Obama Administration: No Confidence in Nuclear Energy

Right Side News ^ | 06 March 2012 | Jack Spencer and Cornelius Milmoe

[dforest]

He is advocating pond scum.

[woodbutcher1963]

Unfortunetly, I am with her , not because I fear nuclear power , but because it is too costly. We on PSNH in NH have the highest electric rates in the country. We wouild have been much better off buying power from Quebec Hydro than ever building Seabrook. It would have been much cheaper.

Also, we have plenty of wood waste in the state to fuel several more biomass fired wood boiler turbines.

What we need is more pipeline capacity to get the natural gas from NY, PA and OH up here to reduce our dependence on home heating oil and propane to heat our homes.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

Have you tried a pellet stove? We love ours (here in MA)

[thackney]

If you think it is high now, just wait.

In May 2007, New Hampshire adopted a renewable portfolio standard that requires 25 percent of the State’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2025.

http://www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles.cfm?sid=NH

Nuclear is about 1/2 your electrical generation.

http://www.eia.gov/state/state-energy-profiles-data.cfm?sid=NH#Reserves

The real interesting thing is you generate about twice what you use.

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_1_6_b

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_4_b

Yet of your neighbors, only Connecticut pays more.

http://www.eia.gov/electricity/monthly/epm_table_grapher.cfm?t=epmt_5_6_a

[woodbutcher1963]

I have a Jotul woodstove. My regret is not buying a bigger one. I have the model 3C. It is a great stove but does not have a long enough burn time.

I went to the homeshow in Manchester this past weekend.
I saw a furance made by Lesiure Line that burns either oil or anthrasite coal. You can switch between the two. It runs about 85% efficient on oil and 90% on coal. The hopper holds about 2-3 days worth of coal. It was about $4500 plus installation. Based on oil’s current price, I figure it would pay off in about 5-6 years.

What brand/model pellet stove do you have ?
Where do you store the pellets ?

[woodbutcher1963]

“In May 2007, New Hampshire adopted a renewable portfolio standard that requires 25 percent of the State’s electricity to be generated from renewable sources by 2025.”

Wind mills are going up all over the White Mtns.
Also, there are at least 2 biomass(wood chips) electric generating plants in NH. They will probably build several more of those. There is plenty of wood fiber that gets disposed of here in NH. You can’t give white pine logs away now unless they are sawmill quality(20+” in dia.)

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

A Quadrafire Mt. Vernon. It can heat 2000 sq. ft., except when nights get down to 0-10, when we supplement with central oil heat.

It’s situated in a large family room off to the side of a 2-story colonial. Family room stays at 76. Farthest upstairs bedroom is 61.

This winter (October-March) we will go through two-pallets of pellets: $600. We were spending $750/mo. In Dec., Jan, Feb, for oil. A good stove, Quadrafire or Harmon, will cost about $4k installed. Maintenance takes 15 minutes per week. I recommend side-venting to save on chimney sweeping. 3x per season I clean the stack with a dryer brush. Takes 5 minutes.

We used to store pellets in the garage, but this year I bought them at Lowes so I could have my garage back. I prefer that now. Costs 20% more. The pallets can be left outside. Just put a tarp over them.

[woodbutcher1963]

That is a very nice pellet stove. That is the model I have thought of buying.
How long have you had it ?
Have you had any problems ?
How noisey is it ?
Do you have an outside air intake ?
What kind of pellets do you burn ?

FYI, I live up in Amherst, NH just west of Nashua.

[Osage Orange]

Solar is also mostly a bad idea at the moment, but should improve over time with better technology.

Been hearing that for 30 years...........

Wind energy is a joke....and only viable because of "free" money from gobment.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

It’s worked flawlessly for three years now. We use two ignitors/season at $75@.

You read a lot of horror stories on line, but techs say it’s because of a lack of cleaning. We got an indecipherable error message that turned out to be a dirty vent. I clean the side-venting smokestack 3x per season with a long dryer brush. Takes five minutes.

If you vent through a chimney, you’ll have to get it professionally cleaned, so side-vent! Keep in mind that the vent has to be 4 feet from Windows and doors.

We burn hardwood pellets. The ash output is incredibly low. A week’s worth would fill a half gallon milk carton. Bags weigh 40 lbs. If that’s an issue.

It has a blower that cycles on when it’s burning. It makes noise, but I’m so used to it I don’t notice it. It’s in our tv room, so the tv probably masks the sound. Probably very low frequency.

I figure we’re saving $2.5k/yr. We’re near Worcester, so our weather is pretty comparable.

[woodbutcher1963]

The horror stories that I read online have kept me from buying one. I read all sorts of breakdown issues with pellet stoves. I am sure a lot can be attributed to operator error/lack of cleaning. However, Harman/Quadfire have the best reputation.

The noise issue I thought was from the auger turning. I read that the Mont Vernon is the quietest they make.

The storage of the pellets is an issue for me. I have no room in my garage and did not think you could keep them outside. Weight of bag is not an issue for me. It would be for my wife. That is one thing I like about the washed coal. It is actually wet in the bag. It is a mineral and does not matter if it gets wet.

[PapaNew]

What’s your opinion of wind power? At present it represent less than 0.2% of the nation’s usage. In 30 years after shoveling billions upon billions in that direction it’s estimated that this unusual method of generating will provide less than 1.0%. Solar doesn’t do much better.

That kind of says it all. "Renewable energy" is another "strawberry fields forever" fantasy by our over-aged, over-drugged, burned-out hippies (AKA "liberals) - it's basically useless.

Europe has been generating power using nuclear for decades with no problems.

Well, to me, you're sitting on a keg of dynamite with these nuclear reactors. We don't need them. The Alaskan pipeline, offshore and onshore reserves, the Canadian pipeline ready and waiting to be piped into the U.S. We have enough natural gas, oil, and coal to become energy independent. Our problem is not the lack of energy. Our problem is TOO MUCH GOVERNMENT.