Posted on 05/11/2006 1:22:17 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
"He just thinks it's totally unessasary, unsightly and ridiculous"
They are 10 MILES off shore. You won't be able to see them from the beach.
We need to build nukes in Texas and stop this piddle power windmill crap. Yes, they will kill some birds (see this link for dead eagles around windmills and the awful visual pollution-which really spoils the view on I20 100 miles west of Fort Worth.)
http://www.matsuvalleynews.com/wind1.html
There are numerous technical reasons why windmills are the WRONG way to generate power. This March 2006 paper by the Center for Science and Public Policy discusses this in detail
http://ff.org/centers/csspp/pdf/20060331_wind.pdf
SUMMARY: wind farms for power generation can only provide negligible electricity to grid supply systems, make no significant reduction in pollution, cause significant environmental damage, increase the costs of electricity and create risks of power failures
The TXU President recently said a nuke would take ten years so they want to build six coal plants in Texas 'cuz quicker to get on line. What a load of 16th century bull. Transport thousands of coal cars around the country and pollute the air in Texas. Way to go.
Several utilities in US are planning to build nukes over the next ten years. Why not Texas?
The first new nuke in a long time appears to be going in in Andrews, Texas (a town near Midland, basically a suburb).
It's the new "bead" technology --- so dumbie-resistent it just turns off it everything screws up and people walk away.
All that said, there have been huge improvements with windmills very very recently, thanks to advances in ceramic compents that wear less and need little or no lubrication. (They also don't corrode, which is why you see wind farms being proposed out in the ocean.)
Further, ain't many eagles 10 miles off the gulf shore. They stick to having ground below them.
Personally, I much prefer mango chutney, so I'm with you. But cavemen with bruised egos seem to like their roast duck with mango salsa, instead.
You can tell the duck-ordering caveman is the *cooler* of the two by his shades he's wearing, pushed up on top of his head. The no-appetite caveman appears to be overly sensitive, so it's surprising he is "still around." He also seems to hold grudges.
Meanwhile, Don Quixote, Lord of La Mancha, is eyeing a condo on South Padre and has Sancho Panza scouting out the best "rooms with a view" of the windfarm.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/at_a_glance/states/statestx.html
" ...
Contribution of Nuclear Power
As of January 1, 2005, Texas ranked 7th among the 31 States with nuclear capacity.
In 2004, the Nation set a new record for electricity generation at nuclear power plants. During 2004, the larger of Texas' two nuclear power plants was uprated in capacity, contributing to a new State record for nuclear output. For the first time, Texas generated more than 40 billion kilowatt hours. As a result, nuclear accounted for 2 percent more of the electricity supply than in either 2003 or 2002.
Like neighboring Louisiana, natural gas is the dominant fuel in the State's electricity sector. Also, like Louisiana, natural gas accounts for almost as much electricity as the 2nd ranked fuel (coal) and the 3rd ranked fuel (nuclear) combined.
Nearly 40 percent of Texas' electricity output relies on coal, and nearly all of that coal comes from captive mines (coal mines that are owned by the utilities they supply). Texas produces a low sulfur coal, an important consideration in the State's struggle to lower emissions rates. In 2002, Texas ranked highest in carbon dioxide emissions but fourth in sulfur dioxide emissions.
...
Until the recent uprating of the number 2 reactor at Palo Verde in Arizona, the two South Texas Project (STP) reactors were the largest in the Nation. The twin Texas reactors are still large enough to place South Texas' capacity in the upper fifth of the Nation's power plants. EIA ranked STP 16th in 2003
The South Texas Power plant initially planned to shut down prior to the onslaught of hurricane Rita. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission sent several inspectors to observe conditions at the plant. It was decided to keep South Texas in operation. South Texas 2 was in the act of gradually bring power down to prepare for re-fueling, but South Texas 1 continued to operate at full power. The fact that on-site power was available in the event of an emergency was an essential factor in the decision. ..."
West Texas is doing our part. Here is the (slightly outdated) story of the new nuke that appears to be on its way. We WILL be getting at least a small test nuke, that is seperate.
http://www.oaoa.com/news/nw042606c.htm
Hmmm. I'm not an enviro, by any means, but just reading that scares the bejeebers out of me, lol. "Hydrogen" always sounds like "bomb" to me.
However, I'm intrigued by the "sludge-like" fluid that can be refined into synfuels. I've just never paid any attention to any of this because so little of it seems viable or even feasible. It will be interesting to watch this progress. Thanks for the info.
It a badly-written article. It uses Helium as coolant. Helium is the most inert element there is. A noble gas. I think only supernovas (or close) get it going.
The hydrogen relates to a new fuelcell deal that UT is studying.
(And its dueterium that's bomb hydrogen, not plain old hydrogen. Need that extra nuetron. And fusion, not fission.)
OK--but I am perhaps an "average" consumer in the public audience and if I think that, maybe lots of others do, too.
Any use of Helium should make y'all happy out there. Don't you have the only helium on earth? At least, Amarillo does and I think it's your natural gas that has the special qualifications for helium production - proximity to uranium, isn't it? Route66, the Mother Road to the MotherLode, lol.
Amarillio is about 4 hours due North.
And I don't know if it's the only Helium source, but it is A source. Was on Helium Road the other day.
Thank you kindly, sir!
I think the Cadillac Ranch whackjob Stanley Marsh 3 (who actually buried the Caddies) was a helium millionaire. Lemme see.
Oh, yes. Marsh had been up to something else more recently; odd street signs put in people's yards all over Amarillo.
Here ya go:
."Most of the world's supply of helium is within 250 miles of Amarillo ..."
."Today, ninety percent of the world's helium supply comes from the Amarillo area ..."
.About the signs:
http://recenter.tamu.edu/tgrande/vol8-4/1523.html
"... Reaction to the signs has been varied. One resident who has a sign commented, “Ours is a conservative Republican city that tends toward being overly conventional, consumption-oriented and alas, lacking in local color. Stanley’s signs contribute just the right touch of amusing eccentricity to the place.” ..."
Very cool. 10MW is tiny but we're not building it for DFW. Looks like the same design that South Africa wants to build to avoid more of the rolling blackouts they endured a few months ago.
http://neinuclearnotes.blogspot.com/2006/02/south-africa-nuclear-update.html
Uranium Pebbles May Light the Way (in South Africa)
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,61088,00.html
Yes, it's a test facility. Bigger later.
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