Proposed nuclear plant in Idaho to use cogeneration heat to distill ethanol for cars.

[NNadir]

ROANOKE, VA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- December 14, 2006 -- Alternate Energy Holdings (PINKSHEETS: AEHI) announced consideration of incorporating co-generation at its proposed nuclear power plant to produce ethanol. The proposed plant -- which would be located near Bruneau, Idaho -- was originally requested by the Rural River Co-op to assist with local farmers' irrigation needs. Subject to regulatory approval, AEHI is considering further involvement in the Idaho agricultural community, primarily by using surplus heat from the plant to lower the high cost of producing bioethanol from locally grown grain. Thermal integration with an ethanol biorefinery for production of renewable fuels will also reduce the amount of water required for routine operations of the power plant. Furthermore, local production of biofuels will reduce Idaho's dependence on importing fossil fuels and lower fuel costs for residents.

The concepts of efficient plant process by-product use -- including producing livestock with distiller's grains, generating methane from animal waste and innovative crop production -- are currently in discussion with Mr. Rod Stucker of RM Enterprises LLC, a Boise-based agricultural and ethanol consultant who has developed patent-pending technology for various aspects of his Integrated Biorefinery Ag Park Complex. All of the technologies are environmentally friendly and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which qualify for International carbon credits...

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=194895

When waste heat from power plants is used in this way the process is known as co-generation. Co-generation is a scheme that provides for huge efficiency and energy conservation. Effectively it takes the waste heat from a powerplant or similar facility and puts it to work doing a task that would otherwise require energy. Nuclear power plants in Romania, and a few other places, for instance use their waste heat to heat homes and commercial buildings.

Currently ethanol is made by distillation of the mash using heat generated by coal or natural gas.

I have no idea of how serious this proposal is, as I have never heard of "Alternate Energy Holdings."

[IDemo]

1. More on AEH

When I first read of this proposal, my first instinct was to relegate it to the Fly-By-Night dustbin, but the company appears to have a great deal of experience with nuclear power.

Needless to say, Idaho is one state where people tend to be either strongly for or against nuclear power, generally depending on how close one lives to "the site" (Idaho National Laboratory). The Snake River Alliance has been a strong anti-nuclear voice since 1979, and issued a "What we know" information sheet (pdf) on the Bruneau proposal.

This part does make me raise an eyebrow: AEHI is a “penny stock” company incorporated in Nevada, though its announcement was made by its president, Donald Gillispie, from Virginia. Penny stocks are subject to less regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. AEHI went public three months ago in a reverse merger with Nussentials, Inc., which sells natural food supplements.

Alternate Energy Holdings company website

[NNadir]

2. It would seem that they know what they're doing.

On the other hand, I'm not sure how well a nuclear "start-up" will do, whether they can actually pull it off. Of course, it is interesting that there is a nuclear start-up at all.

Their business plan seems to call for acquiring existing reactors that do not perform as well as other reactors.

The ethanol part - while cogeneration is always a great idea - is a marketing sop I'll bet.

[IDemo]

3. They do seem to have a very ambitious portfolio of R&D projects brewing

among them: Energy Saving Fuel Additive - "an economical and environmentally-friendly fuel additive that will reduce the cost of natural gas energy production by 25% to 40%", CO2 Removal - "a safe and effective system for the common greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide (CO2), from the exhaust of combusted fuels", Lightning Harvesting "The average lightning bolt contains approximately one million kilowatts (1,000,000 kW) of electrical energy (sic)", and Coal-Diesel Conversion.

http://www.alternateenergyholdings.com/alternate_energy.html

[NNadir]

4. But not a very interesting one.

Just by glancing at it, I don't see much original thinking.

The Fischer-Tropsch conversion of coal to diesel fuel is one of the worst ideas ever for these times. The use of coal has to be banned, not broadened.

[IDemo]

5. Imagine the NIMBY response to a "lightning farm" proposal! n/t

[NNadir]

6. I don't imagine it will work in any case.

If these guys seriously want to build a nuclear plant, they should focus their energies. It's not a small thing.

[Ready4Change]

7. Better than another use of nuclear reactor waste heat I've heard.

I've heard people considering using the waste heat of nuclear reactors to cook the oil out of tar sands and (shale?)It would allow converting the vaste as yet unprofitable reserves in the US and Canada into fuels. Of course, for it to make sense you have to totally ignore the prospect of continued release of historicaly sequestered GHGs.

Using that heat to convert crops into fuels, thus recycling existing free GHGs makes far more sense.

[NNadir]

8. Yeah, it's no fun that Canadian project.

I think it may well happen too. The upside is that they might have burned either gas or oil or coal to do what they're doing, but it is a waste of nuclear energy, and an environmental tragedy.

We should be banning fossil fuels.

The use of industrial waste heat or direct process heat is becoming more popular. Some of it involves fossil fuels, and some of it involves moving away from fossil fuels. In the latter case, the Japanese are the most advanced, followed by the Chinese. Japan has already piloted the sulfur iodine cycle and will have a nuclear reactor producing 53/MT of hydrogen a day - enough to fuel 100,000 automobiles either with hydrogen (a bad idea) or DME (a good idea).

There is a description of this system and its status as of a few years ago here:

http://www3.inspi.ufl.edu/icapp06/highlights/pdf/Shiozawa.pdf