Office for Environmental Programs - Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
-
ItemThe localised ecological impacts of offshore farm development: an overview( 2010)This paper outlines key environmental effects of global offshore wind farm development, with respect to localised marine ecosystems. By exploring an extensive range of literature, the essay highlights major caveats and opportunities in a project's installation, operation, and decommissioning phases. The paper finds that while local impacts are short-lived, they are still critical components of a balanced understanding of offshore wind development. While the issues described here are not exhaustive, this paper provides a succinct overview of a wind farm's operational life, and a foundation for further research into the broader environmental impacts of developing offshore wind energy.
-
ItemNuclear power as a source of cleaner energy and design implications on nuclear building structures( 2010)The rapid increase in fossil fuel burning for energy generation is continuously increasing the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted into the earth's atmosphere. The UNFCC has identified that CO2 stabilisation due to continued economic growth will require innovative, cost-effective and carbon-emission-free technologies that can cater to the additional demand for energy in the coming decades. The rise in fossil fuel prices and the increased concern regarding environmental protection from CO2 emissions have drawn the world's attention to the use of nuclear power as a viable and clean source of energy for power generation. The practical operational safety of nuclear power plants is of fundamental importance for assessing the prospects of nuclear energy. In order to minimise the consequences arising due to energy generation, the selection of efficient and economical strategies for the development of nuclear energy technology is vital. In the immediate future, nuclear power can contribute to greenhouse gas reduction on a modest scale, replacing a large portion of the electricity produced by fossil fuel fired power plants. Therefore, it is crucial that the field of global energy generation be informed by in-depth studies of nuclear energy which emphasise the present safety arrangements maintained by nuclear power plants to safeguard the public and the environment. Academic, technical and commercial literature published since 1939 have been reviewed in during this study. The scope of this study includes the identification of the design characteristics of NPPs, the identification of the structural arrangements of NPP's containment buildings, the strength analysis of containment building walls of NPP's operating in the world and providing an overview the nuclear waste management systems practised internationally. Further, this study discusses the strength analysis of 396 out of 437 containment buildings of NPPs operating in the world and was carried out by using the design pressure data provided by the PRIS data web site of the IAEA. Finally, this study will attempt to prove that nuclear energy is one of the major sources of clean energy for today's demand for energy in the world and one which will reduce the climate change impacts and their consequences to the world.