COWI and Sinotech Team Up on Taiwan’s Super-Hot Geothermal Potential Taiwan’s geothermal story is moving from possibility to execution, and the COWI-Sinotech collaboration is a sign that the sector is entering a more serious phase of development. The partnership is focused on unlocking super-hot geothermal resources, which could improve project economics and expand the country’s clean-energy options. Introduction Geothermal has long been one of Taiwan’s most intriguing renewable resources because the island sits on active tectonic terrain with strong heat potential. What has held the sector back is not a lack of heat, but the difficulty of converting that heat into bankable projects at scale. The new collaboration between COWI and Sinotech points to a more technical, internationally connected approach to solving that problem. Why Taiwan Matters Taiwan has ambitious decarbonization goals, and geothermal fits neatly into the need for firm, low-carbon power. Unlike solar and wind, geother...
Exciting news for the advanced nuclear sector as the US-based Centrus Energy Corporation has completed construction on a cutting-edge uranium enrichment plant in Piketon, Ohio. This state-of-the-art facility features a cascade of 16 advanced centrifuges and is set to revolutionize the production of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) by the end of 2023. The HALEU cascade at Piketon (Image: Centrus) With the support of the US Department of Energy, Centrus received USD150 million in funding to bring this project to life. The cascade and its associated systems have undergone rigorous testing and the completion of fissile material storage and Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) operational readiness reviews are the final steps before production can commence. Piketon is the only production facility in the US that has been licensed by the NRC for HALEU production, making this a major milestone in the advanced nuclear industry. The HALEU produced here will be enriched to between 5% and 20...