Vladislav of Vladislavija invites you to sign the following strategy. Any remarks are welcome.
Strategy for power production
version: 1.1
date: 19. July 2012.
Noting increased power demand and realizing that current power supply must be increased this text discusses and sets forth general policy for meeting power supply needs in the future.
Overview of power plants.
Fossil burning plants (ie. coal, gas, oil). This includes internal combustion engines which burn gasoline.
Hydro and geothermal plants
Solar, bio, wind, other
Nuclear fission
Nuclear fusion
Fossil burning plants are burning scarce, hard to replace resources meanwhile generating toxic gases and highly dangerous ashes. Since resources are dwindling it is not possible to continue use of these plants for more then 100 years at the current rate of use.
Hydro and geothermal plants provide clean energy if built and maintained properly. However due to their nature, they require specific sites to be built whiche are not widely available.
Solar power has poor energy density and is not available when needed the most, during the night or during the winter. Wind power has poor energy density. Biological sources of power can be toxic if improperly used (eg. burning wood) and deplete soil.
Nuclear fission can provide clean, cheap energy sources if built and maintained properly. It carries potential risks, and will deplete resources we have in less than a 1000 years but more than a 100. Additionally nuclear reactors are further divided into 3rd generation reactor which currently exist and are in use and 4th generation reactors of which only prototypes have been made. Newer plants use several orders of magnitude less fuel, make less waste and are inherently safer.
Nuclear fusion is clean, cheap and sustainable but there are currently no working implementations.
Additional benefits of high temperature power plants
Hydrogen could be used as an alternative to gasoline in car engines. However, there is a need to mass produce hydrogen cheaply in order to make this possible. One efficient solution is to use water splitting technique. For this to work, one needs only lots of heat. Such heat could be provided as a byproduct of some fission reactors and coal burning plants.
It should also be noted that there is increasing demand for clean water. One way to provide clean water is using desalination. Such heat could be provided as a byproduct by some fission reactors and coal burning plants.
Nuclear waste
Nuclear waste is defined as radioactive output of a power plant not intended for any other use which is stored away. It should be noted that not all nuclear waste is of same quality and quantity. In some cases nuclear waste can be reprocessed into different amount of different nuclear waste.
Additionally 3rd generation nuclear waste is defined as nuclear waste produced by 3rd generation nuclear reactors which consists primarily of depleted poisoned uranium. Thanks to its properties it can be reused as fuel in some 4th generation nuclear fission reactors.
All radioactive material which has its use is not considered waste by this strategy. All 3rd generation power plants which are not used for power production (eg. scientific reactors) are not considered waste producing reactors under this definition.
Long term planning
Long term plan for producing energy and maintaining clean environment is as follows:
[Short-term goal] Develop and build 4th generation fission power plants. Preferred plants will be ones which work at high temperatures and low pressure since they provide additional economical benefits, while minimizing meltdown risk. These plants will provide backbone of our power grid. Goal is to provide within 20 years means to increase power production by 10% yearly.
[Short-term goal] Inspect all existing hydro/geo plants and possible hydro/geo sites. Unless there is a very suitable place for this kind of plants they shouldn't be built. However, existing plants will be kept maintained and upgraded if necessary. This goal should be completed within 10 years.
[Medium-term goal] Phase out fossil power plants. Whenever possible these plants should be reused for some other power generating option (eg. nuclear). Goal is to close all fossil power plants within 50 years.
[Medium-term goal] Phase out all commercial nuclear power plants which are 3rd generation or older. This goal should be achieved within 50 years.
[Medium-term goal] Replace all gasoline consumption with hydrogen. Goal is to supply 50% of power supply needs from hydrogen within 50 years.
[Medium-term goal] Mass produce a functional portable nuclear power plant. Power plant will be considered portable if it fits inside a railway truck or a standard truck. Goal is to build one hundred portable power plants within 50 years.
[Long-term goal] Burn all the nuclear waste. Goal is to burn 95% of all 3rd generation nuclear waste within 100 years.
[Long-term goal] Finance and encourage fission research. Build a fully functional commercial fusion plant. Goal is to construct a fully-working plant within 100 years.
Additional terms relating to other countries signing this document
All signing countries will help other signing countries in successfully completing these goals by:
Providing them with blueprints for power plants.
Selling them smaller portable power plants.
Temporarily outsourcing engineers to help construct and operate foreign power plants. This should be considered as bootstraping foreign power production, not as stable mode of work.
Allowing foreign technicians to work at local power plants to gather experience.
Offering to reuse foreign 3rd generation radioactive waste.
Selling excess fuel.
The hosting country will provide these services at a reasonable price and at a rate which will not put its own progress behind the schedule.
Ending terms
This is obligatory for all nations signed as of date of their signing.
Additional terms may be added in additional technical reports.
Minor version of this document may occur if clarifications are needed, if there are spelling or grammar errors, or if new party signs this document. Minor versions are automatically approved by each signing member. Changes to a DRAFT document are minor. Every other change is a major change.
Signing nations should notify Vladislavija of their singing so this document can be updated. Signing nations will post at least the following text in their factbook:
NATIONNAME hereby endorses the Strategy for power production version 1 and will do everything in its power to accomplish goals the strategy has set forth.
Copy of Strategy for power production can be found in The Dominion of Vladislavija's factbook or following this Linklink.
The official copy of the Strategy for power production is in The Dominion of Vladislavija's factbook.
Signed:
Vladislav I Vladislav of The Dominion of Vladislavija (on 19. July 2012.)
Daniel Dragulia the Grand Duke of The Grand Duchy of Isdiria (on 19. July 2012.)
