Kirk Sorensen talks about the new and exciting field of Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors, a new type of viable and stable forms of new nuclear energy. [youtube width="600" height="400" video_id="DBlsUjnEQq0&"]
Developing America’s Unconventional Resource - Natural Gas
Just prior to 2008, shortly before the United States financial collapse, gas was in the range of $13 dollars; a far cry from the low price that gas sunk to last week. At $2.30 per 1,000 cubic feet, pricing has pushed some operators, like Colorado-based QEP to stop production in dry gas plays across the United States, abandoning their wells to grind through the slope in the market. “Trying to survive will not work, operators have to continue to thrive with low gas prices. It is the only successful strategy,” said Steven Mueller, President and CEO, Southwestern Energy. Although dry gas isn’t favoring well, the demand and the price of natural gas liquids continues to do well in domestic as well as export markets. During CERAWeek, gas operators and market enthusiasts shifted from the previous day’s oil conversation to the growing role of natural gas, supply and demand as well as market trends and pricing.
Sentiment was unanimous among attendees who hailed natural gas as an American national treasure, with long-term low price implications. Our nations abundance of natural gas, many agreed, gives America a strategic advantage to set global pricing for the commodity. Natural gas has been so successful largely because of the advancements made in technology provided by companies like Baker Hughes, who continue to refine processes and instrumentation across drilling and evaluation, competitions, production and reservoir analysis.
“The pace of change is unprecedented. No matter how you cut it, this is an independent company game, and it is the independents and their entrepreneurial spirit that is making the most of technology to drive efficiency,” said Derek Mathieson, President of Western Hemisphere Operations for Baker Hughes. It is because of this efficiency and new technology, connected to a 40 percent surplus of feedstock that has led to depressed natural gas prices in the United States. “There is also a disconnect between oil and gas prices that creates added cost pressures as gas prices decrease,” said Mueller.
Even as operators re-locate rigs into plays rich in oil and NGLs, there will still continue to be demand for dry natural gas. While it is still too soon to tell when the shift in drilling will balance out the dry gas markets, Southwestern’s Mueller reasoned that, “Demand will be sideways for three months and then we should see the demand curve rise again,” and predicting that Americans could see pricing between four and six dollars per million BTUs.
With an unprecedented amount of gas resources at our fingertips, the promise of low prices and a real long-term fuel alternative to oil, state governments are exercising their rights to offer tax incentives to operators as well as to impose regulations on drillers coming into their states. “We have primary authority over our injection wells and high pressure pipelines that is much more forward leaning than the federal government’s,” said Republican Ohio Governor, John Kasich, “Ohio can regulate our own work on the ground and we can get it right for our state.”
Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper mirrored Kasich’s sentiments adding, “It really doesn’t matter what type of energy it is, it should be a state’s responsibility to impose policies and regulations that are less onerous and more effective for its conditions than those the federal government could impose.” Hickenlooper, a former geologist, the only Governor in history to hold the title, emphasized that there is a real need for understanding the geological make up of each state and how that geology transforms the landscape of drilling, extraction and recovery as it pertains to environmental regulations and a basic understanding of the risks associated with oil and gas drilling. “Public relations issues are what is holding up development, which is intrinsically linked to national security in this country,” said Hickenlooper.
“Unless a domestic energy policy becomes a priority, an independent energy policy created by individual states will be critical to their economic development,” said Kasich. The unemployment concerns are real to the Ohio governor whose constituents in small towns around the state are facing multi-generational depressions. “We’ve gone from 10 percent unemployment down to 7.7 percent. I believe we can have strong environmental regulations coupled with important job creation,” said Kasich, “I’m glad environmentalists are engaging. If we pay attention to legitimate environmental concerns I think we can continue to support the oil and gas industry responsibly and carefully, in turn helping the people of Ohio.”
Both Ohio and Colorado have been working hard towards long-term energy development plans, which include conservation and the growth of all energy resources available in their states. Colorado like Ohio has a balanced energy mix with excellent wind and solar resources as well as sizable coal deposits. What is fast becoming an economic and energy wild card for these states, however, is the estimated amount of oil and natural gas reserves available to them.
With the availability of natural gas also comes the reality of how it is extracted and the impact that area will sustain during the course of the wells production. Luckily as technology for horizontal drilling has improved, it has allowed multiple wells to be drilled from a single pad site, reducing the environmental footprint a company leaves once drilling is completed. What is more concerning to each of the governors is ensuring there is wellbore integrity to eliminate fear of water contamination as well as purging unnecessary flaring.
As Kasich continues to increase economic growth in communities through oil and natural gas by reducing any environmental issues, he stressed how important it is for his state to reassess the its current severance taxes. With only a slight increase of the tax the state stands to retain millions of dollars in revenue. “Increasing the severance tax is one of our long-term development plans to lower the income tax, which is the engine that grows small business,” said Kasich.
Meanwhile, Hickenlooper is working with state, industry and environmental leaders in Colorado to glean a clearer understanding of the true environmental threats and risks to the states air and water resources. While he is focused on eliminating fugitive methane and flaring, his most recent initiative will start early next week as the Rocky Mountain Association of Environmental Professionals meet to discuss Colorado Oil and Gas Association’s (COGA) Voluntary Baseline Groundwater Program, which will require operators to establish a baseline of nearby water sources to adequately assess whether an area has increased levels of biogenic gas prior to drilling or if thermo genic gas has been leaked during any part of the drilling process.
It is sure however that the process will continue as the United States forges ahead in shale gas development. Extracting and developing this unconventional resource has faced its fair share of challenges but it has helped shape the industry, leading them to new technological advancements that are redefining the way the industry and hopefully the public, views the process of production.
Keystone XL Pipelines Biggest Opponent is its Misguided Public Perception
In one of its more modest sessions, IHS CERA Senior Director, Jackie Forrest, moderated a panel on the Canadian Oil Sands – Growth Prospects and Risks to Growth. Speakers included executives from TransCanada, Laricina Energy and the American Petroleum Institute. Forrest moderated the session, focusing primarily on the public’s misconceptions of the project. The Keystone XL pipeline project, which was submitted in 2008, is a proposed 1,700-mile pipeline that would transport 830,000 barrels connecting one of the largest oil reserves in the world in Alberta to the world’s largest refining center in the Gulf Coast. After the President stalled any decision on the project until after the 2012 elections, Congressional members, in an effort to push a decision, tied the approval to the payroll tax extension.
While the decision was ultimately rejected in January, it was not based on the merits of the project. Instead the State Department called for an assessment of alternate pipeline routes to avoid the Sand Hills in Nebraska. “TransCanada will reapply, focusing on the very modest reroute of less than 100 miles around those Sand Hills,” said Alex Pourbaix, TransCanada’s President of Energy and Oil Pipelines. The company expects to announce its reroute of the pipeline when they apply for a new permit in the fall.
In the meantime, TransCanda is focused on starting construction on the portion of the pipeline that goes from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast refining center in an effort to relieve the bottleneck in take away capacity. Once construction starts TransCanada estimates that this section will take one construction season to complete.
Frustrating to those more intimately involved with the project is the misconceptions held by an emotionally charged and somewhat misguided public, much of which can be attributed to the environmental arguments being drawn from extremists and misinformed media. “Some people believe that if the Keystone XL is stopped that production in the oil sands stops, and that’s the furthest from the truth,” said Pourbaix, “Once people understand that it’s not a choice between oil sands oil and solar, but that it’s about where they get their oil from, the conversation changes.”
Since the early 2000s, the United States has been receiving the bulk of their oil from Saudi Arabia, Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and Nigeria. As demand has increased in China, Venezuela, in exchange for loan funding has diverted its oil resources to the Communist nation. This diversion along with declining production and rising demand in Mexico has led to decreased imports for the United States. With current imports at around 50%, America is just as dependent on foreign oil as ever. The question now is, where should we get that oil?
The initial delay sparked outrage across Canada with Prime Minister Stephen Harper saying he was, “profoundly disappointed” but hoped that the President would reconsider the project and its economic benefit for both Canada and the U.S. It’s not just the economic benefit that can be attributed to the deal, it is also an issue of National Security. “In an independent nationwide poll, people believe that most of their oil comes from the Middle East,” said Martin Durbin, Executive Vice President of the American Petroleum Institute, “What they fail to realize is most of our oil comes from Canada.”
Currently, that same oil we are importing from Canada is being imported by truck and rail, expending carbon emissions, the exact thing environmentalists are arguing against the oil sands. In terms of worldwide carbon emissions, Canada’s output currently ranks at five percent of the world's total carbon output. Of that only .02 percent is from the production of the oil sands. Even water use in the in-situ extraction process is low with almost all of the water used coming from deep underground wells that is non-potable and eventually recycled.
The debate surrounding water arises again as one of the prime concerns for opponents who believe the current path of the Keystone XL pipeline compromises the Ogallala aquifer whose water table, which spans from West Texas to South Dakota, already has thousands of pipelines running concurrently across it. TransCanada’s issues, unfortunately, are based on bad timing, as prior pipeline operators have not had to face similar setbacks. “With more time, however, it has allowed the API to delve deeper into the benefits this project brings. Soon it will be harder for those who are trying to stop development to bring the public around with them,” said Durbin.
The Keystone XL has become a cause for celeb with notable figures such as Julia Louis-Dryfus and Darryl Hannah issuing statements and becoming martyrs at protests in an effort to stop development. And while opponents like this will couch their argument in absolute elimination of the infrastructure with no prospect of hearing the other side, groups who are legitimately concerned with the project have been more than willing to listen to both sides and understand the so-called risks.
In a broad state-by-state poll conducted by the American Petroleum Institute, 56 percent of people strongly favored the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Once that same polling group was given more details about the project, almost 80 percent said that they not only were in support of the pipeline but expressed the need for a better understanding of our domestic oil policy and Canada. The polling group spanned all political parties with 49.33 percent of Democrats favoring the construction.
“The economic incentive for solution driven markets is no different than those in the U.S. Maintaining prices and having access to markets is extremely important as far as oil is concerned in Canada, similar to that of natural gas in the U.S.,” said Glen Schmidt, President and CEO of Canadian-based Laricina Energy. Economics also play a big role when considering transportation and production. The last thing Canadians want is to build multi-billion dollar upgraders facilities in Alberta when the capacity is already in the Gulf Coast. “Their upgraders are already well-suited for Canadian crude,” said Pourbaix, “the type of oil we would transport in long-term contracts is similar to the oil imported from Nigeria and Venezuela.”
With oil imports at roughly half of domestic consumption and a continued rise in demand, even with biomass and other renewables, analysts predict 57% of our energy still coming from oil and natural gas by 2035. “It’s not a matter of if we’ll need it, it’s just about where we’ll get it. We need to increase the amount of oil we receive from Canada instead of other nations. That will be the benefit,” said Durbin. Now it’s just a matter of educating the public.
Energy Africa, The Global Commerce Forum: A Look Back
People from developed modern societies can pay thanks to those who helped revolutionize the way we experience the world because of fossil fuels. Through the use of coal and oil we have taken our cultures and turned them into thriving metropolises across the globe. While countries in Europe, the United States and most recently China and India have experienced economic prosperity through the use of fossil fuels; is it possible as we continue to develop new renewable resources that emerging and developing nations should start looking at alternatives?
Take a look back at the distinguished speakers and panelists who came together to present ideas on growing energy in Africa and who begged the question, "Should emerging and developing nations develop their energy infrastructure from traditional energy sources or are there other better options available to them through renewable resources like solar, wind and natural gas?"
Are We Really spOILed?
The documentary film spOILed debuted last week in Denver to a private crowd hosted by the city’s petroleum club, which was greeted with cheers and applause as the film gushed to a start. Director Mark Mathis delivered a truthful and resonating film from the perspective of a realist who journeyed to discover the truth about oil. As a born and bred local of Colorado and an energy enthusiast I was pleased to experience a realistic and balanced perspective on oil production.
From the onset, the film is catchy and interrupting. Mathis’ story line delivers you to logical points and in an instant flashes you back in time to iconic moments in history as a reminder of how quickly our perception of oil has changed. His clip composition is timed perfectly to anticipate the moments when the viewer may be thinking, “but…"
From Greenpeace to industry insiders, Mathis interviews a gamut of individuals with a vested interest in the production of oil. While the U.S. doesn’t have an energy policy, everybody has an opinion on what it should be. Like Gasland, spOILed is sure to receive attention regarding Mathis’ “ honest discussion on energy.” The film serves as a reminder about how we came to use oil, how oil has revolutionized our world and our lifestyles as well as the results of cutting off oil production completely. It begs to the absurdity of not knowing the intrinsic connections and value that oil affords us, and how far-reaching our dependence is. spOILed reminds viewers that while figuring out an alternative solution to oil is important we can’t just sever our life line to the fuel without consequences.
Living as Americans we have come to appreciate and take for granted the freedoms and choices that are provided to us daily. Our forefathers in a quest to develop a system for free people outlined a set of laws that helped us pursue life, liberty and happiness. These freedoms have allowed us to watch the sunset from our beach bungalows, cozy up to the fireplaces in our mountain homes and drink wine on the porches of our cottages; due in part to the innovations and discoveries years ago spurred by the discovery of oil.
Like residents living on the coasts or across the plains, I too appreciate the daily aesthetics’ that living in Denver and the state of Colorado allow to me. There is nothing like watching the sun set over the mountains, enjoying the outdoors and breathing the fresh Rocky Mountain air at 5,000 feet. I am also acutely aware of the blessings I count for myself in the form of a great place to live, a hot shower in the morning, a reliable car and an iPod that like me runs for hours so that I can be alone with my thoughts, which hopefully come out as good writing when I finally get to typing on my Mac. I also know that these same blessings are the result of American discovery, innovation and ingenuity forged as a direct result of our use of oil.
Mathis’ documentary while of course focused on oil, presents a logical look into the world of oil production and asks viewers to be rational when discussing it and its alternatives. Whether you are a fan of renewable energy or fossil fuels you need to see the film spOILed to really understand both sides or at least to have a rationale conversation on how our society can cut back on its oil dependence without eliminating it completely.
A Glimpse of the Athabasca Oil Sands
As oil prices continue to soar and as North America strives for energy independence, the Athabasca Oil Sands represent a real energy future for our continent. Unlike liquid oil, this mined sand produces large profits and has created more jobs than there are people to fill them. While the region continues to be developed, activists and industry supporters alike are working together to produce the oil sands resource while also considering long-term sustainability.
Recently, ICOSA was invited by the Canadian government to visit the oils sands. The following video gives a glimpse into what one of our writers and his videographer saw while visiting Ft. McMurray.
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Diminishing Irreverent Ideology and Replacing it with Informed Understanding – The Unintended Consequences Project
Oil and gas are dirty; wind and sun are clean. It seems almost logical and undeniable. The thought of a breeze dancing through the air on a sunny day, providing energy to homes is almost idyllic, while drilling into the dark cold earth for oil and gas is grimy and horrid. The reality, however, is that the comparisons don’t match up, they are misleading. The processes to harness both renewable energy and fossil fuel energy are essentially the same. It starts with an end-user, you, and the products and technologies to supply that demand. Whether it is drilling or manufacturing, nothing is clean. Everything comes at a price and sometimes those prices are the products of unintended consequences.
These consequences are a part of every industry and are the nature of innovation and advancement. From gas in shale plays across the United States to the Athabasca Oil Sands of Canada, down to the solar installations of the south and back up to the wind farms in the north, America and Canada are racing to harness energy.
There are two camps that sit at the crossroads of energy independence and energy sustainability, both entrenched in a one-sided conversation. In an attempt to curb the conversations and couch them in truth, documentary film maker Matt Palmer will challenge viewers on the difficult issue of “how do we deal with the externalities that result from our current global fossil fuel dominated energy system and transition to a low carbon society given that every aspect of our lives from modern science, medicine, technology and food production all rely on fossil fuels,” in his film Unintended Consequences.
While alternative energy resources and renewable technology is still being developed, it is important to understand the facts behind their foundation. Environmentalists tout the benefits of alternative energy as if it is a clean, free and benevolent source of energy without laying out other important factors to the production of solar, wind, hydro and biofuels. "We need to see how these energy issues fit together," said Palmer.
Sure past societies have existed on wind and watermills but they have advanced and excelled with the use of fossil fuels. They are what shaped our present but they don’t have to solely define our future. Both forms of energy have given sustenance and it is each persons choice how it will sustain them in the future. But according to Matt Palmer, they must be educated on both sides, "There is a true lack of understanding on where our energy comes from. I am going to help tell the story."
Palmer’s documentary will follows six families whose lives are exponentially different, and as he states, “to see how energy impacts their lives and the complexity of emotions that result from their access.”
To learn more about Matt Palmer’s upcoming documentary, Unintended Consequences click on the video below or visit http://www.indiegogo.com/Unintended-Consequences and get involved.
Africa - Can the Continent Build a Sustainable Energy Future?
In our turbulent and uncertain world, countries like China and India have emerged as nations leading the charge towards global economic growth, industrializing through fossil fuels. However, despite the emergence of these successful economies, energy poverty continues to be an issue for countries across Africa that lacks the infrastructure for even small-scale energy developments. And while the slate is clean for countries across Africa to explore the vast resources available to them, they also have to work through the challenges that those same resources pose. For this reason, academics, researchers, engineers and business leaders came together to speak to those challenges and share ideas to help create a sustainable energy future, a platform for economic development in Africa. The Global Commerce Forum’s event held in Denver challenged participants to look at potential development based on clean energy complemented by natural gas.
Unlike other countries around the world, the nations that make up Africa lack the monetary resources and the infrastructure for such development. While Africa has lots of sun and wind that blows across the open plains, they do not have manufacturing facilities, concrete plants or transportation to service such large-scale green energy developments.
There are, however, huge reserves of undiscovered and unrecovered natural gas throughout the coastal basins, North-Central Africa, the Chad Basin and through the Nile Delta. Currently, there is a lack of sub-structure for recoverable reserves but these Pre-Cambrian, Devonian and Jurassic source rocks contain huge shale gas potential. This has of course already captured the attention of multi-nationals like Chevron, Swakor (now NAMCOR), Shell and Anadarko who operate across the continent in basins like Tindouf and Karoo that are comparable to the United States’ Barnett and Marcellus shales respectively.
Even with these large-scale operations headed by powerful companies, Africa with its assessed reserves still only has 52 land rigs, 26 off-shore rigs and only five new proposed facilities to produce conventional oil but not unconventional. The climate for new wells however looks slow to change, especially with regulatory issues from geopolitical influences plaguing various areas along with local concern for surface and ground water contamination. But even these challenges can be worked through with proper education regarding the existing technology and techniques.
The real challenge is the water resource conundrum, especially as it pertains to hydraulic fracturing which requires huge amounts of water reserves as well as recycling. Because of the operation locations, there is limited access not just to water but water infrastructure and the availability of the markets that would access such gas. Add in the cost of transportation and the vision seems almost insurmountable.
“Natural gas isn’t the solution, it is the foundation,” said Paula Gant, VP of Regulatory Affairs for the American Gas Association. With the help of small-scale renewables, cities and towns can experience some power where there was not any before while large-scale traditional energy development by large multi-nationals such as Chevron, Shell, Anadarko and NAMCOR can help to advance infrastructure through private funding.
One thing is clear, without an energy policy of our own, advancing one for another continent does not seem logical. The people of Africa have shown that they are strong, they are resilient and they are proud. They do not need a handout, they need a hand up, “Africa needs investment and Africans need jobs. Jobs are created by business, not charity,” said John Coors, Chairman, President and CEO of CoorsTek. “If money was the issue for these people than the problem of poverty would have been solved.”
The shale is there. The demand is high. The people need work. The real question is, how do we support businesses to create jobs and help to build the local African economy? Until then, according to the International Energy Agency, tonight when the sun goes down in Africa, roughly 587 million people will be left in the dark.
Global Commerce Forum and the Alberta Oil Sands
Reliable energy discussions continue on the burgeoning demand in emerging countries. The question is which is best clean or traditional? A base energy infrastructure is needed in Africa to ensure a sustainable economy. The discussion begins October 13th and 14th at the Global Commerce Forum. To register for the event, visit: www.globalcommerceforum.org or watch live, at: www.livestream.com/icosamedia. Keynote speakers include former Governor of Colorado, Bill Ritter; chairman of the board, president and chief executive officer at Coorstek, Inc., Dr. John Coors; permanent secretary, Kenyan Ministry of Energy, Patrick Nyoike; executive coordinator of sustainable community development services in Kenya, John Maina and; co-founder of Envirofit and Solix Biofuels, Dr. Bryan Willson.
Michael Conners toured Alberta, Canada to get the total picture on the Canadian oil sands. Canada exports 9 million barrels of oil per day to the U.S. The oil sands in Alberta Canada are stripped mined in an in-situ process. In-situ uses a steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) operation. The Pembina Institute, Syncrude and David Sands of the Alberta government/Public Affairs Bureau partnered with Jennifer Cook, communications and cultural affairs officer for the Consulate General of Canada to provide an in-depth look into the oil sands production, including the Keystone Pipeline Project.
Please continue to check ICOSA Magazine’s website for the future article on the oil sand tour.
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Dr. Jerry Peterson, Understanding a Nuclear Fellow
On the tenth floor, perched high above the University of Colorado, Boulder campus, teeming with young minds, running eagerly between classes is the office of physics professor, Dr. Jerry Peterson, Ph.D. His office is quaint but every inch of it is covered. Books line shelves and table tops, papers and binders are stacked high on two separate desks, graphs and charts hang on the walls and sitting atop one of his bookshelves are Geiger counters and a Safeway bag filled with uranium ore. “Come on in, check out my view,” he says to me. Through the only window in the office, he looks out onto the beauty and simplicity of the flatirons that stretch across the Boulder horizon. It is the perfect juxtaposition to the chaos of his office and the nature of his study.
Dr. Peterson is a renowned expert on nuclear power and served as a Jefferson Science Fellow to the State Department. While his primary duty now is advising students, Peterson spent the latter part of his career advising U.S. officials and members of the intelligence community on issues and ideas pertaining to coal, nuclear energy and the environment.
His capstone class, Technology and Global Security, examines nuclear weapons, information and climate change as phenomenon and technical origins and fixes for problems that his future leaders will face in their careers. He teaches them not so that they know the details but so that they know enough to examine the impacts.
“There is nothing taught about nuclear weapons on this campus except for in my class,” Peterson says, “There is a lot of distaste, especially amongst the educated, for the idea of nuclear weapons or anything nuclear for that matter.” He is clear that people would have a better understanding about the ideas, the issues and the element if people could transmit just enough relevant information about the subject to get their point across.
“People need just-in-time information,” but stressed that, “Public opinion is too often swayed by headlines and less about the facts.” Inherently, with the nature of uranium and the recent attention grabbing headlines like the nuclear fuel meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi, Peterson is sure that people will continue to have a skewed perception about uranium and the nuclear industry.
In lieu of the Daiichi disaster, the industry experienced a substantial setback as prices were validated on growth in the industry. And while there are currently 433 nuclear reactors actively burning uranium in 30 countries worldwide, the market is still shaky from many worldwide economic variables.
Miningweekly.com quoted junior CanAlaska executives who said the industry had reached “the bottom of the trough” and that there would be “a wave of buying.” The decline stands in contrast to the desire by many to have access to carbon free energy sources. The demand is seen in areas that rely heavily on air-conditioning which in turn generates a greater demand for energy growth to existing grids.
“As a 50 percent worldwide urban population, we are more separated from the fundamentals of supply than ever before,” he says, “We’ve created highly engineered complex systems to stay efficient, but that same efficiency we’ve created holds intrinsic dangers." That same efficiency has led us to be unprepared for energy demands that regardless of what people think, are vital to the cog of America and every corner of the planet.
While green energy has pushed its way to the forefront of many industrialized nations and is even spreading into developing nations as well, it has not evolved enough to slow the use of other natural resources that still face increasing demands. Peterson knows this.
The inherent contrast of Peterson’s life is what makes him so fascinating. On one hand he lives in Colorado where the landscape dominates the forefront of people’s minds, however he understands the barriers and opportunities that exist within the energy sector, especially nuclear. As an element that provided roughly 13.5% of the worlds energy last year, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute, it is clear that regardless of people’s fears and environmental concerns, plants will continue to burn uranium.
“Of all environmental hazards it (nuclear) is by far the easiest to detect, you don’t need complicated chemistry. It is an in your face notification of its hazard. Far, far more dangerous and harder to detect is mercury; at very small concentrations it is very hard to measure. Uranium, even at a level far from hazardous clicks loudly and gives you a number on a meter and you know all about it,” he informs me.
Like other natural resources, it is important for individuals to understand the process along with the pros and the cons of extraction and production. As the industry remains hard hit there is still a new market for nuclear power. “It’s been done before, but its the use of smaller reactors. The military did it years ago running radar stations,” he reminds me, “These new kinds of nuclear reactors are smaller, sealed and self-contained. It’s a way for remote mines, oilfields and areas with a weak grid, even small towns to receive more energy.”
Peterson at this point brought me full-circle. In just under an hour and a half he ran through history, talked about implications and gave a clear understanding about the facts of uranium and nuclear’s certain future. At this point I understood the evolution of our conversation and was clear why as a prominent nuclear physicist, he is a leading CU professor and once a Jefferson Science Fellow. He’s relatable.
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