Jbheffernan - Small Modular Reactors And Other Things

As I arrived at the Boat Club for a swim Colin and Gary were just coming back from a paddle to Helensburgh. I went for my swim which was 403m in 12:04. Highish tide going out. Calm. Water temperature 8 degC. A good swim 🏊😊 #openwaterswimming #kayaking #greenock #rwsabc (at The Royal West of Scotland Boat Club)

Reflections on Scottish Independence as set out in "A Green Yes"

On September 18, 2014 Scotland will vote whether or not to become an Independent Country.  Currently I am reading the White Paper issued by the Government of Scotland titled "Scotland's Future".  I am about 45% of the way through it and expect to reflect on it once I have finished it.  Currently I am undecided as to how I will vote.  That is why I am reading "Scotland's Future".  

The Scottish Green Party supports Independence and they have issued a document which sets out their main reasons for supporting Independence.  This blog is to reflect on this document.  

Extracts from "A Green Yes" that I like:

Whichever way Scotland votes, the referendum will leave some people celebrating, and others deeply dismayed. It’s vital that celebration does not turn into divisive triumphalism. The result will be far more readily accepted by the losing side if the winners act with respect and a constructive spirit; that will be as difficult for some as losing would be. (page 4)

Oil and Gas

Some still make the case for a Yes vote with tired old slogans about “Scotland’s oil”. Even if there was no environmental consequence from burning fossil fuels, Scotland’s remaining reserves would only offer an economic future for a few more decades. Greens want an independent Scotland to be successful far longer than that! 

But the hard truth, for all fossil fuel nations, is that we can’t even afford to burn what we have. The world has far more fossil fuel in existing reserves than can safely be used, if we’re remotely serious about preserving a liveable environment. So as well as opposing new extraction from deep-water oil drilling, opencast coal, and unconventional gas technology such as fracking, we need to leave a great deal of our oil and gas in the ground, or support a more diverse range of petrochemical uses which don’t involve greenhouse gas emissions. 

Scotland has the skills to do that, and with the usable portion of oil and gas funding public investment in renewables to replace future revenue, we have the opportunity to make this transition rapidly. The UK will only ever see North Sea oil as a revenue source; Scotland could see it as a springboard, taking us from reliance on polluting and finite energy sources to the cleantech of the future. (page 6) 

The document "A Green Yes" has the following section titles:

A Green Yes

Could Westminster Deliver?

Will Holyrood Deliver?

Transition

Developing a Constitution

Parliament and Democracy

Currency

Ending the 'Tyranny of Big'

Oil & Gas

Welfare

Closing the Wealth Gap

Peace & Security

Employment

Immigration/Asylum

The document is quite short, only 8 pages long. From reading this document the main points that I take away are:

They remind us that the White Paper sets out the current Government of Scotland's view on what should happen post independence but that post independence these policies would need to be decided democratically by whichever parties form a new government.  To that end they state, "The development of a written constitution should be led by a new constitutional convention, to be established before the end of 2014, with political parties involved but not in sole charge.  

"A Green Yes" suggests that the Government of Scotland should have a "Plan B" with regards to currency because in the longer term they expect Scotland to have it's own currency and as an interim measure having a "Plan B" would improve the negotiating position of the Government of Scotland when discussing a Currency Union with the Rest of the UK.  

"A Green Yes" recognises that if every other oil producing nation in the world takes the view that it is their right and duty to produce every barrel of oil then there are significant implications with regards to climate change.  Based on the above extract they seem to have a realistic view that Scotland will not shut down the oil wells the day after independence but are suggesting that after this Scotland should be striving to leave the oil in the ground and using what oil is produced as a springboard to "Cleantech of the future".  The document is silent on Nuclear Power but I am not optimistic about the ability of the Scottish Green Party to embrace nuclear power.

"A Green Yes" has a strong emphasis on reducing inequality.

"A Green Yes" reminds me that when/if Scotland becomes an Independent Country that the expectations set out in "Scotland's Future" are uncertain.  The future is like that.  I would expect that some of the things that Government of Scotland wants will not come to pass or will only be achieved with greater than expected cost.  Other things will go better than expected.  If we want certainty we are in the wrong world.  

I am still undecided about which way to vote in the referendum.

You can find "A Green Yes" at:

http://www.scottishgreens.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/downloads/2013/11/Green-Yes-document.pdf

You can find "Scotland's Future" at:

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2013/11/9348

It looks like there was lido in Dunoon at one point. This is an old poster, part of a display in Gourock Station. #lido #Gourock #swimming #dunoon (at Gourock railway station)

Stacey Hearl and I went down for an Open Water Swim 🏊 today. It was just after the turn of low tide. It was overcast and dead calm. My swim was 448m in 13:49. Water temperature 7 degC. #greenock #rwsabc #openwaterswimming #shoreline #beach (at The Royal West of Scotland Boat Club)

Dome City Blog 6 - Ring Park

Something I feel strongly about is that it is important to spend time outside and to have public parks that are easily accessible from the Dome City.  Therefore, I would like to see the Dome City surround by a ring of park land 500m wide.  

This Ring Park would provide parkland with an area of 235 hectares (580 acres).  

To put this into context, in London, Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens together are 253 hectares (625 acres) while New York's Central park is 341 hectares (843 acres).  Of course, for the residents of the Dome City, would never be more than 500m horizontally from the Ring Park unlike residents of London and New York who could be much further away from these outstanding green spaces.

Some of the features i would hope to see in the Ring Park are sports fields with modest amounts of spectator seating for football, rugby, cricket, and field hockey.  There should also be some outdoor tennis and basketball courts. Pitches and courts for these sports would also be available within the Dome City but with limited head room due to height restrictions of the levels in the Dome City.  These are the sports I would choose but ultimately it would be for the residents to decide.  

I would expect that we would make allotments available for residents who want them to grow their own fruits, vegetables, herbs and other plants.

There should be a wide range of play parks for children of all ages and I would include a skate park within the Ring Park.

I would hope that there would be a lake where water sports such as swimming and kayaking could take place.

Somewhere in the Ring Park we should have a cemetery.  

Aside - I understand that the largest municipal cemetery in the whole of Europe is in Greenock, the town next to where I live.  It is 31 hectares.  If you are ever in Greenock and have a at a few hours visit this cemetery, it is fascinating - End aside 

Within the Ring Park here should be a range of different habitats such as grasslands, forests and marshes.  These habitats should become a haven for wildlife.

Footpaths and cycle ways would exist to encourage walking and cycling.

These are my initial suggestions and I think that the residents of the Dome City should have a say in what they want from the park.

Joe Heffernan - 8 April 2015

Boxing Day Swim 🏊 - High tide, Force 7 High Winds Near Gale - David, Ernie and I didn't go far. We went up The Esplanade for around 100m the went towards the MOD slip and then back. We were in for around 12 minutes. The squalls and spray when you in the water are exciting. Water temperature 8.2degC (at The Royal West of Scotland Boat Club)

Dome City Blog 3 - Energy production in the city

 In today's blog I plan to talk about energy production and use within a Dome City.

In general, residents of cities use less energy per capita, then people in rural areas.  Some reasons for this are:

Distances travelled can be less,

Mass transportation systems can work well,

Shared walls in housing lead to lower heating requirements,

If energy sources are located in the city then combined heat and power can be used, and

Less resources are used to provide infrastructure for high density populations compared to low density ones.

  A Dome City should have nearby power resources large enough to cover the needs of the population for electricity, heating, cooling and local transport within the city.  Transport away from the city would most probably provided in standard cars and trucks powered by gasoline and diesel.  

I would propose that the Dome City has a electricity power station sited just beside it. This power station would be located close enough to the Dome City to allow the waste heat, which arises from electricity production, to be used to provide hot water, heating and if required, cooling, to the city.  This is known as combined heat and power (CHP) or as cogeneration.  When a Dome City is sited in a tropical location then a "trigeneration" systems which includes refrigeration could be provided.  The typical efficiency of thermal power plants for electricity is 30% to 40%.   This waste heat represents a significant resource.  District heating would be feature of the Dome City.  This heat supplied to residents and business would form another source of income for the city.   

My preferred method of dealing with electricity production would be with Nuclear Power.  Nuclear Power is a low-carbon form of electricity production that is not so climate dependent compared to wind or solar.  Furthermore, while wind and solar can be excellent sources of low-carbon electricity at the right locations, these forms of energy production are intermittent.  This intermittentcy requires back up power sources to cover the times when these renewable sources cannot provide power.  

There are proposals for new smaller reactors  known as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs).  By definition these reactors have electricity outputs of less than 300 MWe (Megawatts electrical).  The suggested size of these reactors varies from 2 MWe for the UPower proposal to 130 MWe for the B&W MPower proposal.  The system that I would most want to see would be 3 number NuScale 45 MWe reactors to provide electricity and heat to the city.  A combined output of 135 MWe would generally provide more power than the city would require. I would estimate that the city will consume around 100MWe.  However, the additional supply could  be used to entice power hungry industries to move to the city.  Some energy intensive industries are data centres or heavy manufacturing.  Alternatively, the additional supply above the needs of the city would be a useful source of income for the city.

The NuScale reactors have a refueling cycle of around 2 years.  Refueling would be staggered such that no more than one reactor is off line at any one time.  In the UK, the city should be connected to the National Grid and any shortfall in power during a refueling shut-down could be supplied from the grid.

The use of 3 number SMR's has the advantage of "right-sizing" the plant to the population of the Dome City.  The Dome City will take several years to build.  Once the lower levels have been constructed I would expect that people would begin to move in.  However, to reach the full population of around 100,000 people will take a number of years.  Initially a single reactor would provided for power.  The second and third would follow in later years when the population as grown large enough to justify the additional generating capacity.

I would very much hope that the power station for the city be owned and operated by the municipality.  

I appreciate that there will be some reading this blog that are opposed to or afraid of nuclear power.  In addition, the NuScale SMR is still in the design and licensing phase.  We are still waiting for the first one to be constructed. An alternative to an SMR that would accomplish much the same ends is to have a Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power plant producing electrical power for the city.

This brief outline on the supply of electrical power and heat to a proposed Dome City has set out what I consider to be the "best" option. The compact nature of the Dome City would allow Combined Heat and Power to be feasible.  The power station would have 2 sources of income.  One comes from the Electricity produced and the second is the hot water and heat supplied.  This would increase it's financial performance and make it easier to find financing for this aspect of Dome City development.

There were dolphins or porpoises off The Esplanade in Greenock last night - or maybe Nessie on holiday 😊

This is where I've done most of my Open Water Swimming this week. This is a lagoon in Costa Teguise which provides a sheltered place for a swim. At high tide it us over 200m long. Water temperature a balmy 19.5 degC. #lanzarote #openwaterswimming #costateguise (at Costa Teguise Lanzarote)