April, 2008

Two reactor R&D efforts are linked in a single grant funding opportunity The Department of Energy isn't giving up on GNEP even if Congress has repeatedly sent a strong message it isn't going to fund the program at the levels requested by the agency. In a new twist DOE has linked nuclear reactor...

Decision to build a full-scale facility could come in 2009 While Areva is still silent on a decision whether and where to build a uranium enrichment plant at one of five potential sites in the U.S., Global Laser Enrichment (GLE), a subsidiary of GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy (GEH), has announced it has selected...

Answer - two heads may be better than one The Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ) is facing a formidable challenge with the release of a request for information (RFI) earlier this month by the Department of Energy (DOE). The government wants to hear from firms that think they can build the Next Generation...

A lesson learned is that it will take a lot of cows to power Vermont Bob Hargraves continues to post materials from his class at Dartmouth Rethinking Nuclear Energy He's now in Part 5 of an 8 part class. The class on Energy Policy and Environmental Choices was held today and the slides and audio...

Japanese nuclear giants set a competitive course for U.S. market share The Daily Yomiuri, an English language newspaper in Japan, reports that the joint opening of a U.S. office by Hitachi and General Electric is a signal of a new competitive race between the two firms and Toshiba which owns Westinghouse...

It's a fluid environment in the western provinces The progress of plans for new nuclear builds in Canada took a couple of unexpected turns this week. Alberta wants to study nuclear energy while Bruce Power wants to build two or more units in the tar sands region near Peace River. However, next door...

Mining uranium exploration press releases for useful stuff (A monthly column of money and mining news items) The rise of nuclear energy, a second act if ever there was one, has given the price of uranium a shot in the arm. In western states in the U.S. interest in uranium mining is growing and with it...

A densely populated country needs a lot of electricity Enel SpA. plans to build a nuclear power plant in Italy to take advantage of an expected legislative shift that will put the nation back on a path to using nuclear power. Italy has banned the construction and operation of nuclear power plants within...

The leading progressive newspaper has a problem with nuclear energy The Nation, an international journal of progressive thought, has published a major attack on the nuclear renaissance. In an essay published April 24 Christian Parenti, a noted author of several books on political science and sociology...

Senate leader calls business group "liars" A news conference called by a group of business leaders to defend the low electricity rates they get from Vermont Yankee descended into serious name calling on the steps of the state capitol.  The lug nuts have come off in the political version...

Bob Hargraves continues his online tutorial from Dartmouth Readers of this blog will recall that Bob Hargraves is teaching an eight-part class at Dartmouth called " Rethinking Nuclear Energy, " and he is publishing his slides and lecture notes online. Part 4 is now online along with Parts 1...

Nuclear diplomacy gets complicated   A drive by the Canadian province of Saskatchewan to develop uranium enrichment capabilities so it can move up the value chain of the nuclear fuel cycle has put international diplomacy on the issue into high gear.  The Wall Street Journal reports (sub req'd...

The state legislature may act without NRC review The Vermont Yankee nuclear plant operator's request for relicensing from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) faces a new an unusually hostile set of stakeholders in Vermont.  They begin with the Vermont State Legislature which is taking matters...

Says the government will pay more for fewer acronyms The Department of Energy this week issued a request for information (RFI) targeting industry and university groups, and other interested parties, asking for input on a prototype, low-emission nuclear plant at its Idaho National Laboratory ( INL )....

And then again maybe not if it sinks the relicensing of Oyster Creek The Star-Ledger reports New Jersey should develop new power generation that does not contribute to global warming, a step that should explore the prospect of building another nuclear power plant in New Jersey, according to a draft energy...

EnergySolutions, a Salt Lake City firm, is working on a plan to build and operate a new nuclear reactor at Wylfa on Anglesey, U.K., according to a report in the Times of London.  The new plant would be built where one is being decommissioned In a surprise move EnergySolutions has reportedly teamed...

Mining uranium exploration press releases and news media reports for useful stuff (An occasional column of money and mining news items) The rise of nuclear energy, a second act if ever there was one, has given the price of uranium a shot in the arm. In western states in the U.S. interest in uranium mining...

A fast forward look at some highlights from the past four weeks This is second installment in what I plan as a continuing series.  Every four weeks or so I'll take a look at what other nuclear energy blogs are talking about and provide some pointers here.  At Atomic Insights Rod Adams takes...

Look what you've done to me I'm melting A controversial coal-fired power plant planned for Holcomb, Kansas , is the reason Tri-State Generation is even thinking about a nuclear energy option.  After Gov. Kathleen Sebelius vetoed a bill authorizing the $3.6 billion coal project, because of...

Bought any fuel oil for home heating lately? In a state where energy debates are sometimes characterized in terms of grams of fiber per pound of granola, and the resulting methane, it was interesting this week to read a letter to the editor in favor of nuclear energy.  It comes at a contentious...

Burying spent fuel is "an outdated strategy" Nevada Senator Harry Reid must be dancing in the aisle under the Capitol dome this week because his colleague, New Mexico Senator Pete Dominici called the Yucca Mountain project "foolhardy." He said reprocessing spent nuclear fuel makes...

Six of them were out like lights Reuters reports that the NRC will fine Florida Power & Light for allowing plant security guards at its Turkey Point plant to sleep on the job.  In a press release the NRC said its staff has proposed a $130,000 civil penalty against the utility. NRC officials...

Company still has a long-term relationship with AECL The Toronto Star reports that GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy told the Ontario government it will not bid on construction of a new nuclear power plant in the province. There are still a lot of decisions to be made. It isn't over until the fat lady sings...

It is the Lac Cardinal nuclear power plant The Daily Construction News in Ottawa reports the wheels have been set in motion to build Western Canada’s first nuclear power plant. After purchasing Energy Albrerta, Bruce Power Alberta has filed an application with the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission for...

Comes up short on cash There is great profile of the plans by the Idaho National Laboratory ( INL ) for the Next Generation Nuclear Plant ( NGNP ) at the Energy Central web portal. It reports that the people planning the future of nuclear energy measure time in decades and time is running short. Philip...