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<br />. <br /> <br />" . <br /> <br />5-WRW washn xxx development <br />NUcLEAR: Projections of rapid increases in nuclear power genera- <br />tion have never proved out. Despite announced starts of dozens of nuc- <br />lear plants in this country particularly in the late 1960's, nuclear <br />power generation totalldd only 21 million kilowatts in this country in <br />1973. At the end of 1973 the nation's total electric utility generating <br />capacity was 432 million kilowatts. BUt nuclear generation in the past <br />five years has increased from 1 to 4.5 percent of total capacity, and <br />it is projected by the PEA report on Project Independence to be 30 per- <br />cent of total capacity by 1985. If nuclear plant construction moved a- <br />head on an accelerated basis, "nuclear fuel production and uranium en- <br />richment would have to more than double from 1980 to 1985." High front- <br />load costs of nuclear plants have deferred construction of some plants. <br />Public concern about nuclear safety, nuclear waste disposal and leakage, <br />sabotage, thermal effluents, regulatory constraints, site availability, <br />construction delays and operating problems are slowing nuclear plants <br />now in the construction stage, so that few new nuclear plants will be- <br />come operational before the early 1980's. But a lot of new nuclear gen- <br />erating plants are expected to go on the line between 1980-1985. <br /> <br />SYNTHETIC FUELS: No conunercial synthetic fuels plants are current- <br />ly in operation or under construction in the united States no~, and it <br />is questionable whether such a plant will be in operation in 1985. If <br />the government subsidized the construction of such plants, synthetic li- <br />quid fuel production would not be more than 500,000 barrels per day, and <br />synthetic high BTO gas production would not be more than 1 trillion cu- <br />bid feet per year by 1985. New technology is only in the pilot plant <br />stage in this country, and high costs 'will limit the gro\~h of synthet- <br />ic liquid production (of fuels) in the United States...The real potenti= <br />al for synthetic fuels will not be realized until the late 1980's or <br />early 1990's." <br /> <br />OIL SH1\LE: No commercial shale oil plants are currently operating <br />in this country, and COLONY's plan to bUild a commercial-sized plant in <br />Western Colorado was recently shelved because of inflationary pressures <br />on projected costs. If oil remains at $11 a barrel, it is possible that <br />shale oil production could equal 1 million barrels per day by 1985. High <br />costs and environmental constraints will limit the development of this <br />new source of energy for commercial use. <br /> <br />GEOTHERMAL AND SOIJ\.R ENERGY: "Full-scale utilization of geothermal <br />energy will not take place until after the 1990' s," and no large amount <br />of solar energy or wind energy will be harnessed for commercial use eith= <br />~= by 1985. Solar heating and cooling and wind electric systems are al- <br />ready going into commercial use on an isolated home-owner basis. Geo- <br />~~~nt is dependent on federal land leases and more R&D.HCM <br /> <br />George M. Kaydas of the Columbia Fisheries Office; National Marine <br />Fisheries service, Portland, has informed us that the proper name is <br />li.f:):lwa~ rather than fish bypasses for the "ladders" be~g bUilt n~ to <br />pe!:':nit anadromous fish to return from the ocean to the r~ver of thelX <br />bi~th to spawn. We are delighted to make the correction, on Page 5 of <br />Wf:,l, Series X, No. 43, dated 10-211-74. HeM-30-HCM <br /> <br />0115 <br />