Community Applications And the Water – Energy Nexus

Another application for Hyperion, and perhaps the one that would offer the most basic and direct positive impact on populations in need, is that of providing a power source to remote communities, both for electricity and to pump and process water. At the core of the worldwide water problem is energy. During the past 25 years, electricity supplies have been extended to 1.3 billion people living in developing countries. Yet despite these advances: Roughly 1.6 billion people, which is 25% of the global population, still have no access to electricity; 2.4 billion people rely on traditional biomass, including wood, agricultural residues and dung, for cooking and heating; and 99% of the population without electricity lives in developing regions. World energy demand has increased about 60% in the last quarter century and forecasts for the next quarter century project a similar percentage increase inenergy demand from a much larger base. The National Petroleum Council, in its recent report, recognizes that all types of energy sources, including nuclear, will be needed to sustain growth and support basic living conditions. The energy – water nexus is undeniable and advancements are needed as fast aspossible. According to the United Nations, about 13% of the world’s population does not have access to enough food and water to live a healthy and productive life, yet the ability, technology and resources needed to produce enough food for every man, woman and child in the world do currently exist. One of those technologies is Hyperion. This power source could provide the energy to turn on the tap for millions. Senator Pete V. Domenici, former chairman and former member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, has long been an advocate of nuclear power and published a book promoting it in 2004. In A Brighter Tomorrow: Fulfilling the Promise of Nuclear Energy, the senator writes, “In the twenty-first century, nuclear power will be a major contributor to global peace and a better quality of life for both the developed and developing world. My ultimate goal is that in the year 2045, one hundred years after the detonation of the first atomic bomb and the birth of the nuclear age, the world will evaluate the role played by nuclear technologies and conclude that their overall impact was strongly positive. The world will be a better place in the twenty-first century because of nuclear power.” Portable, small, cost-effective, tamper-resistant and self-regulating, Hyperion offers the most viable nuclear power resource for developing nations and communities.