How Nuclear Batteries Could Help Decentralize the Grid
Nuclear batteries could very well be the saving grace for electric utilities interested in boosting reliability and generation efficiency. The reason is that they can help utilities move toward a more decentralized generation approach. Allow me to explain…
How Exactly Can Nuclear Batteries Benefit Efficiency and Reliability?
Intuitively, centralization often breeds inefficiency, and the power grid is a great example of this phenomenon. The grid must accommodate for peak demand, yet it often does not operate at peak capacity. And any time the grid is operating at less than peak capacity, it’s not operating to its fullest extent. In fact, only 40-50% of the grid’s capacity is used to power a typical system, with the remainder generally placed in reserve for short periods of high demand. The result is underused capacity.
The article linked above makes an interesting comparison to the telecom industry of yesteryear. Back in the day, the phone infrastructure consisted of landline phones linked by hundreds of miles of wire to a switchboard operator. But now, this centralized structure has given way to decentralized mobile devices connected by networks of routers, servers and satellites.
Could the electric industry follow a similar path? The article seems to think so, and the mechanism the author hangs his hat on for this is the deployment of an arsenal of nuclear batteries. And it’s not just a pipe dream, as scientists at MIT and other institutions are working on this as we speak.
Nuclear batteries are about the size of a car and can be mass-produced. They can be “plugged in” to the grid via a conversion device, a process which takes days, not years. A typical battery could power up to 8,000 homes and will last up to 10 years before it would need to be shipped to a facility for refueling so it can be reused.
Because they are small, inexpensive, mobile, flexible, modular, and as close to plug-and-play as you can imagine, they appear to be a viable solution for helping to decentralize the grid. Plus, these devices have been used by the military for over 50 years, so we’re definitely not talking science fiction here.
Personally, I like the idea. Anything that can provide a boost to reliability and efficiency, while also reducing outages and helping emergency preparedness, gets my vote. And the concept of nuclear batteries definitely seems to fit the bill.
