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Scientists Say They Can Use AI to Solve Key Clean Energy Problem

CNN | Energy Production

Scientists Say They Can Use AI to Solve Key Clean Energy Problem

“There are several ways to achieve fusion energy, but the most common involves using hydrogen variants as an input fuel and raising temperatures to extraordinarily high levels in a donut-shaped machine, known as a tokamak, to create a plasma, a soup-like state of matter.

But that plasma needs to be controlled and is highly susceptible to “tearing” and escaping the machine’s powerful magnetic fields that are designed to keep the plasma contained.

On Wednesday, researchers from Princeton University and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory reported in the journal Nature they found a way to use AI to forecast these potential instabilities and prevent them from happening in real time.”

From CNN.

The Guardian | Energy Production

Solar Power Is Bringing Light – And TV – To Amazon Villages

“At dusk, Piyulaga village starts to wake up. Families gather at the entrances of their huts, children play and cycle around, and Brazilian country music fills the air as lights flicker on in the small settlement in the Xingu Indigenous territory of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Some residents watch TV while others relax in hammocks with their phones, illuminated by spotlights in the communal area.

It would be trivial but for one detail: lights have only been available for a few weeks, thanks to the installation of new solar panels on each home.

In recent years, solar projects have multiplied in remote communities in several Amazonian countries, mainly with funding from civil society organisations, helping to democratise electricity in off-grid areas of Latin America.”

From The Guardian.

BBC | Energy Production

Why Scientists Are Drilling into Volcanos

“The Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) intends to advance the understanding of how magma, or molten rock, behaves underground.

That knowledge could help scientists forecast the risk of eruptions and push geothermal energy to new frontiers, by tapping into an extremely hot and potentially limitless source of volcano power.”

From BBC.

E&E News | Energy Production

BLM Approves Geothermal Project, Moves to Ease Permitting

“The Bureau of Land Management issued a decision record approving the Cape Geothermal Power Project in southwest Utah, which would have the capacity if fully built to generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity, which is enough to power about 2 million homes.

The Interior Department also said it is proposing a new categorical exclusion that would streamline the process to evaluate and approve ‘geothermal resource confirmation operations’ of up to 20 acres. These could include drilling wells that would be used to to confirm the existence of a geothermal resource, the agency said.

The goal is to ‘accelerate the discovery of new geothermal resources throughout the West,’ and particularly in Nevada, which the agency says is ‘home to some of the largest undeveloped geothermal potential in the country.'”

From E&E News.

CNBC | Energy Production

Amazon to Invest $500 Million to Develop Small Modular Reactors

“Amazon Web Services is investing more than $500 million in nuclear power, announcing three projects from Virginia to Washington state. AWS, Amazon’s subsidiary in cloud computing, has a massive and increasing need for clean energy as it expands its services into generative AI. It’s also a part of Amazon’s path to net-zero carbon emissions.

AWS announced it has signed an agreement with Dominion Energy, Virginia’s utility company, to explore the development of a small modular nuclear reactor, or SMR, near Dominion’s existing North Anna nuclear power station…

Amazon is the latest large tech company to buy into nuclear power to fuel the growing demands from data centers. Earlier this week, Google announced it will purchase power from SMR developer Kairos Power. Constellation Energy is restarting Three Mile Island to power Microsoft data centers.”

From CNBC.