currently owns the proposed site. [Axios Scoop: Commonwealth Fusion raise surpasses $1 billion]
CFS is currently completing development of its fusion demonstration machine, SPARC, at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. SPARC is expected to produce its first plasma in 2026 and net fusion energy shortly after, demonstrating for the first time a commercially relevant design that will produce more power than consumed. SPARC paves the way for ARC, which is expected to deliver power to the grid in the early 2030s.
* Type One Energy, a US-based firm, has successfully completed the first formal design review for its “Infinity Two” stellarator fusion reactor power plant. The advanced design, targeting 350 megawatts (MW) of electricity for the grid by the mid-2030s – enough to power tens of thousands of homes – is now one step closer to realization, particularly in support of a potential project with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
I costed batteries sufficient to average out the output of a typical windfarm. The cost was more than 20 times the cost of the windfarm.. I have not seen anything that convinces me that batteries can reliably support frequency in the same way as a rotating machine.
They can...help. They can stabilize the frequency and prevent minor hiccups. But you are correct - it is not the same as a large rotating mass.
We have used large batteries for end of the line frequency stabilization with great success. But we need to be serious about what they can or cannot do.
My first thought - you missed a bunch of countries and states.
1) Alaska is changing their regulations to allow small micronuclear reactors in the state.
2) The U.S. military is racing to Insall small reactors at military bases. https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/us-races-to-build-up-to-50-mw-nuclear-reactors-to-power-military-bases-remote-sites/ar-AA1FIeZb?ocid=BingNewsSerp
3) Indonesia is looking to install reactors. ThorCon submitted the nuclear power plant proposal to the Indonesian government on 11 September 2024. If approved, a 250 MW power plant will be built and operated on 2032.
4) Canada plans to add three BWRX-300 SMRs to the Darlington site. On January 15, 2024, Alberta's Capital Power Corporation entered an agreement with Ontario Power Generation to jointly assess the feasibility of deploying Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) in Alberta. On June 27, 2022 Saskatchewan Power Corporation selected the BWRX-300 SMR for potential deployment in the mid-2030s.
Those are just off the top of my head.
David - Great article - and thanks for the adds New Thinks. Canada! Our friends to the north…not just SMRs at Darlington site, but plans for a Bruce C - 4 full size Reactors, are moving forward. While Colorado still worships at the alter of Jane Fonda, everyone is moving forward with the safest most reliable form of energy…(if we could only get the costs down - see “Gordian Knot” for ideas)
And nuclear provides stability to the grid with large turbines and generators providing inertia to ride out faults which are a normal part of grid operations.
There’s nothing like a couple of 1000 ton spinning turbines to provide stability to keep the lights on.
Build AP-1000’s, it’s the most economical option.
Yes absolutely: no sensible energy plan excludes nuclear. But while Colorados 2100 plan needs to.put nuclear first, the 2nd resource should be geothermal, with solar as a niche and lets just scrap the wind turbines already.
Oh, and Sweden - canceled a major wind farms and switched to nuclear.
https://swedenherald.com/article/the-government-says-no-to-13-wind-farms
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/swedish-parliament-backs-financing-bill-new-nuclear-power-2025-05-21/
NextEra Energy Files with Regulators to Restart Duane Arnold nuclear power plant in Iowa
Santee Cooper Seeks Proposals to Complete Abandoned Summer nuclear plant in South Carolina
Small Modular Reactors Considered for Site of Kewaunee Nuclear Plant
Urenco to Supply HALEU Fuel for Westinghouse eVinci Microreactor
World Bank Mulls Ending Long Standing Ban on Funding Nuclear Power
Yeah, everyone is on board with wind and solar. No one else is reconsidering that solution ;)
Looking for future energy sources ... might as well include
* Devens, Massachusetts (Dec. 17, 2024) – Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), the largest private fusion company, today announced that it will build the world’s first grid-scale commercial fusion power plant at the James River Industrial Park in Chesterfield County, Virginia. As part of this effort, CFS has reached an agreement with Dominion Energy Virginia to provide non-financial collaboration, including development and technical expertise as well as leasing rights for the proposed site. Dominion Energy Virginia currently owns the proposed site. [Axios Scoop: Commonwealth Fusion raise surpasses $1 billion]
CFS is currently completing development of its fusion demonstration machine, SPARC, at its headquarters in Devens, Massachusetts. SPARC is expected to produce its first plasma in 2026 and net fusion energy shortly after, demonstrating for the first time a commercially relevant design that will produce more power than consumed. SPARC paves the way for ARC, which is expected to deliver power to the grid in the early 2030s.
* Type One Energy, a US-based firm, has successfully completed the first formal design review for its “Infinity Two” stellarator fusion reactor power plant. The advanced design, targeting 350 megawatts (MW) of electricity for the grid by the mid-2030s – enough to power tens of thousands of homes – is now one step closer to realization, particularly in support of a potential project with the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).
Solar and batteries can be helpful *summer* peaking resources.
"Occasionally helpful" are not words we usually associate with a modern electrical grid. ;)
I costed batteries sufficient to average out the output of a typical windfarm. The cost was more than 20 times the cost of the windfarm.. I have not seen anything that convinces me that batteries can reliably support frequency in the same way as a rotating machine.
They can...help. They can stabilize the frequency and prevent minor hiccups. But you are correct - it is not the same as a large rotating mass.
We have used large batteries for end of the line frequency stabilization with great success. But we need to be serious about what they can or cannot do.