October, 2010

It’s cheaper than you think and produces better results when you use nuclear energy in the mix Guest Blog Post by: Dr. James Conca , Senior Scientist Institute for Energy and the Environment College of Engineering New Mexico State University Email: jconca@cemrc.org As in all steady-state systems, humanity...

Hosted this week at Yes Vermont Yankee The 25th Carnival of Nuclear Energy Blogs is up at Yes Vermont Yankee .   It features blog posts from the leading U.S. nuclear bloggers.  It is a roundup of featured content from the nation’s leading pro-nuclear blogs. If you want to hear the voice...

Common sense prevails until he broadly endorses MIT’s nuclear study John Holdren, President Obama’s Science Advisor , returned to MIT, his alma mater (‘65), Oct 27 to deliver a signature speech ( slides ) on energy R&D, climate change, and energy policy. (Hat tip to Ken Berard at NEI for the slides...

Full text at link below cover note As a former Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, I have watched  with some dismay the unfolding events surrounding NRC Chairman Gregory Jaczko's decision to terminate the high-level waste (HLW) program license review. Of particular concern are his...

One of the world’s oldest civilizations grapples with 21st century technology dilemmas In an effort to smooth the rough edges of a domestic law on liability of suppliers of components for nuclear reactors, India has signed an international agreement at the IAEA which set standards for compensation in...

The potential for nuclear energy is not lost on some of the state’s political and business leaders For the past three decades the State of California has banned the development of new nuclear reactors inside its borders. Green groups led by the Sierra Club have pulverized any effort to over turn the...

The setback at Calvert Cliffs not the end of the nuclear renaissance. There’s a lot of good news about it. Despite a very bad two weeks of sour news out of Maryland about Constellation’s Calvert Cliff’s project, there is still a lot of good news about the nuclear renaissance in the U.S.  The move...

GE-Hitachi inks deal to demonstrate PRISM technology. Former ANS President Tom Sanders, an expert on SMRs, will lead an energy park project. The Department of Energy lab at the Savannah River Site ( SRS ) has some  exciting developments in the realm of small modular reactors (SMRs).  It will...

French firm must find a U.S. partner. Loan guarantee issue remains a huge barrier to success. Constellation Energy ( NYSE:CEG ) sold off its nuclear future to Electricite de France ( EDF ) Oct 26 for about $250 million. The Washington Post reported the deal is composed of two parts. EDF will pay Constellation...

Two members of House Appropriations Committee raps Jaczko on it In the world of the Washington, DC, merry-go-round, it takes a lot to rile the members of the House Appropriations Committee  There is so much money flowing across their desks they usually don’t get too excited about the small potatoes...

Do you know where your electricity comes from? Charles Barton at Nuclear Green reviews the track record of the Obama Administration on energy policy. It did not bring home a good report card. He writes: "The Obama administration continues to make poorly thought out energy related decisions. Obama...

As the worm turns In July 2010 a software worm, which is malevolent computer code, appeared on the radar screen of cyber security firms when it was found to be targeting computers running industrial control systems in Iran. News reports in the mainstream and computer trade press suggested that the Stuxnet...

It’s liability law may lock out U.S. firms. Pres. Obama will want a resolution during his November visit. Indian pride in its growing role in the Asian nuclear renaissance was highlighted October 10 in a statement by Prithviraj Chavan , the incumbent government's Science & Technology Minister...

EDF faces serious barriers to take over the project Mark Friday October 8 th as a 'black Friday" because it may be one of the most significant reversals in the short history of the U.S. nuclear renaissance. Constellation Energy (NYSE:CEG) startled the federal government and Electricite De France...

Energy Minister Chris Huhne makes the urgent case for new nuclear power stations The UK coalition government confirmed eight sites Oct 18 as "suitable" for development eight new nuclear reactor power station within the next 15 years. It confirmed two reactor designs which will be used to build...

Accessible books about nuclear power and its place in the world Asia is rising as the dominant developer of nuclear energy. China, India, South Korea, and Japan are deeply committed to nuclear energy. Smaller countries like Brazil, Vietnam, and the UAE are lining up their investment in new reactors....

NRC issues license for Moore Ranch This blog post is an edited version of my article published in Fuel Cycle Week V9:N396 October 7, 2010, by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC. A 7,100 acre site in northeastern Wyoming is the recipient of the first NRC license in almost 13 years for an...

The $25 billion deal will be delayed due to lower demand for electricity One of the largest pending deals in the global nuclear industry took a major step backwards Oct 12 with the postponement of construction at the Temelin power station of up to five new reactors in the Czech Republic. The Czech news...

Life goes on for the Department of Energy The Department of Energy woke up after a three-day slumber through the Columbus Day holiday and said it would try to bring Constellation back to the negotiating table for a loan guarantee for the $7.7 billion Calvert Cliffs III nuclear reactor.  The Office...

What really happened with Calvert Cliffs? In the middle of the night early Saturday Oct 9, long after the stock exchanges had closed, Constellation Energy Group ( NYSE:CEG ) issued an angry press release that it was walking away from the Calvert Cliffs III nuclear power plant. The utility said the reason...

Utility blames feds for “unworkable” terms on loan guarantee Constellation Energy ( NYSE:CEG ) sent a letter Friday 10/8 to the Department of Energy (DOE) “that it cannot move forward” with a loan guarantee for the Calvert Cliffs III nuclear reactor project. The Washington Post reported that Constellation...

You can't make stuff if utilities aren't building reactors This blog post is based on my report published in Fuel Cycle Week V9:N395 on 09/30/10 by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC The annual conference of the Nuclear Fabrication Consortium ( NFC ) held in Cleveland Sept 21 was...

Financing may dry up if nations don't act On September 20, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu brought a suitcase full of carrots and sticks to the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency ( IAEA ). Getting his luggage through airport security and customs was easy. The hard part is getting...

Rod Adams writes an accessible technical explanation of what went wrong On a bitter cold night January 3, 1961, a terrible accident occurred on the Arco desert 45 miles west of Idaho Falls, ID. Three men were killed in an accident involving a small experimental nuclear reactor. No one else was injured...

The government can’t make up its mind to support gas, solar, nuclear, or none of the above ( NucNet contributed to this report. ) Spain is an energy island in Europe with less than 2% of its power coming across the border from France. This fact makes energy policy a critical success factor in forging...