Getting to Green. A path to clean, safe energy.
I am not here to argue or assign blame for climate change. Change according to data provided is happening and should be planned for accordingly. No matter your stance on the issue, solutions to this problem are already underway. One end of the spectrum will stop at nothing short of 100% green energy for all, while the other believes the cost is the only driving factor, and environmental concerns should take a back seat. Green energy sounds excellent. It feels good to think that we can create the energy we rely on to live life in 2020 from something naturally occurring in nature. But everything has a price, as they say, and I am going to let you in on a secret. Fossil fuels may still be needed to make wind power usable. Solar energy has a low capacity and requires battery storage. After all, the sun does not always shine, and from my survey, it appears most people would prefer reliable electricity even at night. What if I told you there was a safe alternative that was carbon neutral, safe, reliable, and cost-effective? Nuclear power is all those things. While it has a stigma attached to past events, it represents our best opportunity to meet consumers’ and environmentalists’ needs. I can hear eyes rolling; check out safety data in the link below. Click here for safety facts..
“The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of a doubt, what is laid before him.”
Voltaire
Two different things have brought on this project. I work for an electricity provider in interior Alaska while finishing my degree at Boise State University. A current course in Analytics for Design had us pick what we believed a worthy cause, and this idea came to mind. We then developed a hypothesis and learned how to design a survey to prove or disprove that hypothesis. Upon receiving a sufficient number of responses, we set about interpreting our data and learning how to share it back with those who might be interested.
Here is a look at my day job, I work as a purchasing supervisor at Golden Valley Electric supporting our numerous generation assets like Eva Creek, pictured below.
The main driver for my picking this cause was conversations I found myself while working on a temporary assignment at GVEA in External Affairs. Interior Alaska has an incredibly challenging climate and terrain and, by most standards, a relatively small population. Keep in mind; we are the second-largest Alaskan city. These obstacles leave us with few options for power generation. While we are committed to renewable energy projects like Eva Creek, this can only power about 1/10 of our demand, leaving other sites to pick up the remainder of the load on a good day. We remain cut off from natural gas supplies, and while we can transfer some of our needs from the south, it still cannot always meet the demand; therefore, some portion must be generated from fossil fuels (diesel, coal). I was involved in a conversation with our US Senator Lisa Murkowski and our environmental officer and the Vice President of Power Supply, where I first heard the suggestion of nuclear power as a solution for Alaska. While these are people I trust, I was skeptical. After all, I saw Chernobyl on HBO, I have seen the horrors of a nuclear meltdown. How could this be the best idea for Alaska?
As it turns out, the nuclear generation currently creates about 1/5 of our nation’s power and does so safely and reliably. Click here for more information. Atomic energy also provides about 50 percent of our carbon-free energy in the US. If cutting carbon is the primary objective, nuclear is a good go-between while other renewable technologies develop. While many want to rush us down the green superhighway in a well-appointed all-electric vehicle, there are some struggles to discuss. Let it be known; I am not anti-green or pro-nuclear. I am posing solutions to current problems while accounting for some of the realities faced in our industry. Here is a short read regarding the pluses and minuses of renewable energy; in my mind, this is only a temporary hurdle, but the struggles are real. One last thing to remember with renewables, they take a massive amount of space. I once read that England was covered in windmills; they still couldn’t meet their demand.
I mentioned prior that part of this project was a survey. You can find a link to the original survey here. I was cautious not to lead anyone into supporting my hypothesis. Few things to mention about my data, I did not segment for age very heavily. I wanted to take in a younger consumer, but I did not reach many given the channels used. I also polled an above-average representation of people who work in the power industry, which skews the data slightly, in my opinion.
My first telling graphic asks how clean a method of generation is perceived to be. As you can see, while nuclear is fairly well represented here, renewable energy is rated by far the highest. In terms of carbon emissions, they are the same; you could say that since alternate methods of generation are required to “shape” wind power or alter its characteristics so it can be used, nuclear might be freer of carbon emissions than specific green methods of generation.
This chart represents the average of all 103 people surveyed. I think nuclear is often overlooked, that it is perceived as unsafe, and as demonstrated in the survey, that is a primary concern. I was surprised to see carbon emissions come in last, we hear so much about it, but I wonder if that represents average Americans’ feelings.
The perception amongst most surveyed place reliability as the most significant benefit of nuclear power. Earlier I referenced safety statistics showing nuclear is the safest form of fossil or alternative energy per capita. Yet fewer than 10 pick it here. While not a perfect representation due to the way the question was asked, it shows that we do not see nuclear energy as the safe method it has become, all while producing the desired benefit of carbon reduction. This technology is here and now and in use.
Initially, I proposed an educational campaign to help others learn about the benefits of every concern of nuclear power. Upon completing my research, interviews, and reviewing my survey data, nuclear generation represents the best carbon reduction method. If we seek to eliminate fossil fuel energy generation, I propose it be replaced with equal or greater sized nuclear assets. This proposal is far more reliable, provides upgraded safety, cost-effectiveness, and 100% removes carbon emission. While that is a massive proposition, it might leave us in a better place than Germany, which has unwillingly served as the test case for 100% renewable energy generation to less than desirable results at times. I am not saying to green. I am just saying not right this second. In the interim, nuclear allows us to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining the reliability we value. I took a negotiation class once that said in a good negotiation, both parties win. Well, in this instance, this is the best possible solution for all involved.
Climate change is a massively difficult problem to solve, with a massively different group of people looking to solve it for just as many reasons. We all want our families to be safe and healthy. We want to be financially viable and have a bright future and enjoy our lives. Some of my data surprised me. I was shocked to see carbon come in last. But it is such a big issue that I think most of us feel we may not have any control over it, so those who do can drive what I believe is at times a one-way conversation. People who work in the power industry are happy to tell their assessment of the situation, which is usually highly logical. The two engineers I interviewed we’re massive supporters of nuclear energy, and both work or have worked closely with it in their careers, be sure to ask anyone you meet in that industry. They will be happy to share what they know. The world is changing faster than it ever has, and that requires us to keep time. Based on the facts I have been able to find and conversations I have had, this is the best way to do that.
If you are interested in seeing my completed survey data, you can find it here. You can also find a visual representation of it here.
The views expressed here are my own and do not and are not meant reflect those of my employer or it’s members.
Feel free to touch base with any questions.
Johndenny@u.boisestate.edu
