For a Brighter Future:
Nuclear Power and Khulna’s Energy Policy
Overview:
We the people of Khulna take great pride in our technological successes, agriculture, artisanal, and culture history. We also believe in taking joy in the natural beauty of the lands and environment. As such we strive to ensure we have a strong energy policy the protects the environment while providing the energy needs of our people and allies. Primarily we use our nuclear power plants and invest in research of advanced reactors to further our energy needs while continuing to ensure operational safety and environmental protection from other sources. We use our oilfields as a supplementary source of energy along with any other source of renewable energies that may be developed and implemented. We sell or trade the excess power produced by these supplemental energy suppliers.
Why Nuclear Power First?
- Reliability: Unlike other forms of power generation, nuclear power is incredibly reliable and has the highest capacity factor of another other sources of power. Capacity factor is the ratio of power generated versus the maximum possible power generation. The capacity factor of nuclear compared to other forms of power generation are as follows: Nuclear – 92%, Geothermal – 76%, Gas (combined cycle plants) – 55%, Coal – 54%, Hydro – 45%, Wind – 37%, Solar, Photovoltaic (solar panels) – 27%, Solar, thermal heating – 22%, Oil via steam turbine – 13%, and Gas via steam turbine – 11%.
o What affects capacity factor? Anything that would prevent power generation at 100% power. This includes maintenance requirements in which the plant must either be shut down or taken to a reduced power output. Weather where applicable can also have detrimental effects. For wind, if speeds are too low, usable power cannot be generated and at speeds that are too high, the turbine must be locked to avoid damage or catastrophic failure. For solar, the sky must be clear and panels/reflectors angled properly to be most efficient and obviously power generation cannot occur at night. Lastly, normal fluctuations in electricity demand. Conventional (non-nuclear) plants can be shut-down and started up easily, so as power demands fluctuate through out the day these plants are often shutdown if not needed.
- Carbon free future: like wind and solar power, nuclear power is carbon free and makes it the perfect partner to other clean energies. Because of its high energy density (produces a lot a power compared to the amount of fuel required) it is the ideal candidate to lead the way to a carbon free future to help eliminate/minimize any climate changing effects.
o The nation of Khulna has an abundance of arable land which we use for farming and artisanal crafting of beers and other spirits which are enjoyed throughout Zemia, especially during the Annual Zemia Zwickelmania. Additionally, we have strong culture ties to our history and to the land so we want to preserve it. Climate change can have negative effects on weather and other environmental concerns, as such we strive for minimal carbon output.
- Sustainability: Part of sustainability is the previously mentioned environmental and climate change concerns but there are other sustainability effects that are important to note. First, nuclear power requires the least amount of land; a 1.3 square mile plant can provide power for 750,000 homes. Nuclear power produces low volumes of waste. Nuclear waste can then either be reprocessed/recycled for further use or stored safely onsite until moved to a long-term disposal location. There is also longer-term health benefits of nuclear power because there is no harmful pollution effects we have improved air quality and avoid potential toxic contamination from byproducts that are produce in other forms of energy production. Finally, jobs associated with nuclear power ensure long-term job security and therefore promote economic activity.
Regulations and Safety
Despite what some may believe nuclear energy is one of the safest forms of power generation. Nuclear power plants are design with safety in mind and are less prone to accidents or incidents than other power generating facilities and even in more industrial environments. On top of the built in design safety measure, there are other protection systems in place and continuous top-notch training and safety programs in place.
- Regulations: Khulna has established the Nuclear Integrity Commission and Energy Suppliers (NICES). The primary responsibility of NICES is to ensure the continued safe operation of all energy production.
o The majority of energy produced (goal of 75%) must come from nuclear power. The remaining power necessary may come from other clean or renewable energy sources, falling back on coal and oil to supplement when necessary. Surplus energy from unclean source can be sold to other nation to fund state sponsored social programs.
o All new designs for power generation systems or units (plants) as a whole must be approved by NICES and the state prior to work commencing.
o NICES shall use special funding to research more efficient systems leaning towards clean energy production or methods to reduce emissions from coal and oil to reduce environmental impacts.
o All power plants will be issued initial “life expectancy” license. Prior to the end of the license, power plants must partner with NICES and perform extensive structural integrity test and other safety inspections of all systems. On satisfactory review, a new license will be issued and operation will continue. Any plant that fails the inspection or fails to renew their license must immediately shutdown pending safety and management review.
o Energy sources that produce waste must have on sight storage designed to safeguard the environment and people from the waste. Additional offsite, long term storage needs must meet the safety requirements for long term storage of bulk waste products.
- Safety
o All powerplants must have redundant safety features. In nuclear plants, a tertiary system must be in place on reactor system to safeguard against unknown instrumentation failure or false readings.
o All operators must have committed to memory all immediate actions for casualty procedures.
o All operators must take monthly continuous training exams designed to check knowledge on theoretical design, specifications, system layouts, immediate actions, and basic operation procedures.
§ Each plant will have a training team that will write these exams. Exams are only intended to be brief, random testing. Exams shall take no longer than two hours to administer. Operators who receive less than 70% on exams must complete and “upgrade” sheet with plant supervisors to continue to operate their stations.
o All plants will run basic safety drills once a week, with intermediate difficulty drills once a month. On an annual basis, a training scenario should be ran for catastrophic failures of primary and secondary systems of each plant.
§ Steam plant side is considered secondary, while primary his heat generation side. (Reactor side for nuclear, gas source side for natural gas, etc.)
o All emergency backup systems on nuclear plants must be above ground level and in water tight rooms in the event of flooding or other natural disaster to ensure a continuous water supply and circulation to ensure cooling.
- Non-proliferation: To strive for global security, Khulna does not operate, nor does it seek research, on methods to turn nuclear fuel material into potential weapons grade material.
Created by: Tyler Boettcher, Khulna, Head of State
Sources:
“Home.” Nuclear Energy Institute, https://www.nei.org/home.
“US Nuclear Power Policy.” US Nuclear Power Policy | Nuclear Energy Policy USA - World Nuclear Association, Aug. 2021, https://world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-t-z/usa-nuclear-power-policy.aspx.
*** Note: Other inspiration regarding this policy came from my time in the US Navy as a Nuclear Machinist Mate. I served on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Reactor Mechanical division and was in charge of reactor plant and steam plant operations. I was also the secondary, steam plant, work center supervisor and perform and scheduled maintenance on the steam plant systems that direction affected reactor and electric plant operations. - MMN2 (SW) Boettcher, Tyler