There is no doubt that nuclear power offers substantial long-term benefits to any government seeking to reduce the risks entailed in purchasing fossil energy from countries or regions that are perceived to be unstable suppliers. (Picture-Newsletter Photo)

The recent public announcements of a host of countries to consider nuclear energy to meet their future needs, have opened up a list of long-term questions for the non-renewable fossil energy producers such as Saudi Arabia.
The nuclear energy option has been triggered by many reasons--strategic, environmental, security of supplies, and erratic high oil prices. With a looming US economic slowdown, the forecasted oil prices of over $100 a barrel now seems a distant memory, with prices forecasted to fall to under $50 a barrel by early 2007.
The commodity markets’ old saying that prices that go up like a rocket, come down like a bomb, seems to be nearer to the truth .... Energy security is of paramount importance today, as the success of global and national economies is more dependent on a consistent and timely supply of energy. At the same time, there is an increased sense of energy vulnerability and concern about the future availability of reasonably priced energy. The social, economic and political impacts associated with either natural or man-made disasters in the energy sector are vast, allied with a realization that energy infrastructure and supply chains are becoming complex and globally interrelated, Arabnews.com reported.
There is no doubt that nuclear power offers substantial long-term benefits to any government seeking to reduce the risks entailed in purchasing fossil energy from countries or regions that are perceived to be unstable suppliers. Nuclear energy advocates seem to be driven by two very loosely coupled needs-- the first, for much more energy to support economic growth worldwide, and the second, to mitigate global warming, driven by the emersion of greenhouse gases from fossil oil. The fact of the matter is that countries as diverse as Finland, Venezuela, China, India, Turkey, Iran, Egypt and Nigeria have publicly stated that they will pursue a nuclear energy program in the long term.
Some of these nuclear energy programs are indeed ambitious, such as India’s, which satisfies around 3 percent of its energy needs from 3,500 MW of nuclear energy, but is planning to expand this to 40,000 MW by 2030.
Egypt’s recent announcement on this matter is more modest--a facility of 1,000 MW, expected to cost around $1.5 billion, while Venezuela’s nuclear energy interest seems to be to reactivate Latin America’s first nuclear research facility, started in the 1950’s, but shut down due to lack of funds. Turkey, which produces 50,000 barrels of oil per day, consumes around 700,000 barrels per day and is planning to build three nuclear energy plants by 2015. Egypt, on the other hand, has reserves of 2.7 billion barrels of oil, produces, 700,000 barrels per day, and consumes 500,000 barrels per day.
It is not only developing countries that are seeking to expand into nuclear energy. During the July 2006 European Union Summit, there was a strong backing to review nuclear power as the answer to Europe’s need to reduce its growing dependence on energy supplies and to combat climate change. Only Germany and Austria, explicitly rejected the nuclear option, but there was more support than opposition. Many argued that countries that wished to pursue the nuclear option follow the example of Finland, which is building Europe’s first new nuclear plant since the Chernobyl disaster 20 year ago--a French designed pressured--water reactor. The EU summit endorsed the notion of an EU plan to reduce energy consumption by 20 percent by 2020, along with a target of raising the current 6 percent of primary energy use provided by renewable energy to 20 percent, by the same date.
At the same time, the European Commission indicated that a critical answer to Europe’s long term supply needs was to increase the market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) which is to be imported from several countries, primarily Russia, Algeria, Libya and the North Sea.
The aim is to provide 20-25 percent of European energy from LNG within the next 25 years. All the above points to one conclusion--a lot less oil will be consumed by these countries by 2020.
The nuclear option is not without opposition though. Many are unhappy with the idea, as concerns remain about proliferation, climate changes, radioactive waste disposal and the risk of accidents. Chernobyl and Three Mile Island nuclear accidents are still fresh in the world’s collective memory. Nuclear waste is recognized as one of the biggest dilemmas faced by advocates of nuclear energy programs. This waste remains radioactive for thousands of years. The nuclear energy lobby is now urgently seeking long term disposal arrangements that are safe, environmentally sound, and above all, are publicly acceptable.
What are the options then for major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia, which is literally, the oil warehouse of the world? Shall it continue with its ambitious energy investment program, and continue to act as a moderating energy supplier to the world, only to be let down when energy consumption patterns change in the future? Should it also seek to explore renewable energy resources, such as solar, to meet local demand, while carefully marshalling its fuel reserves for future generations? Oil will still be needed by many industries in the future, principally the aviation sector. Whatever the future holds, the nuclear options debate has began in earnest around the world.
A counter debate on Saudi energy policy long-term options is also called for. For oil producers, it is no longer a viable option to tinker around, by pumping or curtailing a few hundred thousand barrels a day on the world markets, in the face of fast changing economic restructuring, energy insecurity needs, and environmental pressures

Canada has suddenly become the new frontier in non-OPEC oil and gas developments and for good reason. Russia, the world’s largest non-OPEC producer, has rumbled about taking over the huge Sakhalin II field while OPEC itself cut back production over 1.2 million barrels a day, increasing the demands on non-OPEC producing countries even more. This has put new emphasis on friendlier non-OPEC countries where both major and minor energy companies can go.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s recent $7.7 billion bid to buy out the 22 percent of Shell Canada Ltd. it doesn’t own may have been fueled by insecurity toward Russia’s Sakhalin II field and lower oil prices, considering the oil sands development held in Shell Canada, Oilonline.com reported.
Shell Canada and Western Oil Sands just agreed to inject billions into the planned expansion of its Athabasca oil sands project to bring production up to 100,000 barrels per day. Shell Canada estimates the cost to be between CDN$10 billion and CDN$12.8 billion to complete, which has no bearing on Royal Dutch Shell’s plans to go ahead with buying control of Shell Canada.
Suncor Energy Inc., the world’s biggest oil-sands producer, said third-quarter profit more than doubled on increased output from oil deposits in Alberta.
Chief Executive Officer Rick George said Suncor plans spend at least CDN$3.6 billion to boost oil-sands production to about 350,000 barrels a day in 2008, the year TransCanada’s pipeline is expected to become available to push up to 400,000 barrels per day to refineries in the midwestern United States.
Sitting in the middle of all that oil sands development is Patch International, Inc., which bought into the play over a year ago, quietly acquiring prime oil sands leases contiguous to the majors’ properties. But Patch’s own development has stalled as it awaits regulatory approval on a dividend relating to shares of an unrelated pharmaceutical company that before taxes would give Patch over $9 million after shareholders’ dividends.
The junior oil and gas exploration and development company has been busily drilling for oil and gas on other Canadian properties this summer and only recently began giving shareholders a peek into its plans.
Patch President John Thorton said, “This is an outstanding opportunity that holds the potential for tremendous upside for Patch International.“
While companies like Suncor and Shell pave the way for upping the rate of production in Canada with multi-billion dollar investments, Patch sits on the sidelines waiting for its turn.

Power transmission in transport--whether it’s pedaling a bicycle or driving a train--is a familiar concept to most of us.
The energy generated by the engine (or pedals) has to be converted into power, often torque, at the business end, and that some mechanical system--maybe of couplings, chains, shafts and gears--gets the job done.
This also applies to many industrial scenarios. Direct drive motors are not always practical, due to spatial and environmental constraints among others, and what may appear to be rudimentary mechanical linkages are often the most practical option. Power is also transmitted via hydraulics and pneumatics in many applications, but those areas are for another article, E4engineering.com said.
Like many other aspects of engineering, European manufacturers are facing stiff pricing pressure, both from Asian and eastern European manufacturers able to take advantage of cheaper labor and lower operating costs. A recent report on the European market for gearboxes and geared motors by Frost & Sullivan highlights these challenges.
The report also notes that the need for improved productivity is driving investment into more efficient power transmission systems, and that demand for more efficient components, such as planetary gearboxes, is expected to remain healthy. And it’s a sizeable and growing market.
The report predicts the European gearboxes and geared motors market to be worth some Û3.13 billion (£2bn) in 2011, up from around Û2.48 billion in 2004.
One area where technology is excelling is in aiding the specification and selection of power transmission components. Much of the calculation (and with it the possibility of error) has been taken over by software, either as standalone packages or via code sitting behind a website.
There are many examples of these types of software. For example, Alpha Gear Drives has developed a package called Cymex which can interrogate a database of some 6,000 motors from a variety of manufacturers--a database the company claims is the largest library of its kind in the world.
Working from input application data, the software will calculate and design a complete drive train--and allow users to experiment with different loadings to test the train in detail.
Zero-Max also produces software aimed at taking the strain out of selecting components for power transmission. Again, the user inputs application data, such as coupling speed, peak torque, angular, axial and parallel misalignment, a service factor and shaft sizes. The software will recommend a coupling model for a particular application.
Neeter Drives has put its 3D CAD Product Configurator online (see http://www.powerjacks.com/). Users can view and configure a solid model of Neeter Drives gearboxes in real-time then download the required 3D solid model or 2D drawing. Once a gearbox is selected the user can configure the technical specification for his or her exact requirements and generate a model which can be imported directly into most popular CAD software--over 20 formats are supported.
One inherent feature of power transmission components has been material degradation (often leading to failure) often enhanced by the local environment in which the components are placed. Of course, failure of components leads to downtime, which can be very costly in industrial processes.
Advances in materials science have gone some way to combating the problem--one example being the use of PEEK (polyetheretherketone), a polymer made by Victrex, in gear wheel manufacture.
The replacement of metal gears by polymer ones enables reductions in noise, cost and weight. For example, in one application actuators are used for controlling the air intake louvres of automatic aircon systems in cars. Inside the actuator the highly-loaded gear wheels are made of PEEK, with its high mechanical strength, good creep resistance, low water absorption and minimum wear.
Additional benefits are that due to the low coefficient of expansion, engineering clearances can be reduced, resulting in components such as oil pump rotors achieving their optimum operating conditions almost straight from cold. This in turn eliminates engine oil starvation.
Wear is not the only factor that limits the lifetime of power transmission components. Manufacturer Renold Chains advises its clients to consider all the factors involved in the mechanics of the application. It’s all-too easy to specify components based on breaking load, but it doesn’t necessarily ensure the best solution in terms of service life.

Western Harbour is not the most romantic name for a pioneering ecological housing development-but then Sweden is pursuing green goals with more pragmatism than flamboyance.
Sustainability is the motto of the Western Harbour (Vaestra Hamnen) project in the southern city of Malmo.
There are futuristic buildings sporting massive glass windows and glinting solar panels, BBC reported.
But turn a corner and you find a green courtyard with a little pond and some modest timber structures that remind you of Swedish villages.
“I really like the diversity of houses-and they’ve made it easy here to live in a sustainable way,“ says Helena Parker, who was among the first to move into the area in 2001.
A former shipyard and industrial site is being turned into a green residential area based on 100 percent use of renewable energy.

Traffic Reduced
The first phase of Western Harbour, called Bo01, now has 1,000 homes, covering 25ha (62 acres). But eventually the area will accommodate 10,000 residents and 20,000 employees and students.
Sustainability means it has to be more than an architects’ theme park--so a lot of thought went into making it economically viable and integrated with the rest of the city.
“I have two small children and cycle to work and to pre-school,“ says Ms Parker. “We don’t really need a car --we just use it at weekends.“
Bo01 is nearly all pedestrianised and frequent buses-- running on a natural gas/biogas mix--connect it to the rest of Malmo.
“This is a very quiet part of town--and it’s very relaxing to have water everywhere,“ says another resident, Stefan Thoernkvist. “It’s like living in a vacation area.“
Many people in Bo01 walk or cycle the short distance into the city centre, he adds.

Medieval Inspiration
The planners devoted plenty of space to greenery and water features. And there are no high-density tower blocks, except for the Turning Torso-a graceful 190m (627ft) skyscraper designed by Santiago Calatrava.
Parking space is limited to 0.7 cars per apartment, compared with the usual 1.1 for Malmo, and garages are underground.
Architect and planner Hans Olsson says the project drew inspiration from the plan of medieval Lund, a nearby town. “We wanted a human scale, small streets.“
Taller buildings are on the outside, facing the sea and sheltering the inner spaces. Passages to the sea are narrow to keep the wind out.
Bo01 has an open drainage system which traps rainwater on numerous living green roofs, in courtyard ponds and open channels. That allows the water to run off slowly into a saltwater canal or the sea.
The ponds and canal not only look attractive-they provide habitats for wildlife, creating biodiversity.

Green Points
A “green space factor“ ensures that each plot in Bo01 has a minimum amount of greenery, and on a scale of 0 to 1 the average factor must be at least 0.5. So an impervious surface rates as 0.0, a tree 0.4 and a green roof 0.8.
Developers were also told to use a minimum of 10 “green points“ in every courtyard - examples being nesting boxes, enough soil depth to grow vegetables and beds for wild flowers.
Jon Andersson, energy coordinator for the project, says there were initial fears in Malmo that “exclusive“ flats would be built, just for the rich.
But student flats account for 34% of the homes in Bo01 and there is also a retirement complex, while the seaside walkway is enjoyed by residents and non-residents alike.
A nearby 2MW wind turbine provides much of the electricity for Bo01, the rest coming from solar panels.
Solar collectors on 10 of the buildings provide 15 percent of the heating, but a more important source is a heat pump connected to aquifers 90m (297ft) underground.
The water in the limestone bedrock is used to provide heat in winter and cooling in summer.
Bo01 is connected to the district heating supply--so surpluses can be used elsewhere in the city, or more can be drawn in if necessary.