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Nuclear group expands options

A man looks at a solar energy concentration system developed by the state-run Institute of Nuclear Energy Research in Taoyuan County yesterday. PHOTO: AFP

From a dopamine-tracing imaging agent capable of accurately diagnosing Parkinson's Disease, to the production of biomass ethanol fuel made from rice straw, the Institute of Nuclear Energy Research (INER) yesterday unveiled its achievements of the past year.

The INER, a branch of the Atomic Energy Council, consists of three key technology centers -- the Nuclear Safety Technology Center (NSTC), the Environmental and Energy Technology Center (EETC) and the Radiation Application Technology Center (RATC) -- the institute's director Yeh Tuan-ran (葉陶然), said.

"Last year was an eventful year for us," Yeh told a news conference. "The achievements were the fruits of years of hard work and innovation."

The INER had worked solely in atomic energy and through the NSTC had successfully improved the Second Nuclear Power Plant's efficiency by increasing its annual output by 150 million units of electricity.

Evolving with emerging trends and needs, the INER has expanded its domain of research and development to now focus on areas such as new energy technologies and environmental protection mainly through its EETC arm, he said.

In addition to rice straw biomass fuel, other examples of INER's expanded scope of research included ongoing research and experimentation on wind turbines and the continuing development of III-V solar cells equipped with concentration lenses to maximize efficiency and output, he said.

As the technologies involved are progressive and "in the budding stage in even the most advanced countries," most of the institute's projects require further development, he said.

"However, with sustainability and cost-efficiency in mind, the outcome of these projects should prove extremely helpful to mankind," he said.

The institute's aim for solar energy development is to level its costs with traditional coal-generated energy," said INER director of the nuclear instrumentation division, Kuo Cherng-tsong (郭成聰).

Solar cells, also known as photovoltaic cells, convert solar energy to electricity by the photovoltaic effect, Kuo said.

Concentrating photovoltaic systems consist of large areas of lenses that focus sunlight onto a compact area of photovoltaic cells, he said, adding that the upgraded Heliostat Concentrator Photovoltaics (HCPV) systems employ single or duel-axis tracking to maximize output.

"INER's 100 KW III-V HCPV systems now attain a 32.6 percent fuel efficiency, which is almost on a par with world's best of 40.7 percent," he said.

The institute estimates that when the 40-percent target is achieved, the price of solar energy will be as competitive as coal-generated energy, he said.

"INER is a strong research institute in that it is capable of achieving excellent systems integration." Yeh said. "All of our technologies are developed locally, step by step, and from scratch, making them extremely localized and cost-effective."
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