Hobbs looks to future of nuclear energy at 2-day conference
From the Current-Argus
Posted: 04/29/2011 08:54:12 PM MDT
By Levi Hill
Hobbs News-Sun
HOBBS — One day after the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine, one of the only places in the world where nuclear energy was being discussed as a part of the future of the world's energy portfolio was Hobbs.
A two-day nuclear energy conference kicked off Wednesday at the Lea County Event Center where nuclear industry representatives from around the world and media from as far away as Japan sat down to separate fact from fiction and discuss making nuclear energy a viable and essential piece of the world's energy portfolio.
The keynote speaker for the first day of the event was former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, who has been called by many in the industry the godfather of the nuclear renaissance in the United States.
"We are very proud to be part of what we think is unique," Domenici said.
"We don't run and hide when we hear the words nuclear or radioactive. We sit down to learn about the facts and myths and make sure they are completely understood."
Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., opened the talks Wednesday, also discussing the problems with nuclear energy being a part of the nation's future.
"Nuclear does not have technological problems in this country. Nuclear has political problems in this country," Pearce said. "The United States developed the nuclear power field and then regulated it out of existence. We have built no new nuclear power plants in 30 years."
New Mexico Economic Development Secretary
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Jon Barela was more optimistic:
"New Mexico has a long history of being a leader in energy production. If we play our cards right, New Mexico can be the center of energy production in the country. New Mexico is uniquely positioned to assume that role in this country. We have the national resources and the know-how."
It was Thursday, the second day of the conference, when Dr. Dan Fine, research associate for New Mexico Tech and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy, pointed to Lea County and the surrounding area as one of the premiere energy corridors in the world.
Discussion for a portion of the day focused on new technology and modular nuclear reactors — smaller nuclear reactors that are less expensive, safer and require less space than traditional nuclear power plants.
John Kelly, deputy assistant secretary for Nuclear Reactor Technologies at the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, discussed the future of modular reactors, citing New Mexico as a perfect place to begin using them.
"The smaller units don't require the cooling systems that bigger plants do," he said. "There is less water usage and they can be looked at in places like New Mexico."
Unlike traditional reactors, the modular units require only about 15 acres of space, produce less power — about 250 megawatts per unit — and are more completely contained, reducing the threat of pipe breaks that could lead to radiation leakage, Kelly said.
"All the key components are inside the primary vessel," Kelly said. "The large pipe breaks of the current generation of reactors is eliminated. They can use passive cooling systems and can withstand long-term loss of power."
Kevin Butterfield, director of business development for Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Energy, also spoke about the modular reactors. Butterfield said his company hopes to have the first modular reactor permitted and working by 2020. Permitting is the time-consuming process of getting the modular facilities working, Butterfield said, while construction would only take three years.
The plan is to develop modular plants in such a way that the central core could be manufactured in a facility, which could produce dozens or hundreds of them in a year to meet world energy demands, he said.
Butterfield said the facility his company is planning would have a life span of 40 years and could be expanded to easily add 250 megawatt increments as power demands increase.
Butterfield also talked about the strong likelihood that New Mexico could be one of the first sites for such reactors.
"Over the last couple of days it is very obvious to me that New Mexico is a very willing community," he said. "There are a lot of available sites in the area. We are the vendor that works with utilities. My advice to you is begin the dialogue with the utilities. New Mexico has a can-do attitude. There is no reason why it can't happen here."
The last piece of the future nuclear renaissance is the needed work force. The last panel of the two-day convention discussed the training and work force needed for future nuclear expansion world wide.
Robert Rhodes, vice president of training and outreach for New Mexico Junior College, said the nation will need 120,000 workers trained in nuclear energy in the next 20 years. Of those 100,000 will not be engineers.
Other presenters discussed the kinds of jobs that will be needed and the skill sets, such as math, science and writing skills that will be needed by these employees.
Fine also said the plan is to bring in the two leading Republican candidates for president to next year's conference and discuss with them energy policy for the nation.
Posted: 04/29/2011 08:54:12 PM MDT
By Levi Hill
Hobbs News-Sun
HOBBS — One day after the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the Ukraine, one of the only places in the world where nuclear energy was being discussed as a part of the future of the world's energy portfolio was Hobbs.
A two-day nuclear energy conference kicked off Wednesday at the Lea County Event Center where nuclear industry representatives from around the world and media from as far away as Japan sat down to separate fact from fiction and discuss making nuclear energy a viable and essential piece of the world's energy portfolio.
The keynote speaker for the first day of the event was former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, who has been called by many in the industry the godfather of the nuclear renaissance in the United States.
"We are very proud to be part of what we think is unique," Domenici said.
"We don't run and hide when we hear the words nuclear or radioactive. We sit down to learn about the facts and myths and make sure they are completely understood."
Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., opened the talks Wednesday, also discussing the problems with nuclear energy being a part of the nation's future.
"Nuclear does not have technological problems in this country. Nuclear has political problems in this country," Pearce said. "The United States developed the nuclear power field and then regulated it out of existence. We have built no new nuclear power plants in 30 years."
New Mexico Economic Development Secretary
Advertisement
Jon Barela was more optimistic:
"New Mexico has a long history of being a leader in energy production. If we play our cards right, New Mexico can be the center of energy production in the country. New Mexico is uniquely positioned to assume that role in this country. We have the national resources and the know-how."
It was Thursday, the second day of the conference, when Dr. Dan Fine, research associate for New Mexico Tech and the New Mexico Center for Energy Policy, pointed to Lea County and the surrounding area as one of the premiere energy corridors in the world.
Discussion for a portion of the day focused on new technology and modular nuclear reactors — smaller nuclear reactors that are less expensive, safer and require less space than traditional nuclear power plants.
John Kelly, deputy assistant secretary for Nuclear Reactor Technologies at the Department of Energy's Office of Nuclear Energy, discussed the future of modular reactors, citing New Mexico as a perfect place to begin using them.
"The smaller units don't require the cooling systems that bigger plants do," he said. "There is less water usage and they can be looked at in places like New Mexico."
Unlike traditional reactors, the modular units require only about 15 acres of space, produce less power — about 250 megawatts per unit — and are more completely contained, reducing the threat of pipe breaks that could lead to radiation leakage, Kelly said.
"All the key components are inside the primary vessel," Kelly said. "The large pipe breaks of the current generation of reactors is eliminated. They can use passive cooling systems and can withstand long-term loss of power."
Kevin Butterfield, director of business development for Babcock and Wilcox Nuclear Energy, also spoke about the modular reactors. Butterfield said his company hopes to have the first modular reactor permitted and working by 2020. Permitting is the time-consuming process of getting the modular facilities working, Butterfield said, while construction would only take three years.
The plan is to develop modular plants in such a way that the central core could be manufactured in a facility, which could produce dozens or hundreds of them in a year to meet world energy demands, he said.
Butterfield said the facility his company is planning would have a life span of 40 years and could be expanded to easily add 250 megawatt increments as power demands increase.
Butterfield also talked about the strong likelihood that New Mexico could be one of the first sites for such reactors.
"Over the last couple of days it is very obvious to me that New Mexico is a very willing community," he said. "There are a lot of available sites in the area. We are the vendor that works with utilities. My advice to you is begin the dialogue with the utilities. New Mexico has a can-do attitude. There is no reason why it can't happen here."
The last piece of the future nuclear renaissance is the needed work force. The last panel of the two-day convention discussed the training and work force needed for future nuclear expansion world wide.
Robert Rhodes, vice president of training and outreach for New Mexico Junior College, said the nation will need 120,000 workers trained in nuclear energy in the next 20 years. Of those 100,000 will not be engineers.
Other presenters discussed the kinds of jobs that will be needed and the skill sets, such as math, science and writing skills that will be needed by these employees.
Fine also said the plan is to bring in the two leading Republican candidates for president to next year's conference and discuss with them energy policy for the nation.
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