The Energy SuperGrid

Overview & Agenda
!!! 10-16-04 Final Agenda !!!

Goals:

• Formulate technical task description of R&D necessary to carry vision forward
• Create R&D agenda for DOE, utilities, universities and industry – who does what, where, when and for how much?
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Attendance:

• 60 – 75 people
• By invitation primarily, with pre-assigned “working group” participation as determined by core expertise of attendees
• Mix of specialists, interested parties and press, policy makers
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Format:

• Orientation toward disciplined group participation, concentrating on technical issues.
• Day sessions to consist of a morning plenary followed by facilitated afternoon breakouts.  Each breakout would be guided by rapporteurs,  with an appropriate panel of “experts” questioned by the audience.
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Technical Focus Areas:

• SuperCable: Design study of a dc superconducting cable for the dual delivery and storage of hydrogen and electric energy.
  Issues:
  - Flex vs rigid
  - Electricity-to-hydrogen power delivery ratio
  - Wire technology (e.g., MgB ₂ or HTSC)
  - Cold H₂ gas or LH₂ for cryogen
  - Coax or mono
  - Magnetic field force issues
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• Hydrogen: Hydrogen supply and infrastructure necessary to support the SuperGrid, novel production methods, distribution vs. storage, safety.

  Issues:

  - Electrolysis vs. thermocatalysis

  - Methods of electrolysis

  - Impact of and on hydrogen economy

  - Hydrogen as storage of electricity

  - Safety
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• Power Control: Controlling power flow on a dc superconducting cable at low voltage and high current. 
  Issues:

  - Power management by voltage control with VSCs

  - IGBTs or GTOs

  - Cryo silicon bipolars

  - Large area device platforms

  - Integration with conventional ac system
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• Electric Grid Integration: Integrating the SuperGrid with the existing electric grid.
  Issues:

  - Steady-state operational impacts

  - Transient stability, generation adequacy, and steady-state, contingency analysis 

  - Distribution: fault impacts, and impacts of a potentially large electrolysis load

  - Controllable load synergies
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• Nuclear: Powering the SuperGrid – underground HTGC nuclear reactors in salt caverns and other approaches.
  Issues:

  - Above ground or underground
  - Waste storage, reprocessing, breeding

  - Novel designs (other than HTGCR)

  - Long term prospects for fusion
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• Underground Construction and Tunneling:
  Issues:
  - Boring, tunneling or trenching?
  - GPS deep underground
  - Obtaining ROWs: Who owns what and how far down?
  - Longevity (are the Petersburg excavations still there?)
  - NYC water tunnels: Lessons learned
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Environmental Engineering:
Issues:
- Water availability
- What do you do with the "waste" oxygen?
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