3

www.bigflatelectric.com

In This Issue: Early winter? Employee Spotlight Quiz winner

You're Invited to

Some believe that for the future safety of our planet, we must generate more renewable electricity from wind and solar, and less from

coal and natural gas. All a pretense though, as the ‘disliked’ steady power must electrically back up the erratic ‘preferred’ power. No matter to some, the goal justifies itself. Then there is the cost. These preferred sources of erratic power from wind have ‘point of origin’ true costs of 15¢ per kilowatt hour; and solar at 30¢ per kwh. Big Government subsidies are paid out to make them seem affordable. There are other ways to solve future power needs though, where even zealots would love its’ carbon free foot-print. A non-erratic power that can provide the world’s electricity for well over 100,000 years; power costs equal with 2¢ per kwh hydroelectric dams. It’s a Gen 4 Molten Salt Reactor (MSR). The MSR is not new; it just needs to be reborn. In 1946, the US Army Air Force wanted a nuclear powered plane. Oak Ridge Nat’l Labs in Tennessee built a 2.5 MWth reactor for it. The plane was a modified Convair NB-36H, and flew in Nov 1954. Research ‘Aircraft Reactor Experiment’. ORNL also built and operated a second MSR on-site for 5 years in the late 1960’s, at 7.5 MWth. The project was shut down in 1973, solely because its’ thorium MSR design wasn’t conducive enough for serving the nuclear bomb needs for the cold

war, like the Pressure Water Reactors (PWRs) were, that used uranium. Research ‘The Molten-Salt Reactor Experiment’, a 1969 ORNL film rediscovered in lost files in Oct 2016. The last 90 seconds sounds like a promo piece for a Rural Electric Co-op. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyDbq5HRs0o) The MSR uses no fuel rods, and is cooled with non-diluted liquified salt. The fuel is liquid also, blended in the salt. MSR’s can NOT ‘melt down’ because they operate at zero psi (this means SAFE). That’s less than a hot water heater at 40-60 psi, a car radiator at 14 psi, and even a coffee percolator at 0.5 psi. The MSR operates above the salt coolant’s melting point of 802°C,

To Ium, or Not to Ium, that is the Question

Continued on page 4

NEWSbig flat

ORNL CEO Alvin Weinberg and Sen John F. Kennedy at ORNL in 1959.

by Duane Klindworth, Director

November 2019

4

Continued from page 3

To Ium, or Not to Ium, that is the Question

which results in greater energy efficiency than pressurized water at only 300°C in a PWR. PWRs are the ‘hated & feared’ Gen 1 and Gen 2 / solid fuel rod / 60 year old dinosaur / 2,200 operating psi reactor that CAN melt down with water coolant pressure loss. PWRs extract only 0.5% of its fuel’s energy for electricity, leaving 99.5% in spent fuel, with 300,000 years of Yucca mountain radioactivity storage (well-tailored for bombs). Inversely, an MSR extracts 99% of its fuel’s energy for electricity, leaving 1% for spent fuel, with only 300 years radioactivity (ill-tailored for bombs). More great news is that the MSR can consume the spent fuel from inefficient PWRs. Today, near 20 nations are in full pursuit to build an MSR. They got their knowledge for it from our own

public records. These nations want the inexpensive power that is necessary to build robust economies.

Expensive and erratic wind and solar won’t cut it. So if you feel enticed to build wind or solar generation on your property for whatever reason, bear in mind that plentiful and inexpensive MSR electricity will make most all of them moot. Build one for fun, not because your home energy project was perceived to solve an energy shortage, or save the planet.

Rural Electric Co-op members: Ask your congressman, and your own Rural Electric Co-ops, why are we so slow in developing MSRs while the world gets ahead of us? Shall we import MSRs one day, when it was ours to begin with? Be persistent. Don’t be surprised if you get that ‘deer in the headlights’ response. Keep pursuing the issue. In my opinion, we should be offering full college scholarships for our Rural Electric member students so they can major in the nuclear field. MSR nuclear powered electricity is our future. Let’s face it head on.

To ‘IUM’, or not to ‘IUM’, that is the Question.Thor-IUM ---- Uran-IUM ---- Pluton-IUM

Inexpensive, safe electricity from an MSR! That is the answer.

5

Visit Gretchen Boardman General Manager

How long have you been with Big Flat?I have been with Big Flat 3 1/2 years. Since July 2016.

Describe some of your job duties.Some of my duties are managing our staff to make sure they are safe and keeping our board and membership informed through our newsletter and Annual Meeting.I keep informed on changes in legislation as well as having a good relationship with the government.

What do you enjoy in your free time?I like anything at Fort Peck with my family, scrap booking, and watching sporting events.

What is your favorite part of the job?Learning new things daily and the people I have gotten to know and work with.

Tell us about a notable job experienceWhen we were working on a route for sage grouse and I had to get support from other co-ops to attend a meeting. When we arrived at the meeting, the room was filled with co-op people. It was super impressive.

Gretchen, Jay, Kambyr and

Kasen Boardman

EMPLOYEE SNAPSHOT

6

"Big Flat Electric Co-op. is an equal opportunity provider and employer."

Energy Wise Energy Wise Energy WiseTrim your holiday energy costs by choosing energy efficient LED lights! LED holiday lights use less energy and can last up to 40 seasons. They’re also easier to install – you can connect up to 25 LED strings without overloading a wall socket! Source: Energy.gov

OUTAGE REPORTING Call 654-2040

M-F 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

AFTER HOURS ONLY OUTAGE #654-7400

DARREN DEMARAIS Line Superintendent...654-7261

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

Alan Wasson, PresidentLoring/Whitewater/Saco674-5574

Roger Solberg, Vice Pres. - Malta658-2106

Betty Campbell, Sec/Treas. - Hays673-3111

Duane Klindworth - Hogeland379-2542

Alan Van Voast - Turner379-2243

Patty Quisno - Fort Belknap673-3132

Clyde Robinson - Missouri River 673-3442

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OUTAGE REPORTING

www.bigflatelectric.com

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!Big Flat Electric will be closed

November 28 and 29, 2019

The end of September blizzard played havoc with power lines across Big Flat Electric’s Service Area. Lineman Leif

Sorensen digs out the side by side UTV that the crew used to try to reach outages over the few days of the storm.

Energy Efficiency Quiz Winner

The winner of August’s Energy Efficiency Quiz Drawing was Hannah Van Voast, a

student at Turner Elementary. She received a gift certificate for $15 to the Big Flat Grocery in Turner.