Idaho Samizdat: Nuke Notes

Harper government and Ontario province dig themselves into holes with AECL as the shovel Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper may come to regret  his blunt language reported in the Economist June 18 in which his spokesman called Atomic Energy Canada Limited (AECL) “dysfunctional.”  The insulting language, which will undoubtedly affect at least 30,000 votes in Ontario for the next election...

Ameren calls it quits Ameren switched gears this week asking the NRC to stop its review of the utility’s license application for a new nuclear power plant at Callaway, MO.  The action by Ameren probably means the Callaway II new nuclear build is dead.  It is an exasperating defeat for pro-nuclear business groups in Missouri. The experience had all the grace and finesse of a state fair demolition...

Objective is to turn spent nuclear fuel into an asset PRISM is GE’s proprietary name for the Integral Fast Reactor , a design that was developed in Idaho by the nuclear scientists at Argonne West (ANL-W), a field office for Argonne National Laboratory located on the Arco desert 26 miles west of Idaho Falls, ID.  In 2005 ANL-W was merged with the Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ) There has been...

Simpson, Crapo, Risch in record level of pro-nuclear activates; even the state’s lone Democrat is on board Simpson reports substantial increases in nuclear R&D funding and for cleanup Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson , (right) a member of the House  Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, on June 25 announced substantial increases in funding for the Idaho National Laboratory...

News comes in three forms – good, bad, and ugly – catching up from spending a week of live blogging from ANS Atlanta NRC cites utility shortfalls – says no free rides for decommissioning funds The Wall Street Journal reported June 20 that six nuclear utilities have until the end of calendar year 2009 to explain how they will make up the shortfall in their decommissioning funds.  Another 12 firms...

A modest proposal to avoid killing off innovative reactor designs due to cost recovery for design certification reviews In a widely read OP ED published in the Wall Street Journal on June 25, Bob Metcalfe , a well-known entrepreneur and venture capitalist, complained about the “high costs and astronomical risks” of the design certification process at the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( NRC ). ...

Proposed 1,600 MW reactor will build on Piketon’s nuclear legacy and help define its future – gaining public acceptance will be a key to success It is a deal between giants. In the global world of multi-billion dollar agreements between mega-utilities and the continent spanning reach of reactor manufacturers, the announcement in Piketon, OH , this week got a lot of attention.  If anyone doubted...

Analyses show nuclear is ‘least cost option for generation of new baseload electricity NucNet - analyses in several US states show that new reactor units will be the “least cost option” for new generation, the Nuclear Energy Institute ( NEI ) said this week in response to a study* – ‘ The Economics of Nuclear Power: Renaissance or Relapse ?’ – by Mark Cooper, senior fellow for economic analysis with...

The nuclear industry is not happy about some aspects of the process One of the more significant misconceptions about licensing a new nuclear power  plant is that if you throw more money at the Nuclear Regulatoy Agency (NRC), it will speed up the approval process for new reactor projects and designs.  This turns out to be wrong.  The license applicants and reactor vendors want the NRC...

A first-of-a-kind panel discussion explores the new media for the nuclear industry The nuclear energy industry is not the first place you would think of when it comes to new social media like blogs. That perception was shattered this week when four of the nation's most prolific bloggers about nuclear energy met in person for the first time in Atlanta, GA, at the annual conference of the American...

Official announcement due later today Reuters reports that Duke Energy Corp ( NYSE:DUK ) plans to build a new nuclear power plant in Piketon, Ohio, the state's Gov. Ted Strickland said an energy conference taking place in Ohio. According to Reuters sources said Duke was strongly considering building an Areva 1,600 MW EPR at the site. Executives from Areva were at the meeting with the governor....

What makes a good blog? Hat tip to Merlin Mann at 43 Folders At the American Nuclear Society conference taking place in Atlanta this week we had a panel discussion with Rod Adams from Atomic Insights, John Wheeler from This Week in Nuclear and Kirk Sorensen from Energy from Thorium (speaking from the audience). A lot of the discussion was on the mechanics and practices of blogging, and you can find...

Thomas Sanders comes to the office this week with a commitment to help the U.S. rebuild its manufacturing capabilities for nuclear technologies In an exclusive interview with the Energy Collective, Thomas Sanders, Ph.D., who takes office today as the President of the American Nuclear Society ( ANS ), shares his vision to revitalization of American manufacturing capabilities for "right-size"...

County commissioners tell planning team to re-work industrial land use policy The Elmore County , ID, county commissioners decided yet again not to decide the fate of AEHI’s ( OTC:AEHI ) proposed nuclear power plant for southwestern Idaho. According to a report by Rocky Barker in the Idaho Statesman, the commissioners told the planning and zoning commission to consider amending the county's comprehensive...

Direct from the annual meeting of the American Nuclear Society and exclusive to the Energy Collective In a first ever sit-down one-on-one interview with a nuclear energy blogger, Dale Klein , former chairman of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( NRC ), answered questions about the key issues of his tenure at the NRC. Klein continues to serve at the NRC. His term expires in 2011. The interview...