Western Railroad Discussion > Quick stop at the Jim Bridger Plant in Wyoming

Date: September 9, 2023
Images 1-3: Jim Bridger Industrial Lead, MP 8.1
More to follow ...

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Images 4-6:

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I just read in the news the other day (this week) that among Midwest and Eastern utiliies, the consensus is their power grid and generating ability will be maxed out only 10 years from now, and they're scrambling now to find new electricity supplies, and more transmission capacity.  The reasons are (projected) increased internet server farms (buildings FULL of computers serving internet demands), and the coming need for AI computing needs, along with BITCOIN power needs, plus renewed factory openings, industrial production and more general business/residential demand.

It will be interesting to see how this will play out.

Here in Alameda, CA, a company is working very hard to promote new "molten salt nuclear power plants" as the next generation of nuclear power--cheaper, faster, safer than pressurized water plants, which have been the norm to date.  So far, it seems they're making good progress, and they're getting attention from utilities.

And certainly, we all know there is lots of coal left for power generation.  It will be a real "tug of war" to see which power sources become more dominant to meet the projected electrial demands.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/12/24 23:42 by coach.

Re: Power utilization .
Let's not forget the coming mass changeover to
electric cars.

Auburnrail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Re: Power utilization .
> Let's not forget the coming mass changeover to
> electric cars.

Really? Is that why many of the manufacturers of EVs are reducing production and walking back from introducing ever newer EVs?

Hey Mr. Hot Water, 81 year old ex- '60s Hot Rodder here. In full agreement, love
my old cast iron V-8, but in a future lifetime sadly this will happen.
Just need those plentiful and reliable charging stations, and 500 mile range batteries.
George Andrassy 
 

Auburnrail Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Hey Mr. Hot Water, 81 year old ex- '60s Hot Rodder
> here. In full agreement, love
> my old cast iron V-8, but in a future lifetime
> sadly this will happen.
> Just need those plentiful and reliable charging
> stations, and 500 mile range batteries.
> George Andrassy 

Well, I'm 82 (next week, I think) and certainly did my share of drag racing, back in the late 1960s through the mid 1970s. Still use the 2004 Corvette convertible in the summer, which gets 20 MPG around town and 30 MPG on the highway at 75. What most people seem to be overlooking is, 1) Where is all the additional electricity going to come from?, 2) What is mining all these huge quantities of Lithium doing to the earth not to mention the massive amounts of energy it takes to mine that stuff, 3) How will all the future dead batteries be re-cycled?

HotWater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Auburnrail Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Hey Mr. Hot Water, 81 year old ex- '60s Hot
> Rodder
> > here. In full agreement, love
> > my old cast iron V-8, but in a future lifetime
> > sadly this will happen.
> > Just need those plentiful and reliable charging
> > stations, and 500 mile range batteries.
> > George Andrassy 
>
> Well, I'm 82 (next week, I think) and certainly
> did my share of drag racing, back in the late
> 1960s through the mid 1970s. Still use the 2004
> Corvette convertible in the summer, which gets 20
> MPG around town and 30 MPG on the highway at 75.
> What most people seem to be overlooking is, 1)
> Where is all the additional electricity going to
> come from?, 2) What is mining all these huge
> quantities of Lithium doing to the earth not to
> mention the massive amounts of energy it takes to
> mine that stuff, 3) How will all the future dead
> batteries be re-cycled?

Who ever can give answers to these questions will be the next Bill Gates.

Posted from Android

and then there is this:

https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-electric-utilities-brace-surge-power-demand-data-centers-2024-04-10/

https://www.popsci.com/technology/ai-power/

66



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/24 14:51 by goneon66.

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I just read in the news the other day (this week)
> that among Midwest and Eastern utiliies, the
> consensus is their power grid and generating
> ability will be maxed out only 10 years from now,
> and they're scrambling now to find new electricity
> supplies, and more transmission capacity.  The
> reasons are (projected) increased internet server
> farms (buildings FULL of computers serving
> internet demands), and the coming need for AI
> computing needs, along with BITCOIN power needs,
> plus renewed factory openings, industrial
> production and more general business/residential
> demand.
>
> It will be interesting to see how this will play
> out.
>
> Here in Alameda, CA, a company is working very
> hard to promote new "molten salt nuclear power
> plants" as the next generation of nuclear
> power--cheaper, faster, safer than pressurized
> water plants, which have been the norm to date.
>  So far, it seems they're making good progress,
> and they're getting attention from utilities.
>
> And certainly, we all know there is lots of coal
> left for power generation.  It will be a real
> "tug of war" to see which power sources become
> more dominant to meet the projected electrial
> demands.
They had a working reactor quite a few years back as a test reactor at Hanford works in WA state.  At that time it was called sodium reactor to prove the type.. They are very small compaired to normal ones the fuel for them is different than a water cooled. 

coach Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The reasons are (projected) increased internet server
> farms (buildings FULL of computers serving
> internet demands), and the coming need for AI
> computing needs, along with BITCOIN power needs,

Those are not needs. They are not needed for a free society. Data Center + AI --> implementation of Social Credit Score. And personally, all my IT needs (video and photo editing and storage) can be met without the power-wasting, massive heat generating data centers. 

> It will be interesting to see how this will play out.

Dig deeper into our global energy policies, and "leaders" (policy makers) are NOT waiting for new technology. Things are already playing out.

> And certainly, we all know there is lots of coal
> left for power generation.

Quick research on Jim Bridger Power Plant says they are phasing out coal in exchange for natural gas. 2 units this year, 2 more units in 2030. That trend is the focus of the current global energy policies.

By the way, owner of the plant is Berkshire Hathaway, their successful energy division run by Greg Abel.
 

Once again, a new thread with some great pictures has degenerated into nothing that has to do with railroads. Not one of those responses has been about the pictures nor even mentioned them.

<LATHER RINSE REPEAT>

Attention cricket: Great pictures. Thanks for posting them. Sorry your thread was hijacked.