1 30 Natural Gas Composed primarily of methane Natural gas in the US is domestically produced Demand is highly seasonal with industrial sector accounting for the largest proportion Primarily used for generating electricity industrial applications and residential of demand applications in the US GCCS is 50 more ef cient than traditional gas power plants Issues located in remote areas production and transportation infrastructure required pricing needs to be high enough unstable political regimes Unconventional sources coalbed methane tight gas methane hydrate Relationship between urban density and petroleum consumption Nuclear Energy Nuclear is the second largest form of electricity after coal Serve as a base load generator like coal There are currently 104 nuclear plants The US generates more electricity from nuclear than any other country however numerous countries get a percentage of their electricity from nuclear Produces approximately 20 of our electricity needs New development of nuclear plants halted after Three Mile Island accident Cost is a big issue estimates are 3000 6000 kW vs 1000 kW for wind or 750 kW for coal Nuclear Power basics Nuclear power plants create steam to turn a turbine and generate electricity Thermal energy is created by splitting up atoms of radioactive elements in a process called a ssion reaction Nuclear Power Plants A nuclear reactor has four components the uranium fuel assemblies the control rods and coolant or moderator and the pressure vessel Reactors are designed and operated to maintain a constant rate of ssion and produce a constant amount of heat Nuclear Reactor designs Generation 1 1950s 1960s One of a kind prototype designs Generation 2 late 1960s 1990s Commercial designs in large scale production Generation 3 1996 present Nuclear Fuel Cycle Uranium is the basis for all commercial nuclear power plants Top uranium mining countries are Canada Australia former USSR There are no concerns about depleting the resource 1 kg Uranium 3 000 tons coal 14 000 barrels of oil Solutions for waste Salado salt formation in the NM desert keeps waste from leaking out Estimated to hold 10 000 years of human nuclear waste No current long term solution Risk and radiation Radiation risk from routine operations is not considered to be a problem Concern is that non routine operation and terrorist attacks may result in disaster