June, 2007

The alternative to MOX fuel has some challenges ahead Thorium Power, a nuclear R&D outfit based in McLean, VA, has appointed former US ambassador Thomas Graham, Jr . as executive chairman of its board of directors. He will take up his post in August. Graham is an expert on nuclear nonproliferation having...

Brazil and India announce trade deals with uranium and aircraft in the mix The BBC reports that Brazil will re-start work on a long stalled nuclear reactor and simultaneously begin enriching uranium possibly for export to India. Brazil signs up to help India's nuclear program India has been shut out...

Are politicians serving up another shell game to avoid government support for nuclear energy? European governments looking for an escape hatch from providing direct subsidies for construction of new nuclear power plants are latching on to carbon emissions trading as the answer. At the head of the pack...

Bloomberg reports Toshiba Corp. will get a $4.9 billion order for nuclear equipment in the U.S., beating General Electric Co. and Hitachi Ltd. The Associated Press also reported Toshiba is to build two 1350 Mw advanced boiling-water reactors in Houston, Texas, in a project that had been expected to go...

Awaiting confirmation from reported funding source Alternate Energy Holdings ( AEHI PK) announced on June 26th that Cobblestone Financial Group, Inc. -- reportedly representing numerous investors and funding sources -- has provided the company with a letter of intent to fund 100% of AEHI's proposed Idaho...

Apparently, legislators have nothing better to do with their time In case you were wondering what the House was doing about nuclear energy this week, fear not, your brave representatives in Congress attacked a comic book published by the Department of Energy on the subject of radioactive waste. The House...

President's pitch for nuclear energy at Brown's Ferry falls on deaf ears Energy conservation and new fuel economy standards are the key elements of a Senate energy bill approved this week that ignores nuclear energy. The bill passed while President Bush was touring the Brown's Ferry nuclear plant touting...

Full steam ahead for greenhouse gases The powers that be in the UK government must believe that nuclear power plants are hugely profitable and have no trouble convincing investors to put up billions for as long as five-to-eight years before seeing a return. Even more interesting is the view by the British...

Nuclear power rated as necessary, but not sufficient, for impact on global warming A rapid ramping up of nuclear power isn't the whole answer to the problem of global warming caused by fossil fuels, but it's a start. That's the conclusion of a Colorado think tank known for bringing together people with...

Regulatory Roundup from the Trade Press and Wire Services NRC Expects 27 applications for new nuclear plants The Nuclear Regulatory Commission ( NRC ) said this week it expects 27 applications for construction of new nuclear reactors in the next two years according to Reuters . Most of the new units...

If the nuclear industry could tell its story the way this man sings its problems would be over. Idaho Samizdat http://djysrv.blogspot.com ...read more

Biofuels beat nukes in race for energy loan guarantees The nuclear power industry has been frozen out of the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program in a vote by the full House Appropriations Committee last week. Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell told Platts Commodity News that if the full House...

What's next? Fish & Chips at Salt Lake's EnergySolutions Arena? EnergySolutions, the big nuclear firm just down the road from Idaho Falls in Salt Lake City, bought itself a really big piece of the British nuclear industry this week. They might not be serving Fish & Chips just yet at EnergySolutions...

Adm. Rickover would be proud of NRC chairman's policy In a speech before a a large number of chief executives from the nuclear utility industry, Dale Klein, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, issued what may come to be called the "no bozos" rule for involvement in building a nuclear power...

Nobody is surprised the two countries did not come to terms Negotiations to produce a landmark deal for cooperation between the US and India over nuclear energy technologies have fallen apart for a second and perhaps final time. According to the Hindustan Times, Nicholas Burns, the US lead negotiator...

The full House Appropriations Committee reported out its FY2008 markup for the Department of Energy's funding. Highlights include; Increased funding for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant ( NGNP ) by $79M at the Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ). It appears the Democrats have no problems with high temperature...

Rep. John Dingell calls it a "bailout" for a company in financial trouble Anyone who thinks that nuclear energy is not headed for a major league revival needs to take a look at the price of uranium and the multi-billion dollar investments in uranium enrichment facilities in Ohio and New Mexico needed...

Soaring uranium prices are driving mining companies to look for new uranium deposits. The Twin Falls Times News reports that Magnum Minerals USA, a subsidiary of Magnum Uranium of Vancouver, British Columbia, is seeking permission from the U.S. Forest Service to search for uranium in the Salmon-Challis...

Good news came in late May from an otherwise cranky House Appropriations Subcommittee on energy which slashed GNEP funding. The Democratically controlled committee approved funding increases for nuclear energy R&D for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant. According to a press release from Idaho Congressman...

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson, a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, praised his Subcommittee’s passage of the FY2008 Energy and Water Appropriations bill which included substantial funding for hazardous and nuclear waste cleanup at the Idaho National Laboratory...

DOE inked an international agreement with five nations despite the funding cut A subcommittee on energy of the House Appropriations Committee slashed the Department of Energy funding request for the Global Energy Nuclear Partnership ( GNEP ). It reduced the line item from a request of $405 million to...

Workers at Idaho National Laboratory who have been exposed to radiation may have a better chance of getting federal compensation thanks to a new group being formed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The group, called a Special Exposure Cohort, could help INL employees navigate...