Module 11: Nuclear Energy and Renewable Energy
Week of Tue, Nov 10 · module closes Mon, Nov 16 · 130 points
Take Meerk's quiz for Module 11
This module's items
- Case Study #730 pts
- Unit 3 Exam100 pts
Exact due times are in Canvas. Late assignments are not accepted without a valid, documented reason. Make-up exams are not given.
Know these cold
- Nuclear fission splits heavy atoms (uranium-235) to release large amounts of heat, which generates steam to drive turbines. No direct greenhouse gas emissions, but radioactive waste must be stored for thousands of years.
- Major nuclear accidents: Three Mile Island (Pennsylvania, 1979), Chernobyl (Ukraine, 1986), Fukushima Daiichi (Japan, 2011). Public concern, not physics, has been the primary barrier to nuclear expansion in the U.S.
- Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight directly to electricity. Solar thermal concentrates sunlight to heat a fluid that drives turbines. Solar has no fuel cost and declining installation cost.
- Wind turbines convert kinetic energy of wind to electricity. Highly cost-competitive in wind-rich regions. Concerns include bird/bat mortality, noise, and intermittency.
- Hydropower uses flowing water to spin turbines. Reliable and established, but large dams displace communities, block fish migration, alter river temperature and sediment, and have limited expansion potential.
- Geothermal energy taps heat from Earth's interior. Highly reliable (near-constant output), but only economical near tectonic plate boundaries (Iceland, parts of the western U.S.).
- The intermittency problem: solar produces power only in daylight, wind only when wind blows. Grid-scale battery storage and transmission infrastructure are key challenges for high renewable penetration.
- Renewable energy now accounts for about 20% of U.S. electricity generation, with wind and solar growing fastest. The energy transition requires policy, investment, and grid modernization simultaneously.
Discussion and forum — how to show up
Netiquette from the syllabus: address ideas, not people. Complete sentences, correct spelling. Personal matters go to email, never the board.
Meerk's quiz — open the Module 11 gate
10 questions, no time limit. 85% on your first attempt in a 24-hour window opens the gate. Retakes inside the window are practice — they help you learn, they don't count. Work alone; the point is to know it, not to have seen it.
Dinner Table Question
Ask at home: Would you want a nuclear power plant built 20 miles from your home? What would you want to know before deciding?
En español: ¿Querrías que construyeran una planta de energía nuclear a 20 millas de tu casa? ¿Qué querrías saber antes de decidir?