The Le Mans Nuclear Race

The ~century old 24 Hours Le Mans race in France takes racing endurance to the next level. Many of us are familiar with the quarter mile race and how critical those mili-seconds are; LeMans is 13,200 times the length of the quarter mile track. There are many similarities between LeMans and nuclear power. In order to win, you need a very reliable car, very efficient (gas-usage and environmental friendly – how about 100% clean generation?), minimum re-fueling, focused and skilled driver and team (nuclear operator and engineers), consistent and resilient throughout the race (rain or shine [hot June day]), to monitor every component and absolutely prohibit the thought of an error.

There is no question that solar, wind and storage will play a critical role in the 100% renewable system; some utilities are already experiencing large amount of solar connected to their distribution and transmission systems, backfeed, etc. and they continue to connect more (building the un-restricted renewable system); the stiffer/firmer the transmission system, the more Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) can connect. Behind every firm transmission system is a robust power generation, what’s more robust than a nuclear fleet?????

There is a need to maintain reliable power 24 hours a day, every day, especially peak days, non-sunny, cloudy, rainy & non-windy days and during storms. COVID-19 proved how critical reliable power is to our livelihood. Base-load generation such as nuclear plants will complement DERs and fill-in the blanks, basically nuclear plants enable transmission and distribution connected DERs and provides the foundation for the 100% renewable system.

It is an interesting coincident that LeMans is held in France and over 70% of power in France is generated via nuclear generation.

Having visited a nuclear plant recently, it is a life changing experience, that I encourage all (supporters and others) to visit and learn about nuclear generation, plants’ clean generation, reliability, resiliency, fuel processing and preparedness for all events and how nuclear generation can play a major role towards a cleaner climate and renewable grid.

As the CEO of the 100% Energy Club, I am confident that the energy future will be challenging and interesting one; in closing, although 2050 is three decades away, from a planning perspective, it is closer than we think.