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• Debating Nuclear Energy in Malaysia

  I am still fascinated by the way that the World Wide Web opens up an entirely new way to understand the way the world works and thinks. Of course, my own view is limited by time and by the fact that I only speak English, but it is amazing that I can be rapidly made aware - through the use of scheduled searches by Google Alerts - of a discussion about new nuclear power plants published earlier today... Posted Jun 27 2009, 02:16 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, malaysia, debate

• New Nuclear Power Plant for Piketon, Ohio?

  At the risk of overloading you with new posts from Atomic Insights - three in one day is a bit much - I have to share one more story that kind of caught me by surprise. Apparently there is going to be a major announcement staged at Piketon, Ohio , the site of a former enrichment facility, on Thursday, June 18. When I first saw the link to the story in my Google Alert, I thought there must have been... Posted Jun 17 2009, 05:50 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: Areva, new nuclear plants, ohio

• When ExxonMobil Talks, People Should Listen

  No matter what you might think about ExxonMobil's product, you should take a hard look at their business results and recognize that the company is very good at what it does. The people in charge there look far into the future and deep into the past. They know their product, they understand the market, and they consistently deliver exceptional cash flow and profit results. With the exception of... Posted Feb 01 2009, 03:07 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, Nuclear Energy, Energy Budget, energy supply, Clean and Safe Energy, Education, engineering

• Discussing AmerenUE's New Nuclear Plant - Must Read Article From the "Show Me" State

  I love people who evaluate issues based on hard nosed facts and critical thinking. The Fulton Sun apparently hires writers who feel the same way. On Monday, January 26, 2009, Don Norfleet wrote an article for that publication titled Nuclear plant foes shift from environmentalists to consumer groups that is full of terrific analysis of the history of nuclear plant development and opposition. The only... Posted Jan 27 2009, 02:57 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, AmerenUE

• Progress Energy Signs EPC (Engineering, Procurement and Construction) Contract for 2 Nuclear Power Plants in Florida

  As a former resident of the west coast of Florida, (and the father of a daughter who still lives there), I gave a silent cheer this week as I read the news that Progress Energy had signed a contract to build two new nuclear plants at a green field site in Levy County. Part of the reason for my enthusiasm is that the announcement included a statement that Progress Energy would shut down two of the older... Posted Jan 17 2009, 02:12 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, Progress Energy, EPC, Florida, Levy County

• Two More Utilities Tell GE "No Thanks" on the ESBWR

  Entergy and Dominion Resources have announced that they have been unable to reach an agreement with GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy on the details of building Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactors (ESBWR) as their next new nuclear power plants. Entergy had started the process of obtaining a Combined Construction and Operating License (COL) for an ESBWR at two different sites , Grand Gulf in Mississippi... Posted Jan 10 2009, 04:39 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, ESBWR, Entergy, GE-Hitachi, Grand Gulf, River Bend

• China Announces 6 GW of New Nuclear Will Cost 10.2 Billion ($1,700 per kilowatt)

  China has announced the start of construction for 6 new nuclear reactors on a site in Yangjiang City, Guangdong province. Each plant will produce 1,000 MW of electrical power (1 GWe). The total cost for the 6 reactor project is expected to be $10.2 billion. The announcement, when added to others means that China plans to start projects for a total of 10 new reactors in the months of November and December... Posted Dec 18 2008, 03:21 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, China, Yangjiang City

• Did the World Bank Tell Eskom to Cancel the PWR Project?

  I ran across a Reuters article that got me thinking. On December 4, 2008, Reuters reported that the World Bank had agreed to loan Eskom up to $5 Billion for a power capacity expansion program deemed crucial to the mining sector . On that same day, Eskom's board met and determined that it would no longer pursue the large PWR nuclear power station that has been under consideration for many months... Posted Dec 07 2008, 10:19 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, South Africa, Eskom

• Eskom Says Large PWR Project is "Too Big" - Does That Mean a Revised Focus On Pebble Beds?

  On Friday, December 5, 2008, Eskom, the giant South African utility, announced its decision to halt the bidding on a previously announced, 2 or 3 unit nuclear power station. The remaining bidders in the project were Toshiba's Westinghouse division with a proposal for a 3-unit AP-1000 based station and Areva with a 2-unit EPR based station. Both of the bidders must have been disappointed in the... Posted Dec 07 2008, 03:58 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, South Africa, Eskom, AP1000, Westinghouse

• Amarillo Power Update - License Application Will be Filed In 2009 vice 2008

  On Tuesday September 9, 2008 Amarillo.com published an update on Amarillo Power's planned nuclear project in the Texas panhandle. For undisclosed reasons, the company - led by George Chapman - has notified the NRC that it will be filing its construction and operating license application in late 2009 vice late 2008. At least part of the reason for the delay is the engineering site evaluation to... Posted Sep 10 2008, 02:44 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, NRC, Amarillo Power

• Another European Country With Plans for New Nuclear Power

  Switzerland has one of the cleanest electrical power systems in the world. It produces and consumes about 58 billion kilowatt-hours per year. Its five nuclear reactors (four power stations, one has two reactors) supply about 22 billion kilowatt-hours (38%), nearby French nuclear plants supply about 7-8%, and its extensive network of hydroelectric dams produce nearly all of the rest. Unfortunately,... Posted Jun 11 2008, 04:34 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants

• Cookie cutter plants may reduce initial costs of new nuclear power

  In an interesting editorial in the Tri-City Herald (serving Kennewick, Pasco and Richland Washington) titled Slow resurrection of nuclear power the paper's editorial board bemoans the fact that there does not seem to be much progress visible in the Nuclear Renaissance. Of course, we all know that there are things happening in preparation for building, but watching from the outside must be like... Posted May 14 2008, 04:12 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants

• Amarillo Power still an intriguing dark horse contender for first new nuclear plant in the US

  George Chapman at Amarillo Power continues to fascinate me, partially because he does not make much noise. Information about his project's progress only surfaces once in a while. I try to share it with you as soon as I have time to digest and verify my own understanding of the implications of what is being said. (If you are not a regular reader or if you are new to this blog, you might want to... Posted Mar 16 2008, 12:13 PM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, Amarillo Power

• Smaller plants could speed the Nuclear Renaissance

  Marianne Lavelle writes Beyond the Barrel on the Money and Business section of the US News and World Report web site. She posted a blog on February 21, 2008 titled Nuclear Industry Eyes a Smaller Renaissance that reported on the NEI's recent brief of Wall Street investors . Her report included an after meeting chat with John Rowe, CEO of Exelon who answered a few questions about the biggest hurdles... Posted Feb 24 2008, 07:03 PM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants, Nuclear Energy

• Like it or not, the nukes are coming - the big question is how fast

  The Houston Chronicle serves a reader base that includes a high percentage of people in the energy business. The city's prosperity has risen and fallen and risen again as the energy markets have fluctuated during the past 100 years. The primary focus of Houston's energy business has been oil and natural gas, but there are a number of important reasons why its leading businessmen might become... Posted Feb 17 2008, 03:58 AM by Atomic Insights Blog Filed under: new nuclear plants