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Energy Dominoes From Japan

By Joseph McCabe, PE
March 15, 2011   |   25 Comments

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Energy amazes me; the ramifications from elementary school physics of converting potential energy into kinetic energy. It's happening everywhere around us, and can have far reaching ramifications. An example is the potential energy in the form of pressure built up under Japan in plate tectonics before the recent earthquake, turned into land shaking, country moving, tsunami creating kinetic energy that reaches across the world. There are other forces, lets call it society energy, that can create financial shock waves in the energy industry including political, religious, and inaccurate supply curve assumptions.

The information and views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of RenewableEnergyWorld.com or the companies that advertise on its Web site and other publications.

25 Reader Comments
Comment
1 of 25
March 15, 2011
Hi:

Hopefully the reaction to this incident will put one way screws into the coffin of Nuclear Energy.
People selling "X" technology or having a vested interest will always use the word,"Never happen". The reporter on CNN just during this still unfolding incident said, paraphrased, "if those reactors were the new design, they would have just shutdown and the people could just walk away". No matter how many times Murphy slaps them in the head, they still keep coming back for more. Like the Titanic, the unsinkable ship, to name one of a long distinguished list.
The only way to be able to say never is if it is benign passively. Thermal panels or PV panels or wind turbines are not going to pose lethal problems to a given population. It is just not in the "nature" of the systems.
If my thermal array does malfunction and overload, I will break out the SPF30 lotion ... LOL...
Anyway, nice read....

.....Bill
Comment
2 of 25
March 16, 2011
Re: A sad but interesting visual during the tsunami news coverage in Japan was seeing a house float by that had PV modules across what was once the south facing roof. While this specific building had obviously experienced a disaster, the energy supply from the PV being distributed did not cause a societal disaster.

Exactly. Years in the future, in history classes, students will wonder about the previous generations' mass insanity concerning building nuclear facilities in earthquake zones (or anywhere, really).

We need weapons of mass construction... wind and solar for a viable and sustainable future.
Comment
3 of 25
March 16, 2011
I beleive in Nucear somebody forget Murphy Law:If It could go wrong it would. Nuclear Energy technology is worst of all, mainly using the worst type of technology for money reason. The only fail safe technology is Canadian CANDU, working with natural Uranium (you avoid Iran Crisis Problem) and Heavy water you need to removed water to stop reaction, it is the only fail safe way to make Nuclear Energy. Candu is almost going to bankrupt. Why so nobody want It because it is very expensive to product heavy water. However if one day we want to switch to Nuclear fusion we will need Heavy water industrie. Then this is the point when you have big lobby and lawer and not scientist on Governement Head, nature at some point show you what you should have done before, but when it is too late. I prefer renewable but if you want Nuclear please make it safe, CANDU only!
Comment
4 of 25
March 16, 2011
Japan's disaster is a wake up call. It is a reminder as to how small and fragile the world really is and that we need to help each other more. It might be also the time to look at alternatives which minimise risks.
If we are to have nuclear plants maybe they should be mounted on deepwater floating platforms, which could also harvest wave energy. It is also possible to combine vertical axis wind plant at up to 750 MW with wave havesting for a combined peak capacity well over a GW per plant. Such units would be very large resulting in a capability of storing energy kinetically. This enables the seperation of renewable energy harvesting to that of converting it into electrical power when required.
Comment
5 of 25
March 16, 2011
When I look at the many past nuclear accidents, all of them honestly seem to be due to "Homer Simpson" design errors and operator errors . . . which is not to imply that this mentality is an exception, however, or that if we could just "weed these isolated instances out" that all would be well, for it appears to be endemic and all pervasive when you look at the whole nuclear power history.

Here is just one example of the "hilariously stupid" nature of the nuke industry and its mentality, provided in this case by Kevin Kamps on March 14th, at Democracy Now!

"Well, at Fermi 2 in Michigan, again, the same exact design as the Fukushima Daiichi unit 1, the emergency diesel generators in the year 2006 were discovered to have not been operable for 20 years. From 1986 to 2006, the emergency diesel generators at Fermi 2 in Michigan would not have operated if called upon. So, thank God that they were not needed during that 20-year period of time, or we could have lost Detroit, or we could have lost Toledo, or we could have lost Windsor, Ontario. That's the level of safety with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry in this country."

To see the entire transcript of this show (with many other guests that also give very enlightening assessments of the unfolding tragedy in Japan, and the history of nuclear power, go to:

http://www.democracynow.org/2011/3/14/japan_facing_biggest_catastrophe_since_dawn

)
Comment
6 of 25
March 16, 2011
From Democracy Now! March 15th, Arnie Gundersun, more "reassuring" news:

"You know, this reactor design, this containment design, has been questioned since 1972. The NRC in 1972 said we never should have licensed this containment. And in 1985, the NRC said they thought it was about a 90 percent chance that in a severe accident this containment would fail. So, that we're seeing it at Fukushima is an indication that this is a weak link. It's this Mark I, General Electric Mark I, containment. And we have—essentially one-quarter of all of the nuclear reactors in the United States, 23 out of 104, are of this identical design."
Comment
7 of 25
March 16, 2011
Let us not make sweeping remarks on Nuclear Energy. Once in a way such catastrophes occur. Any energy structure is prone to damage in extreme weather conditions like Cyclones,gales,earthquakes etc.

What is needed is safeguards especially in the case of nuclear reactors. One solution is smaller nuclear reactors to supply power in a decentralised way.

Dr.A.Jagadeesh Nellore(AP),India
Comment
8 of 25
March 16, 2011
"Let us not make sweeping remarks on Nuclear Energy. Once in a way such catastrophes occur. Any energy structure is prone to damage in extreme weather conditions like Cyclones,gales,earthquakes etc."

In other words, for you, the only "sweeping" remarks should be those that "sweep" the many negative realities of nuclear under the rug, and leave us all vulnerable to the massive disasters that has just happened in Japan, and that could just as easily happen even in less geographically unstable parts of the planet. It also have put us vulnerable to the more common events like radioactive tritium leaks -- leaks that have become all too routine in just daily operation.
Comment
9 of 25
March 16, 2011
For more reading on Energy, read this book:
Physics for Future Presidents, The Science Behind the Headlines, by Richard A. Muller
Comment
10 of 25
March 16, 2011
Perhaps this article's significance is Mr. McCabe's unmistakable underlying suggestion that the US is not alone in reactionary policy-making which has become inexorably linked across nature's laws, energy markets, economic policy, and geopolitical horizons as a result of the Cold war exigencies which began in Yalta in 1945.

Could this extreme vulnerability (McCabe's dominoes) be what Eisenhower intended to admonished us about in his farewell speech? He was not alone in opposing the use of the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Many of his peers also apparently felt the extreme danger of letting the nuclear genie publicly rise out of a global bottle. There never has nor can be enough desk space between nuclear bomb designers and nuclear plant designers.

Please advise if the floating solar house video can be found somewhere on You Tube, perhaps it could serve as an iconic catalyst for change... Thanks for a great article.
Comment
11 of 25
March 16, 2011
DOE Fellowships to Support the Next Generation of Clean Energy Innovators

DOE announced on March 10 the launch of two new fellowship programs designed to attract the best and brightest scientific minds in the United States to work on advanced renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. The programs—the Postdoctoral Fellowships Program and the SunShot Initiative Fellowships Program—will prepare scientists and engineers for careers in clean energy. These programs will increase U.S. economic competitiveness and support job growth by promoting science, technology, engineering, and math education.

Under the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Postdoctoral Fellowships Program, DOE is seeking up to 20 postdoctoral fellows whose academic careers have focused on the following technology areas: building efficiency, industrial efficiency, advanced vehicles, fuel cells, wind or water power, or biomass, geothermal, or solar energy. The new program will support research and development of breakthrough technologies over a two-year period. Selected fellows will be encouraged to pursue innovative, independent new projects in addition to the specific research project area selected by the fellow when applying to the program. Applications for EERE Postdoctoral Fellowships are due on June 30. Fellowships will begin by mid-November and will last up to two years. See the EERE Postdoctoral Fellowship Program website.
Comment
12 of 25
March 16, 2011
The SunShot Initiative Fellowships Program will select either recent Masters or Ph.D. graduates to focus on critical technology innovations that will advance the SunShot goal of a 75% reduction in the total cost of solar energy systems by the end of the decade. Those selected will aggressively drive innovations in the ways that solar systems are conceived, designed, manufactured, and installed. They will work at DOE's Solar Energy Technologies Program headquarters in Washington, DC, and will help develop new research and development programs to achieve the cost-cutting goal. See the DOE press release, the SunShot Initiative Fellowship Program website, and the SunShot Initiative website.
Comment
13 of 25
March 16, 2011
I also appreciated the floating solar house video story. I missed that one.
When I advised my California cousin to get iodine pills to protect from the coming cloud, he came back with my own need to correct the midwest's need to clear up our mercury laden atmosphere from years of burning cheap coal. Got me to thinking about the many years of unrealized medical costs, in the billions, I"ve read, that burning of coal has given us, and how the proof of its damage is the lack of reasoning ability of political representation and the voting public that votes them into office. This makes it far too difficult to ever move into sustainable energy paradigms. The ego's resistance to doing what is right and needed is quite high, but it is not without limit. Even for a mercury poisoned population, where it merely takes longer and may be more painfull for some. I keep remembering George Carlin's comedic truth; The Earth will be fine, you moron. It's us that will be dead!
Comment
14 of 25
March 17, 2011
No need to be sad Mr Moore, Just a signal to change. These are exciting times. We are witnessing the dawn of an amazing new energy paradigm. The ability for every enabled person to secure their own electrical and heat energy from freely distributed sources.
It is not the purpose of the world we see to make our lives cushy and easy, but to always deceive us in it's promise of long and happy life, while at the same time denying the ability to easily achieve it. Such systems are designed by men who listen to their ego mantras to enrichen their belief in personal gain over others. It's not that peopkle are bad by nature, it is that they more often listen to the ego than the source of Perfect Peace within. It is a simple choice that each one of us makes within our own minds with each and every thot we choose, and it is always ours to make. No one can take that away from us.

Simply choose again.
Comment
15 of 25
March 17, 2011
Commenting on nuclear energy posts at this time isn't very productive since we don't know yet when the damaged power plant will finally be declared under control or how much radiation will finally be released.

At that point we can have more productive discussions. I'm pretty sure, regardless of what happens, these events will reduce the number of old designs that will get re-licensed especially those near fault lines.

But the future is hard to predict. With old designs going off line, rates may rise, and coal operators will put pressure on politicians to license more coal plants. This scenario will of course help solar and wind to some extent but it may also help with the licensing of new (safer) nuclear designs as well. Only time will tell.
Comment
16 of 25
March 17, 2011
Tepco has been working on building a 1-km power line to the ailing Fukushima Dai-Ichi to power the water pumps to cool the reactor. Can someone tell me: is there a quick-to-assemble renewable energy system that would be capable of pumping the necessary amount of water? If not, then this is a challenge for renewable energy technology to rise up to. If so, or if the technology is capable but simply no one has made such a system, yet, then this would be a tremendous opportunity to demonstrate the security merits of renewable energy.
Comment
17 of 25
March 17, 2011
Energy sources and conservation

Our energy sources should not be limited to PV/Solar.
It should be a combination of PV/Wind and many instances Geothermal.
There are also Tidal and Wave Energy, Thermal, Fuel cell, etc.
You could also use renewable energy to convert water into hydrogen which would give you fuel to power generators and cars. We should utilize renewable energy for desalinization and transport the water to its ultimate destination.

People have to realize that in order for this approach to be successful.
We need everyone on board to work together for this common goal.
The Government, Corporate America and the people of the United States must make a commitment to this cause and pursue it relentlessly.
Above all that people have to concentrate on energy efficiency.
"It is cheaper to save energy than make energy"
Many people have to monitor their habits and be conscience of their daily habits in the use of energy and utilities. In changing your daily habits peoples can cut their energy costs between 30-60%, without any physical modification. Tests have proven for this to be correct. Imagine how much more you can conserve and save if you made some minor physical modifications.
There are many programs available to anyone which helps achieve these goals.
It is educating the public to conserve and not waste that will make the difference.
As a nation United States consumes more resources than any other country in the world.
Today's economic crisis should serve as an impetus to implement a mission of conserving resources for all of the people in the United States. Conserve resources for our sake and the sake of future generations.

Thank you

YJ Draiman, Director of Utilities & Sustainability
Comment
18 of 25
March 17, 2011
Nicely said #18...

.....Bill
Comment
19 of 25
March 17, 2011
Developing Renewable Energy sources should be the "Manhattan project of the 21st century"

Implementing energy and Water conservation.

Thank you

YJ Draiman, Director of Utilities & Sustainability

Draiman is a candidate for Mayor of Los Angeles 2013


PS

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
Comment
20 of 25
March 17, 2011
Phil, The majority of the citizens of the world do not have the economic freedom to choose where they get their energy, most of them are just trying to keep food on the table, they pay the gas and electric bill and hope they will do the same next month.

Energysaver2, If read you correctly "Manhattan project of the 21st century" this is going to have to be a multinational effort, between the US, the European nations, India, and China if it is going to succeed. The major obstacle I see in this global economic and environmental crisis, is that private industry wants to keep the cash cow milking as long as they can, private industry doesn't seem to care about the environmental risks they are taking.It's almost as if they don't live on this planet, or is it that they can afford to move if they kill the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska, Japan?
Comment
21 of 25
March 18, 2011
phil-manke-79191:

"It is not the purpose of the world we see to make our lives cushy and easy, but to always deceive us in it's promise of long and happy life, while at the same time denying the ability to easily achieve it. Such systems are designed by men who listen to their ego mantras to enrichen their belief in personal gain over others."

Very nicely put!
Comment
22 of 25
March 18, 2011
Nicely put but not an accurate assessment. A religionist would phrase it as a lack of love for Christ, another, Mohamed.

In reality, we are upright walking primates with an overwhelming genetic predilection to compete for a higher pecking order to attract mates. Everybody does it, everybody denies it.

http://arstechnica.com/science/news/2011/03/cheaters-believe-theyre-that-good-even-when-theyre-not.ars?comments=1#comments-bar

"...When it comes to beliefs about ourselves, our strengths, and our weaknesses, we are very prone to bias. Psychologists have proposed that self-deception arose as a way to make it harder to detect lies; if the liar actually believes what he is saying, the lie becomes harder to detect. This may be one of the reasons that self-deception is so embedded in our behavior, and so difficult to prevent...."

Biodiversivist
Comment
23 of 25
March 18, 2011
If "Biodiversivist's" comment implies that human conscience is devolving in favor of deceit, we don't have to look far to find contemporary examples: free mortgages, the required SUV for Safeway grocery trips, clean coal and the nuclear renaissance.

All these phenoms are driven by advertisers who in other political economies even called themselves propagandists. If a new biophysical economic understanding is ever to replace Keynesianism, self-deception will automate its demise. The laws of nature are constant, irreversible and irreproachable. Yet, TEMPORARILY WE CAN ignore the fact that we primate hunter-gatherers/herding nomads evolved emotions and instincts along with tool-making and society to cope with nature's own evolutionary path! At least since the time of Roman craftsmen and Genghis Khan's "stirrup" tool-making our pyromaniac hegemonic economies have been based on deceptive advertising.

So, if there is no alternative to fighting fire with fire, perhaps collective advertising is what solar will need to achieve maturity... say a TV ad showing a huge construction site with cranes and construction trailers out of which a hard hat crew (Crew I) emerges with nuclear plant blueprints. Then a another crew (Crew II) rolls up with a semi (full of PV panels) and asks the first crew what they are doing... to which they answer... "breaking ground on a new nuclear plant." ... to which Crew II asks..."Oh, are you leaders of the Nuclear Renaissance we hear so much about?"... to which "Crew I" enthusiastically answers "YES!"... Then "Crew I" opens the side door of a semi-trailer full of PV collectors and its foreman says: "We're taking over the "Nuclear Renaissance" OUR reactor core is a safe 90 million miles from here."See you later!" Then, while construction "Crew I" looks on (under sun-baked hard hats) unneeded cranes come down and through time elapsed photography, a 10 KW? PV system is made operable in 5 seconds or so.

It's creative advertising stupid!
Comment
24 of 25
August 21, 2011
Draiman's vision for Los Angeles

World class renewable energy innovation enterprise zone revealed for Los Angeles – Proposed by YJ Draiman



YJ Draiman welcomes innovative renewable energy zone approach which will create 100,000 + new jobs over the next 10 years.

An ambitious project that will transform the way universities, business and industry collaborate and establish Los Angeles as a world leader in the research, development and design of next generation renewable energy technology has been announced today, January 31, 2011.
Spearheaded by economic development agency, Draiman Enterprise, and National Technology Renewable Energy Zone, will be established in the city of Los Angeles with the Universities of Southern California Technology Innovation Development at its heart.
A large parcel of land will be allocated to set up the renewableenergy enterprise zone site, which will be in the boundaries of Los Angeles. There will be an academic center which will be transformed into a center of excellence for academic research, commercialization and industry collaboration.

The renewableenergy zone initiative, which would span further than the confines of the City of Los Angeles and include Southern California, is expected to create 100,000 + new jobs over the next 10 years and give a boost to the Los Angeles economy through further industry academia collaboration and inward investment.
Draiman enterprise Chief Executive YJ Draiman said: "This new vision of Renewableenergy Technology Innovation Center will be the cornerstone of Los Angeles Technology and Renewable Energy Zone. YJ Draiman's vision for The Renewableenergy Zone is to provide a breeding ground for ambitious companies to harness cutting-edge research, access the best people and develop the products which will shape the renewable energy industry of tomorrow.
"Southern California has already claimed a place on the renewables map attracting energy heavyweights and pioneers in the solar and wi
Comment
25 of 25
August 22, 2011
Perhaps I could offer another view to the reason why we act/react as we do in the world. Yes, when we are young, we see ourselves, our identity, as bodies, and the sexual and competitiveness driven excuses to sustain that belief are paramount. We are separate selves with separate purposes. Yet, where are the sages of wisdom who have been able to transend the belief in separation and its foolishness; who have been willing to re-asses and change their mind about the meaning and purpose of life, and speak about it. Have the trappings of wealth so obscured the mind that one is never willing to give up identifying with the body even tho giving it up it is inevitable. Extreme wealth is a poison to the mind. To deny this and think oneself a Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Budist, etc., is to embrace the split minded duality of the modern order.

All mind is one. Minds must rise at common level or none will. It is as if the ocean of thot falls to the lowest level. This is a universal law of mind. You may deny it, obscure it, cover it over with learning, letters, projections, and judgements, wars and even death, but you cannot change it. Many will rage with great fear at this idea. That is the egos idea of protection. Yet there is no thot the peaceful mind can fear to look upon. The script is written long ago and remains true, tho you have written many others to replace it. It is still within you. You must never deny this, or you are already dead.
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Joseph McCabe

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About: Joseph McCabe is a solar industry veteran with over 20 years in the business. He is an American Solar Energy Society Fellow, a Professional Engineer, and is int... more »

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