Mark Mills writes in The Wall Street Journal about AI’s role in bringing back Three Mile Island. The news that Microsoft plans to fund the reopening of the undamaged reactor at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island nuclear plant spread almost as quickly as news about the nuclear accident at that same site in 1979. Microsoft’s decision was animated,...
Abhishek Bhardwaj of Interesting Engineering writes about the efficiency of solid-state batteries. Australia-based Altech Batteries has announced that its first Cerenergy ABS60 battery prototype is online and operating successfully at its joint venture partner Fraunhofer IKTS’ test laboratory in Dresden, Germany. The prototype 60 kWh sodium chloride solid-state battery energy storage system has been integrated...
Maria Gallucci of Canary Media reports on Meta’s investment in a clean concrete startup. The United States makes some 90 million metric tons of cement every year to bind together the nation’s concrete buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure. In the process, U.S. cement plants generate huge amounts of planet-warming emissions — equivalent to those from 16 million gas-powered cars. Decarbonizing cement...
Robert Walton of UtilityDive reports on grid damage caused by Helene. Recovery efforts continue after Hurricane Helene knocked out power to about 6 million customers and devastated communities in the U.S. Southeast. In some areas served by rural cooperatives, utility leaders warn it could be weeks before service is restored. “The consumers of electric cooperatives...
France, the UK and Scandinavia will be the coldest parts of Europe during October, according to forecasters. By contrast, southeast Europe and the south of Spain are likely to remain warm, according to Maxar Technologies Inc. Athens, which was seared by heat waves and wildfires over the summer, could see temperatures reach 32C (90F) early in the month, according to Weather Services International.
Most recently, on September 20, Microsoft and Constellation announced that they will reopen a reactor at Constellation’s Three Mile Island nuclear energy center in Pennsylvania to power Microsoft data centers. Microsoft agreed to pay $16 billion to restart the Unit 1 reactor which has a capacity of 835 megawatts. It was shut down in 2019 under financial pressure from growing competition with cheap natural gas. (The Unit 2 reactor was destroyed in 1979 accident and is undergoing decommissioning; however, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (USNRC) noted there were no deaths or accidents, or discernible health effects from some small radioactive releases.) Microsoft has agreed to buy up to 100% of the electricity produced by Unit 1. This is part of the tech giant’s efforts to secure enough reliable, low-carbon electricity to supply its energy-thirsty data centers powering the boom in artificial intelligence.
"The chip exception shows how much NEPA permitting reform is needed for the entire economy. Companies shouldn’t need a Majority Leader in their pocket to get permission to build the plants and products that drive American prosperity."
"As of June, about half of ships on order — measured by gross tonnage — will be able to run on alternative fuels including LNG, according to ship-classification society DNV. Maersk is one of several shipping companies that have ordered methanol-capable vessels."
"The team used heteroatom doping, a process in which foreign atoms, known as heteroatoms, are intentionally introduced into a material’s structure to modify its properties. In the context of battery materials, this typically involves replacing some atoms in a material (like carbon) with different atoms (such as nitrogen, sulfur, or phosphorus)."
"Groundbreaking marks an essential phase of the much-watched program. The program launched in 2016 in response to a Defense Science Board study, which evaluated the DOD’s need for a mobile, reliable, and resilient power source that minimizes logistical demands. The study recognized that battlefield energy needs would dramatically increase with the rise of energy-intensive military systems. It identified nuclear power—which offers two million times the energy density of diesel—as an ideal solution."
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