January, 2008

Uranium enrichment plant targeted for site near the INL The Associated Press reports Areva Inc., a French government-controlled nuclear energy company, is in talks with officials in Idaho and other U.S. states over a planned $2 billion uranium enrichment facility that by 2014 could supply fuel to commercial...

What scared them off? AP is carrying a report this afternoon (Sunday Jan 27) that MidAmerican is pulling out of its plans to build a nuclear power plant in Payette , ID. Elected officials in southwest Idaho say they've been told plans for a proposed nuclear power plant have been abandoned. The firm...

Coal is our past Joe Cannon, a leading Utah Republican and the editor of the Deseret Morning News , Utah's second largest newspaper after the Salt Lake City Tribune, has published an opinion piece in the newspaper that points to nuclear power as an effective way to meet demand for electricity. He...

The nuclear giant in Pittsburgh says its nothing they can't handle The Pittsburgh Tribune reports that while Westinghouse was first in to the Chinese nuclear market, it now faces competition there and in the U.S. from French state-owned Areva. However, a Westinghouse spokesman told the newspaper...

A deal is not a deal unless it involves real money Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Nicolas Sarkozy agreed, during a state visit this week, to discuss a civilian nuclear-cooperation agreement, which may help India to plug a power shortage using nuclear reactors. While Sarkozy...

State gets help from scientist to assess new nuclear plant A top expert in nuclear energy has been dispatched to help the State of Idaho assess the impacts of a proposed new nuclear power plant in Idaho. Ralph Bennett, a scientist from the Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ), is working with the State...

Expansion plans and new reactor deals drive the need for capital China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Co ( CGNPC ) has announced that it would go public in a bid to "get bigger and stronger." The goal will be achieved by raising funds from stock markets. The move is unusual because of problems...

Turkey pledges guarantees for nuclear power purchases Turkey stepped into the nuclear energy spotlight last week with an announcement that it will guarantee electricity purchases for 15 years to attract investment in nuclear power stations it plans to build, Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said at a nuclear...

Making the nuclear fuel cycle more attractive to investors The nuclear fuel business is a fractured landscape with many separate players in uranium mining, enrichment, and fuel fabrication. For the most part nuclear utilities haven't worried about the supply chain that gets them their fuel, only...

Utility wants better contract terms to control construction costs The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia Power is digging in its heels over the cost and schedule of two new Westinghouse AP1000 nuclear reactors for its Vogtle plant . The plants have a planned start-up date of 2016. A key...

News media that mangle nuclear nomenclature should be advised . . . Andrea Jennetta and Nancy E. Roth have launched Fuel Cycle , a blog on nuclear energy. The bloggers, both veteran journalists and Democrats, hope to help reframe the debate on the role of nuclear in the world’s future energy mix. Accordingly...

Powertech takes heat in Ft. Collins; Energy Fuels gets a go ahead in Mesa The people of Ft. Collins, CO, think they live in a "green city," and if the city council there is any indication of the truth of that belief then their recent action indicates a proposed uranium mine at Nunn, CO , northeast...

Nothing is small in Texas The nuclear revival, or renaissance, or whatever you want to call it, is lighting up in two places globally - China, and Texas. While they have almost nothing in common in terms of economics or politics, what they do share is a major shift in energy strategy. Massive investments...

DOE comments published in Morris, IL, raise questions Hat tip to Rod Adams at Atomic Insights Blog In the great comedy send up of horror flicks Young Frankenstein , there is a terrific scene in which the dwarf Igor, player to perfection by Marty Feldman, tells Dr. Frankenstein, played with equal brilliance...

Approval is expected by 2011 Bloomberg wire service reports Mitsubishi Heavy Industries has filed a 9,500 page application seeking approval for its nuclear power-plant design from the NRC . The package is submitted in electronic form composed of text, data, and engineering drawings. The application for...

Four new reactors at $4 billion each will be built at four locations Reuters report s that Britain is expected to proceed with a new generation of nuclear power plants. An announcement is expected next week. Britain's main nuclear power firm British Energy is in talks with more than 10 companies...

Sarkozy may come come empty handed from his trip to New Delhi French President Nicolas Sarkozy will visit India on January 24th with the intend of signing a nuclear energy agreement. French Foreign Minister Bernard Koucher said the scope of the agreement would depend on the outcome of a pending agreement...

Winter readings on thwarted visions of an end to atomic weapons The current turmoil in Pakistan is a reminder that when a state that develops and deploys atomic weapons as part of its deterrence strategy unravels, that the rest of the world shudders in fear of what might happen if the wrong people get...