June, 2009

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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 )...

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...

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...

I'm at the American Nuclear Society conference in Atlanta, GA. I'll be sending tweets twice a day to #ans09 The first batch is already up. Look this evening on the Energy Collective for longer posts. The Tweets and blogh posts are brought to you as a result of support from the Energy Collective...

B&W wows everyone with a conceptual design for a small reactor Just so we’re clear, they haven’t built one yet.  The marketing  buzz was in the 125 decibel range for the announcement by Babcock & Wilcox that the firm has plans for a new “modular” reactor that would generate 125 MW of...

Jaczko in the morning, miners take warning The "green agenda" of the Obama administration is being felt  almost immediately in the western states where ISR mining abounds. Newly appointed NRC Chairman Gregory B. Jaczko announced on June 4 that the agency is making a significant change...

Jacques Besnainou sets up an open mike for questions Readers of this blog are invited to take a virtual trip to the EnergCollective where they will find an exclusive interview with Areva U.S. CEO Jacques Besnainou (right).  In the telephone discussion which took place June 5, he talks about Areva...

Will the third try be the charm that works? Alternative Energy Holdings Inc. ( OTC:AEHI ) issued a press release    Friday June 5 that it had a new investment banker. The banker is Source Capital Group with offices in Westport, CT.  The firm describes itself a full-service financial institution...

Snake River Alliance testimony at NRC hearing targets issues from its own agenda Idaho’s self-appointed nuclear watchdog, the Snake River Alliance (SRA), proved what everyone knows, and that having one around sometimes results in a lot of barking at the wrong things.  For instance, dogs in our neighborhood...

The senator from one of the biggest oil states in the nation has become a leading advocate for nuclear energy Alaskan Sen. Lisa Murkowski is taking a leadership role advocating in Congress for nuclear energy to be supported in energy legislation now working its way through the Energy & Natural Resources...

Brussels TV network & newspaper blog about nuclear energy   The European news channel, euronews and the Brussels-based newspaper, European Voice , published by the Economist group, have formed a unique partnership, in association with Shell Oil, in order to seek informed opinions on the key...