The Power Crisis

[RantyDave]

There is no nuke turbine/generator unit small enough to be usefull in New Zealand.

So make one.

We give hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the CRI's - one of which apparently knows about geological and nuclear science. If spending a billion or so on broadband infrastructure is a good use of money, how about the government spinning out a company that's rather good at making small nuclear reactors. It's not like oil is going to get either cheaper or more plentiful.

I just find the whole anti-nuclear thing weird.

Dave

[Jantar]

...I just find the whole anti-nuclear thing weird.

I think you'll find thay it is so much anti nuke, and more that nuke just isn't suitable, yet. Westinghouse are currently developing a 360 MW nuke that is due for certification in 2010, all going well. France has been developing pebble bed reactors that would be suitable, but the earliest that they expect any commercial results is 2020 - 2040. If New Zealand was to begin its own research program right now, we may have something suitable in 2050 - 2070, or we may not.

So lets just wait and watch for Westinghouse or France to certify a suitable plant then open up the debate in NZ. Oh, and if we do get a nuke plant planned before I reach retirement age, my CV will be one of the first they receive.

[Deano]

Oh, and if we do get a nuke plant planned before I reach retirement age, my CV will be one of the first they receive.

Shall we just call you Homer ?

[Jantar]

Shall we just call you Homer ?

As long that is a definite homer and not a homo, that's fine.

[KiwiRat]

Shall we just call you Homer ?

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

If you look at the monitors in the Control Room shot, you will see two readings are in alarm (yellow). This is telling the guys that the Lube Oil supply temperature to this particular gas turbine is too high, and if they don't figure out which corrective course of action to take, and fast, that machine will trip, instantaneously removing 60 MW from the grid. Once the fault has been rectified, it's a 2 hour exercise to start the machine, synchronize it to the grid, and ramp in the boiler which is using the gas turbine exhaust as its heat source.

It's not donuts and Lazyboys all the time, you know.

[Trouser]

I like the sneaky robin small engine manual lying on the desk. Back up generator for home perhaps?

[KiwiRat]

I like the sneaky robin small engine manual lying on the desk. Back up generator for home perhaps?

Well spotted, but no. It's just the manual for a portable pump set that we have on site.

[Forest]

Now to "I thought you opened the intake gate up a bit, the water flow increases, the generator spins faster". The generator doesn't spin any faster at all. The speed of the generator is locked by the grid frequency, and once synchronised it doesn't matter whether the gates are only partially open or fully open, the speed wont change. A 40 pole generator will spin at 150 rpm irrespective of the amount of water going through it, or the power being produced.

I'd never really thought about it, but that does make a lot of sense.

(150/60) * (40/2) = 50Hz

[BadCompany]

It's a dirty job, but someone's gotta do it.

If you look at the monitors in the Control Room shot, you will see two readings are in alarm (yellow). This is telling the guys that the Lube Oil supply temperature to this particular gas turbine is too high, and if they don't figure out which corrective course of action to take, and fast, that machine will trip, instantaneously removing 60 MW from the grid. Once the fault has been rectified, it's a 2 hour exercise to start the machine, synchronize it to the grid, and ramp in the boiler which is using the gas turbine exhaust as its heat source.

It's not donuts and Lazyboys all the time, you know.

Is that power station out in south auckland somewhere? I'm pretty sure I've been up to the top of one of those stacks.

[marty]

When I was a boy I (and my parents) lived in a house with no electricity, no running water, no sewerage connection. We survived well enough. I magine that I still can if needs be. It will all be a storm in a teacup.

when I was a boy, we lived in gutter, got up before we went to bed, and licked road clean for breakfast.....

[Jantar]

Something that the media doesn't put across very well is that it isn't a crisis, and shouldn't become one. The situation is very tight, and there is absolutely nothing to spare. With all plant running to expectations we will get through, just keep your fingers crossed that there isn't a major breakdown.

We have already seen a minor breakdown with Otahuhu off line for 5 days and the lights stayed on. It may be a bit different if the same thing were to happen for 5 weeks though.

[marty]

friend of mine lives next to a substantial waterway - it has multiple generation projects on it already.

he has placed a waterwheel, that is suspended from above, onto the surface of the waterway. gearing it up to run a 24v truck alternator at artound 3000rpm, through a couple of old truck batteries, he now runs: all lights, beer fridge, heats the spa, multiple 24v sytems in the house - cell phone chargers etc etc.

his power bill dropped from $400/month, to less than $100.

total cost of system, less than $1000. energy taken from the waterway. neglible (not even measureable)

[KiwiRat]

Is that power station out in south auckland somewhere? I'm pretty sure I've been up to the top of one of those stacks.

Yeah mate. Penrose.

What were you doing there?

[BadCompany]

Yeah mate. Penrose.

What were you doing there?

Was some tour thing with ESITO. Did a taster course with them a few years ago. Went and checked out a few plants around the place, don't really remember them though :P

[Mikkel]

when I was a boy, we lived in gutter, got up before we went to bed, and licked road clean for breakfast.....

But when you tell the young kids today, they won't believe you!