LORHO pilot MHD power supply. This 20-megawatt MHD generator was built by Avco Everett Research Laboratory to power a low-density wind tunnel facility at the Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center, Tullahoma, Tennessee. This unit is a prototype of a wind tunnel of several hundred megawatts capacity that will simulate hypersonic reentry conditions of satellites and planetary spacecraft. This pilot project represents the world's first practical application of MHD power. central-station type fossil fuels and must operate at higher efficiency than the LORHO-Mark V type units. Much of the Avco-utility program was directed to these problems and this program in conjunction with the Mark V-LORHO developments provided, by the year 1965, what we considered was an adequate background with which to undertake the experimental MHD power plant project. Had that program been launched then, we would just about now be starting up the plant instead of waiting with anticipation for news of Soviet success in a similar venture. In June of last year I was a guest of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Sciences in Moscow and had a chance to observe and study the exciting MHD program in that country. In Russia, the MHD program is under the personal guidance of V. A. Kirillin, Deputy Chairman of the Council of Ministers under Mr. Kosygin, and Chairman of the State Committee of Science and Technology. It is interesting to note how closely their program parallels the one which we and our utility partners had conceived. As is the case with our own experimental power plant project, after careful development work spanning a period of several years, the Soviets are building a 75,000 kilowatt, prototype base-load MHD plant. The plant is designed for operation on a clean fuel (natural gas). At the same time problems particularly Mark V MHD generator built and operated by Avco for the Advanced Research Projects Agency. This generator delivered a maximum power of 32,000 kilowatts and was developed to demonstrate the feasibility of producing shortduration (about 1 minute) bursts of electrical power. related to the use of coal are being investigated separately. As is the case here, the Soviets are also considering the use of gasified coal in the MHD plant. The U-25 is scheduled for initial startup later this year. Deputy Chairman Kirillin asked to see me during my stay in the Soviet Union, and during my visit, made perfectly clear the Soviet intent to carry MHD development to a successful conclusion and his own personal commitment to the program, in particular the U-25 project. An exterior view and a photograph of a detailed model of the U-25 given to me by Mr. Kirillin are shown in Figures 7 and 8. Other important national MHD programs are underway in West Germany and in Japan. A few months ago a German group visited our Laboratory and reported a dramatic increase in the German program and initial construction of a large prototype unit of our Mark V type. Thus, all of the leading industrial nations of the world with the exception of the United States have vigorous national MHD programs. PROPOSAL FOR A NATIONAL MHD POWER GENERATION PROGRAM At present, MHD is at the stage where much significant research has been completed and short duration generators have been successfully designed. To bring it to the status of an important contributor to our need for clean reliable Exterior view of 75,000 kilowatt MHD pilot plant under construction in Moscow, USSR. This plant, known as the U-25, includes a 25,000 kilowatt MHD generator. electric power, however, will require a very substantial investment during the 70's. In all countries in which MHD is proceeding rapidly it has been financed by the governments concerned and this must also be the case if MHD is to succeed in the United States. The Office of Science and Technology panel on MHD issued a report recommending a $4-million-a-year program. It is now imperative that the Federal contribution which in fiscal '71 was $600,000 be substantially increased. We have prepared a report on how MHD should be developed and this is attached as Appendix A. I would like to stress in this statement the key events in this program. Thus far we have achieved high-power short duration generators and we have also operated very small generators for long times. Thus, the most important need to advance the art is the achievement of a high-power generator which operates for long duration. The Russian U-25 is intended to accomplish this purpose, but this effort is not yet adequately financed in the United States. The first such generator could be the emergency and peaking generator which I have previously described. This generator should be the central component of the national program. Simultaneously, smaller scale research and various experiments should be continued. This would meet the objective of learning to operate MHD generators from coal combustion sources and to advance the art of various components of the MHD system, particularly the catalytic air process for air pollution control and the pre-heater which heats air before it is delivered to the MHD combustion chamber. The cumulative expenditures for three plans are shown in Figure 9. The three plans given there have been designed to fit three initial expenditure rates. It will be noted, however, that stretching out MHD development will make it more costly as well as delaying the time when this attractive power system can make its contribution to the quality of our environment. SUMMARY I would like to summarize by pointing out to you that while it is feasible to produce fossil power systems which will adequately protect our environment now, this provision will continuously increase the cost of power in the manner projected in Figure 1. On the other hand, if we summon up the foresight to proceed with the development of MHD power, we will save $100 in the eighties for every $1 invested in the seventies in the achievement of clean power systems. Attractive though this prospect may sound, I am convinced that the requisite development will not go ahead without very substantial government aid, and, to obtain this, we need your support. To this end, I would urge your Committee to include a specific program in the legislation which you are formulating with adequate funding to enable the development of new technology for the production of clean power to be pursued vigorously by the government. |