Is Last Energy The Artemis Of Energy?
In Raft Of US-UK Nuclear Deals Ahead Of Trump Visit, I quoted from this article on World Nuclear News.
The article also contains, these two paragraphs, with talk about an MoU between Last Energy and DP World.
An MoU has also been signed between US-based micro-nuclear technology developer Last Energy and DP World, a global leader in logistics and trade, to establish the world’s first port-centric micro nuclear power plant at London Gateway. A proposed PWR-20 microreactor – to begin operations in 2030 – would supply London Gateway with 20 MWe of electricity to power the logistics hub, with additional capacity exported to the grid.
“The initiative represents a GBP80 million (USD109 million), subsidy-free investment for the development of Last Energy’s first unit, unlocking clean power supply for DP World’s ongoing GBP1 billion expansion of London Gateway,” Last Energy said. “The partnership is closely aligned with both UK and US ambitions to increase nuclear capacity and strengthen long-term energy security.”
Note.
- Last Energy are proposing a micro-reactor of just 20 MW.
- DP World own and/or operate sixty ports in over forty countries, so should know their energy requirements well.
- It appears that DP World are investing £80 million in Last Energy’s first unit.
- Thurrock Storage is a 300 MW/600 MWh battery close to London Gateway and the Port of Tilbury.
This Google Map shows London Gateway and the Port of Tilbury.
Note.
- DP World London Gateway is in the North-East corner of the map.
- The A13 road runs across the North-West corner of the map and links the area to London and the M25.
- Thurrock Storage is next to the Tilbury substation, which is marked by the red arrow.
- The Port of Tilbury is to the West of the substation.
I wonder if DP World London Gateway have had power supply problems.
The Design Of The First Artemis Project Management Software System
Before Artemis, project management was usually done on a large mainframe computer like an IBM-360-50, that I’d used extensively for solving simultaneous differential equations in a previous job at ICI.
Mainframe computers worked on complex problems, but to put it mildly, they were slow and needed a team to operate them and a big air-conditioned room to keep them happy.
When the four of us decided to create Artemis, our vision was something simpler.
- A processor – something like a PDP-11, which I judged would be big-enough for the computing.
- A visual display unit.
- A printer.
- A standard-size desk to hold the hardware.
- Ability to run from a 13-amp socket.
When it came to writing the software, I took few risks.
- Much of the data decoding software, I’d developed when I left ICI to write a program to solve up to a thousand simultaneous differential equations.
- The scheduling software was generic and I’d first used it for different purposes in two programs at ICI.
- The aggregation software had been devised, whilst I was a consultant at Lloyds Bank over several bottles of wine with their Chief Management Accountant, who was a wizard with numbers. I suspect, but can’t prove it, that if the idiots that programmed the Horizon system for the Post Office had used that algorithm, the problems there would have been much smaller.
- I also spent a lot of time reading old papers from the 1950s in IBM’s library on the South Bank, looking for better algorithms.
- I also made sure, I chose the best hardware and I believe HP did us proud.
- I used HP’s operating system and proprietary database to cut down, what could go wrong.
- Almost all of the first system was written by one person – me!
But we also put the right features into how we supported, delivered and trained users of the system.
I certainly, think we made few mistakes in the design of that first system.
Have Last Energy Used A Similar Cut Back Approach?
Reading their web site, I think they have.
They have obviously chosen, the 20 MW unit size with care.
But from worldwide experience with wind turbines, linking smaller power sources together, is not as difficult as it once was.
These are some of the statements on their web site’s introductory screens.
- Fully Modular, Factory Made
- A Scalable Solution
- <24 Month Delivery
- 100+ Supply Chain Partners
- 300+ Pressurised Water Reactors Operating Globally
- 0.3 acre – Plant Footprint Fits Within A Football Field
But a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.
It should be noted, that I have been over several nuclear power stations.
Three were a tour to show me how Artemis was being used to track and sign off, the problems identified after the Three Mile Island incident.
The other was a trip over Sizewell A, a couple of years before it was decommissioned.
Comparing these experiences with some of the chemical plants, that I’ve worked on, I would prefer to be close to a nuclear power plant.
The Anonymous Widower 