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Appendix

Power Plant Types

Burning for electricity

Where is all that coal, natural gas, and oil being burned to make electricity?  About 60,000 of them are large coal burning power plants.

Platts claims coverage of installed and projected coal burning steam turbines, natural gas burning turbines, gas and steam combined-cycle plants, Internal Combustion (usually diesel) engines, hydro units, wind turbines, and renewable energy units. 

("In 2000, the existing capacity of U.S. electric utilities totaled 604,514 megawatts, a net change of -34,810 megawatts (-5.4 percent) from the total reported in 1999. This was mainly due to the sale/transfer of 42,974 megawatts of capacity during 2000 to nonutilities. Based on primary energy source, coal-fired capacity represented 43 percent (260,990 megawatts) of the Nation's existing capacity. Gas-fired capacity accounted for 19 percent (117,845 megawatts); nuclear, 14 percent (86,163 megawatts); renewable energy sources [Renewable energy sources include water (conventional hydroelectric), geothermal, biomass, solar and wind.], 12 percent (74,575 megawatts); petroleum, 7 percent (41,017 megawatts); and pumped storage hydroelectric, 3 percent (18,020 megawatts)." - - - DOE)

143,000  Power Plant Units?  As far as the author knows, this number from Platts, considered THE source of such information, includes everything in the world that is in regular use to make electricity - both public and private.  Platts resolves down to units as small as 0.1 megawatts.  This means we will find units as small as 100,000 watts or 100 kilowatts or 134 horsepower listed in their database.

Their 60,000 plant site number probably gives us a more realistic feel for what is really out there in the way of fossil fuel burning power plants that may be candidates for conversion to nuclear.  For the US, the Department of Energy's Energy Information Agency has a number a little over 2,000 for our plant sites. 

Burning for heat

The US probably has 5 times that number of private heating power plants - many now converted to burning natural gas (2/3 as CO2 dirty as coal) and producing just steam for heating - an example would be the old power plant that now only provides heat to the seven-building Capitol Building Complex in Washington, D.C.  Think also building complexes such as colleges, large hospitals, large office, government, and industrial building complexes. 

They are everywhere.  You likely drive past several tell-tale large smokestacks every day.  Large smokestacks are the enemy and they are prime candidates for replacement by Micronukes like the Hyperion and the Adams Atomic Engine reactor.

The situation appears confusing but it isn't. 

It doesn't really matter who's burning what.  Coal and natural gas both have to go now, oil later.

Coal, which produces 11.7 billion tons of CO2 each year, is the almost exclusive fossil fuel for the world's largest power plants.

Natural Gas, which produces 5.6 billion tons of CO2 each year, is being burned in almost everything else that's stationary.

All coal burning power plants can be quickly (5 to 10 years) repowered with nuclear. 

Hybrid nuclear power plant electricity can replace almost all natural gas applications more slowly (10 to 15 years).

One lesson from all this:  This shows the world has a screaming need for tens of thousands of 5 megawatt generators (7,000 horsepower) powered by underground Hyperion reactors.

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The data for World's 12 worst coal power plants vs. all the world's wind turbines combined.

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Generating Unit Types and their Energy Sources

                   Unit Type:
CA = Combined Cycle Steam Plant;
CC = Combined Cycle Total Unit (use only for plants/generators that are in planning stage, for which specific generator details cannot be provided);
CE = Compressed Air Energy Storage;
CS = Combined Cycle Single Shaft (combustion turbine and steam turbine share a single generator);
CT = Combined Cycle Combustion Turbine Part (type of coal must be reported as energy source for integrated coal);
FC = Fuel Cell;
GT = Combustion (Gas) Turbine (includes jet engine design);
HY = Hydraulic Turbine (includes turbines associated with delivery of water by pipeline);
IC = Internal Combustion (diesel, piston) Engine;
NA = Unknown at this time (use only for plants/generators that are in planning stage, for which specific generator details cannot be provided.);
OT = Other;
PS = Hydraulic Turbine - Reversible (pumped storage);
PV = Photovoltaic;
ST = Steam Turbine, including nuclear, geothermal and solar steam (does not include combined cycle);
WT = Wind Turbine;

                Energy Source:
AB = Agriculture Crop Byproducts/Straw/Energy Crops;
BFG = Blast-Furnace Gas;
BIT = (Anthracite Coal, Bituminous Coal);
BLQ = Black Liquor;
DFO = Distillate Fuel Oil (includes all Diesel and No. 1, No. 2, and No. 4 Fuel Oils);
GEO = Geothermal;
JF = Jet Fuel;
KER = Kerosene;
LFG = Landfill Gas;
LIG = Lignite Coal;
MSW = Municipal Solid Waste;
NA = Not Available;
NG = Natural Gas;
NUC = Nuclear (Uranium, Plutonium, Thorium);
OBG = Other Biomass Gases (Digester Gas, Methane, and other biomass gases);
OBL = Other Biomass Liquids (Ethanol, Fish Oil, Liquid Acetonitrile Waste, Medical Waste, Tall Oil, Waste Alcohol, and other biomass liquids not specified);
OBS = Other Biomass Solids (Animal Manure and Waste, Solid Byproducts, and other solid biomass not specified);
OG = Other Gas (Butane, Coal Processes, Coke-Oven, Refinery, and other processes);
OTH = Other (Batteries, Chemicals, Coke Breeze, Hydrogen, Pitch, Sulfur, Tar Coal, and miscellaneous technologies);
PC = Petroleum Coke;
PG = Propane;
PUR = Purchased Steam;
RFO = Residual Fuel Oil (includes No. 5 and No. 6 Fuel Oils and Bunker C Fuel Oil);
SC = Coal-based Synfuel and include briquettes, pellets, or extrusions, which are formed by binding materials and processes that recycle material;
SLW = Sludge Waste;
SUB = Subbituminous Coal;
SUN = Solar (Photovoltaic, Thermal);
TDF = Tires;
WAT = Water (Conventional, Pumped Storage);
WC = Waste/Other Coal (Anthracite Culm, Bituminous Gob, Fine Coal, Lignite Waste, Waste Coal);
WDL = Wood Waste Liquids (Red Liquor, Sludge Wood, Spent Sulfite Liquor, and other wood related liquids not specified);
WDS = Wood/Wood Waste Solids (Paper Pellets, Railroad Ties, Utility Poles, Wood Chips, and other wood solids);
WH = Waste Heat (Reject Heat);
WND =  Wind;
WO = Waste Oil-Other and Waste Oil (Butane (Liquid), Crude Oil, Liquid Byproducts, Oil Waste, Propane (Liquid), Re-Refined Motor Oil, Sludge Oil, Tar Oil).

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Life in Dieselville

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