The role of U.S. nuclear power in the 21st century

In the 20th century, the U.S. established itself as the global leader in nuclear science, engineering and technology, in large part because of policy principles established in the 1940s and 1950s. However, with 20% of its current nuclear fleet at risk of premature closure, limited nuclear construction projects on the horizon and increased competition from state-owned nuclear programs in China and Russia, America’s 20th century legacy of leadership may not be sustained in the 21st century.     

A strategic policy framework for advancing U.S. civilian nuclear power as a national security imperative

The U.S. is at an inflection point on nuclear power with much debate revolving around the extent to which markets or policy should be leveraged to sustain nuclear. This has generated concerns about costs, grid reliability and climate. However, the national security implications must also be accounted for. Here, a strategic policy framework is presented as a means for sustaining U.S. nuclear power domestically and expanding U.S. nuclear power abroad as a national security imperative.     

Incorporating stability and resilience in energy policy for the U.S. power sector: Recommendations for the Trump administration

With the impending transition in energy policy, the inevitability of political transitions should be accounted for in order to avoid an unsustainable shift in policy that is short-lived and introduces uncertainty for the U.S. power sector. A policy correction rather than an outright reversal can offer a middle ground for energy-environmental centrists to sustain pragmatic energy policy through political transitions, and engagement in international climate talks independent of the administration’s position on climate change.     

US nuclear power: Status,prospects, and climate implications

Nuclear power is being intensively promoted and increasingly subsidized in both old and potential new forms. Yet it is simultaneously suffering a global slow-motion commercial collapse due to intrinsically poor economics. This summary in a US context documents both trends, emphasizing the absence of an operational need and of a business or climate case.     

21世纪电力系统的先进技术

综述了21世纪在电力系统安全稳定及控制方面的先进技术的发展及应用。这些技术包括:微型电力系统/分布式电力系统、基于广域测量系统的电力系统自适应保护及控制、电力系统实时动态安全估计、调度监视系统的改进、聪明电网/智能电网、直流输电及背靠背联网、动态无功补偿/灵活交流输电、发电机励磁控制、绿色能源和电力系统分析方法。在分析北美电力教育现状的基础上,提出为适应先进技术研究和应用,中国电力专业人才的培养应加以改进的意见。     

CCUS in a net-zero U.S. power sector: Policy design,rates, and project finance

Carbon capture utilization and storage is an important technology option to rapidly and profoundly decarbonize the power sector, but will not deploy without substantial incentives or regulation. Assessment of U.S. policy options reveals that current incentives only partially close the finance gap and are most sensitive to fuel type and ownership structure. Recent proposed legislation would in some designs attract private investment for many projects, leading to widespread deployment of CCUS in the power sector. Additional constraints and concerns (including technology options and presence of CO₂ infrastructure) could play an important secondary role. This study discusses the specific US incentive policies that can provide investors and lenders with net cash flows that are adequate to attract private capital to CCUS power projects in the US.     

Assessing the impact of nuclear retirements on the U.S. power sector

This work utilizes the Regional Energy Deployment System (ReEDS) model to analyze the impacts of four nuclear retirement scenarios of the U.S. electricity sector, from nuclear plant lifetimes of 50 to 80 years. The analysis finds that longer nuclear lifetimes decrease the amount of renewable and natural gas capacity. Longer nuclear lifetimes also resulted in lower cumulative and annual carbon emissions, lower transmission builds, and higher energy curtailment and water usage.     

Developing a legal framework for energy storage technologies in the U.S: The case of pumped underground storage hydro

The Energy Act of 2020 authorizes $1 billion over five years from 2021 to 2025 to support energy storage development in the United States. In addition, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Orders 841 and 2222 opened the wholesale energy markets for distributed energy resources, including energy storage. The statute and orders pave the way for novel energy storage technologies to participate in electricity markets as the qualifying facilities, thereby expanding opportunities for energy storage development. However, the existing policy, legal, and regulatory regime, including these much-welcomed newcomers, fails to recognize and support the entire spectrum of benefits that some forms of energy storage create. In this paper, we focus on Pumped Underground Storage Hydro (PUSH), a variant of pumped hydro storage (PHS), which currently provides over 90% of the world's energy storage capacity. PUSH operates with the same principle as PHS; however, it is an entirely underground variant of PHS. In addition to becoming competitive in the wholesale electricity market, PUSH facilities can be developed as community infrastructure in the postindustrial landscape, particularly in abandoned underground mines. Given federal energy law and policy development, this paper identifies how communities with abandoned mines, technically feasible for PUSH facilities and operating as municipal-owned utilities or cooperatives, can participate and take advantage of federal legislation. We further look into the implications through the lens of technical, economic, and social aspects of energy justice. We consider energy justice as a conceptual framework that seeks to explain the occurrence of injustice within energy system decisions and outcomes and how policymakers can respond to these injustices. We use it as a conceptual tool for understanding policy formulation and detailing the energy system's missing ethical and justice dimension. We argue that as a technically mature technology, PUSH facilities can act as a potential means to speed up the energy transition in the United States. The federal and state law along with utility market structures are vital in shaping the potential opportunities and barriers for energy storage facilities like PUSH. We show that although it supports PUSH development, there are gaps in the current market structure, specifically in the regulatory framework, when seen through the lens of justice and valuation of just energy services. These gaps limit the realization of utility-scale energy storage technology's potential to fully contribute to a decarbonized energy system that is more resilient and more just than the incumbent system.     

Oracle9i数据库在电力信息系统应用现状与安全策略

电力信息系统数据库作为电力业务系统运行的承载平台和信息资产的存储中心,其安全性直接关系到电力信息系统的安全可靠运行,数据库安全和数据安全机制是数据库开发设计者目前必须考虑的重要问题之一。Oracle9i数据库管理系统在数据库安全方面为数据库管理员和应用开发者提供了很好的安全机制。从目前电力信息系统使用的主流数据库入手,从不同侧面和角度讨论Oracle9i数据库系统的安全管理机制,逐一分析其存在的主要安全风险,并给出相应的防护措施,以提高数据库系统的安全级别,把风险降低到可接受的范围内。为实施更安全更灵活的数据库安全策略提出了全方位的技术思路。     

The alternative strategies of the development of the nuclear power industry in the 21st century

This paper emphasizes the urgency of scientific-and-technical and sociopolitical problems of the modern nuclear power industry without solving of which the transition from local nuclear power systems now in operation to a large-scale nuclear power industry would be impossible. The existing concepts of the longterm strategy of the development of the nuclear power industry have been analyzed. On the basis of the scenarios having been developed it was shown that the most promising alternative is the orientation towards the closed nuclear fuel cycle with fast neutron reactors (hereinafter referred to as fast reactors) that would meet the requirements on the acceptable safety. It was concluded that the main provisions of “The Strategy of the Development of the Nuclear Power Industry of Russia for the First Half of the 21st Century” approved by the Government of the Russian Federation in the year 2000 remain the same at present as well, although they require to be elaborated with due regard for new realities in the market for fossil fuels, the state of both the Russian and the world economy, as well as tightening of requirements related to safe operation of nuclear power stations (NPSs) (for example, after the severe accident at the Fukushima nuclear power station, Japan) and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons.     

Evaluation of a potential reintroduction of nuclear energy in Italy to accelerate the energy transition

Nuclear energy was adopted in Italy in the past to deal with the insufficient fossil fuels on the national territory. After a public vote subsequent to the Chernobyl accident, Italy abandoned the use of nuclear energy and nowadays adopts a mix of fossil fuels and renewable energy sources for electricity production. However, the urging environmental pollution and climate change issues are forcing Italy to realize a so-called “energy transition” towards a more sustainable energy production and consumption system. In this framework, following the examples of other countries, it could be re-evaluated the adoption of nuclear to reduce the consumption of fossil fuels. In the present paper, it is presented an overview of the nuclear energy history in Italy and the current and projected electricity demand and supply. Then, with reference to the Italian framework and policies, the main advantages and disadvantages of a hypothetical reintroduction of nuclear energy are presented. The analysis shows that the adoption of nuclear energy would bring several advantages in terms of lower emissions, higher security of supply and enabling of possible other technologies; the main disadvantages are related to the opposing public opinion and the nuclear waste management.     

Coal in the 21st century: Integrating policy with practice for just transitions

This paper focuses on the practice of “just coal transitions,” which are proving to be more difficult to execute and much slower to realize than anticipated. The authors discuss what has been learned from coal transition experiences – including those occurring in Australia, West Virginia, and Poland – and how lessons from these regions can be applied to managing any just coal transition around the world. The analysis concludes with recommendations on enhancing the integration of policy and practice.     

电化学储能在保底变电站中的配置方案与控制策略

开展保底电网的研究是落实国家能源局关于坚强局部电网规划建设实施方案的重要举措,储能技术的应用可完善严重故障下保底电网按局部电网独立运行的能力。针对这一问题,提出了一种电化学储能在保底变电站中的配置方案与控制策略。首先,探讨了电化学储能在保底变电站中的接入方式,并根据灾害期间的供电负荷发展水平制定了电化学储能的容量配置方案;然后,提出了电流补偿方法、相位补偿方法以及相位预同步方法等,以实现保底变电站在并网转孤网、孤网转并网运行期间的平滑切换,完善了储能系统的抗灾控制策略;最后,以广东沿海某地区电网的保底变电站为例仿真验证了所提方法的有效性。     

Impacts of the retirement of the Beaver Valley and Three Mile Island nuclear power plants on capacity and energy prices in Pennsylvania

Low electric energy prices in the PJM market are financially threatening some of Pennsylvania's nuclear power plants. An analysis of capacity and energy markets with and without two of Pennsylvania's most economically threatened nuclear power stations suggests that the retirement of these plants will not materially raise energy costs for Pennsylvania ratepayers. In the near term, the pace of investment in efficient generation capacity will be the more important factor affecting the state's electricity costs.     

Managing the atomic divorce: The challenges of East Central Europe’s nuclear energy decoupling from Russia

The war in Ukraine has accelerated Europe’s decoupling from Russia in the energy sphere. Nuclear energy is no exception. Most East Central European countries traditionally reliant on Russian nuclear technologies and services are diversifying away from Rosatom to seek alternative vendors. This paper analyzes the difficulties and risks associated with the decoupling process. Despite a range of apparently available options, East Central European countries pursuing decoupling may struggle to find both technically competent and (geo)politically viable nuclear energy vendors to fulfill their new-build, maintenance, and fuel supply needs – a concerning scenario given the importance of nuclear energy to the energy security and decarbonization agenda of the region and wider Europe. Avoiding this scenario requires efforts from all actors. First, Western vendors must improve their capacity to deliver viable reactor designs as well as competitive fuel and maintenance services to the region’s existing reactors. Second, regional nuclear industry stakeholders must further develop local expertise and equipment manufacturing capacity while exploring non-Western vendor options. Last but not least, local and international political actors must reduce their interference in the technical and commercial process of vendor selection so as not to exclude the most competent suppliers based on their country of origin.     

电力监控自动化系统中信息安全防护的设计与应用

电力监控自动化系统的发展使得电力网络信息资源高度共享,然而一体化、网络化的发展使信息安全问题也更为突出。依据电力监控自动化系统中各应用系统的特点和安全要求,提出了一种新的信息安全防护系统设计方案,从系统网络架构上对系统进行有效的安全分区,应用各种网络安全技术实现系统横向和纵向的信息安全。最后阐述了该方案在某地区电网自动化系统设计中的整体安全防护的实际应用。     

ICS/MCS在3S系统中的地位及其对电网安全的影响

随着现代大电力系统的发展,EPS,ICS和MCS完全融合成一个综合性、一体化的3S电力系统实体。ICS/MCS的安全性问题成为电力系统安全的关键问题之一。文章介绍了3S系统的基本情况,阐述了ICS/MCS在3S系统中的地位,并分析了其对电网安全的影响。     

600MW级发电机组保安电源优化改进方案

对南方c发电有限公司2×600MW机组保安电源的接线和运行方式进行分析,寻找潜在隐患,并提出改进方案,使机组保安电源的接线方式更为合理,进一步提高大型发电机组保安电源的供电可靠性。     

Valuing distributed energy resources: Combined heat and power and the modern grid

In this paper we examine how decision makers can more precisely assess the costs of disruptive weather events and the value of resilient distributed energy systems such as combined heat and power (CHP). CHP makes up a small percentage of the energy infrastructure in the United States despite its substantial efficiency and resilience benefits. In part this is because the resilience value of CHP is not fully accounted for in energy infrastructure project cost screenings. To capture this benefit in investment decisions, we propose a framework for a metric called the Distributed Energy Resource Resiliency Value (DERRV) and discuss how such a metric might be applied to CHP.     

The use of supercritical parameters of a coolant—A promising path to development of nuclear power plant water-cooled reactors in the 21st century

A modern concept of the development of water-cooled reactors of nuclear power plants (NPPs) is considered. Data on the design of NPPs with supercritical-parameters coolant and the results of experimental studies are presented.