December, 2010

Ghostlight ~ the blog will be dark for the holiday break. Every once in a while it is worth getting away from the keyboard to take a break and shake the cob webs out of your brain. I'll be away from blogging for a few days during the holidays. Twitter updates will continue. Comments will stack up...

For an article to rise to the top in this environment is really quite extraordinary The Energy Collective, ( TEC ), which hosts dozens of bloggers on a wide variety of energy topics, on Dec 22 published its list of the top ten posts on its site for the year. Three of them came from this blog. They are...

There’s no shortage of news here One would think, on reflex, that a giant, state-owned and vertically integrated nuclear energy conglomerate in France would have little interest in nuclear bloggers in the U.S. That's not the case. In fact, Areva's team, based in Bethesda, MD, has been holding...

The worst that could happen is that I’ll be wrong Every year analysts in various industries like to dust off their crystal ball and see what the future holds for their line of business. The nuclear energy industry is no different. Here are some ideas about what might happen in 2011. Some are dark and...

Chris Huhe commits to keep the lights on When the current government took office in May 2010, Liberal Member and energy secretary Chrios Huhne , (right) a British arch druid in the anti-nuclear movement, was widely quoted as calling nuclear energy as a "tried, tested, and failed technology."...

The high cost of closing the reactor will be keenly felt in the state’s economy Vermont Governor-elect href="http://shumlinforgovernor.com/">Peter Shumlin (right) must have woken up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night over the future of the Vermont Yankee nuclear reactor. In troubled...

Year end stock table shows significant improvement over six months ago This column is an expanded version of my coverage published in Fuel Cycle Week , V9:N404 12/09/10 by International Nuclear Associates, Washington, DC The soaring increase in the spot price of uranium from $40/lb June 1 to $61/lb Dec...

A 17 page complaint alleges firm’s CEO enriched himself by secretly selling stock in the firm The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint in U.S. Federal  District Court in Idaho against Alternative Energy Holdings Inc. ( AEHI ). The action alleges alleges that AEHI has...

Deal with New Jersey will let it operate for 10 more years without having to build cooling towers No one is happy with the decision by Exelon ( NYSE:EXC ) to close its 615-MW boiling water reactor at Oyster Creek in New Jersey. The company made the announcement on December 8 that it would shut down the...

The former Greenpeace leader explains why he quit and now supports nuclear energy Hat tip to Jeremy Gordon World Nuclear News Just about anyone who follows the nuclear energy renaissance knows that Patrick Moore has been making the rounds as a spokesman for investment in new nuclear reactors. Moore’s...

The federal regulatory agency raises multiple questions about the firm The U.S Securities & Exchange Commission ( SEC ) has suspended trading in the securities of Alternative Energy Holdings Inc. ( AEHI ). Michael S. Dicke, an SEC spokesman, confirmed to this blog that the action was taken because...

Some have exceeded expectations while others have accomplished things that no one could make up Laurel & Hardly Awards for 2010 Every year this blog compiles a list of people who have exceeded our expectations for the good of the nuclear industry. These are Laurels. Also, every year another list...

He is a former aide to Sen. Pete Dominici The White House  has nominated a former NRC Commissioner to run the Department of Energy’s civilian nuclear programs.  Senate confirmation is required, and will likely take place when the new Congress returns in 2011. Dr. Peter B. Lyons (right) is currently...

Areva gets stake from sovereign wealth and House adds to loan guarantees Money is flowing to new nuclear projects.  French state-owned nuclear giant Areva announced that Kuwait will take a 4.8% stake in the firm worth $795 million. The Wall Street Journal reported French Finance Minister Christine...

Utility will close Oyster Creek in 2019 ten years before the license is up Gov. Chris Christie (right) told a group of editors last week “he will decide by the end of the year” whether or not to require the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant to install $700 million in cooling towers in order reduce the...

A top level summit draws a crowd, but did it accomplish anything? The period prior to the start of a new Congress, following a mid-term election, is an ideal time for interest groups of all persuasions to hold “summits” to get their ideas into the legislative mix.  So it was for the nuclear energy...

It covers the first two of a planned six pack of power stations The Wall Street Journal reports that Areva, a French state-owned firm, has signed a (euro)7 billion deal with state-owned Nuclear Power Corporation India Ltd (NPCIL) for two 1,600 MW EPR reactors. The deal envisions construction of four...

It will help nations peacefully develop nuclear energy The New York Times reports that a $50 million privately funded initiative by  philanthropist Warren E. Buffett (right) has added enough funding for an international nuclear fuel bank to start operations. The fuel bank will be administered by...

The 30th Carnival of Nuclear Energy blogs is up at Yes Vermont Yankee The carnival features blog posts from the leading U.S. nuclear bloggers and is a roundup of featured content from them. If you want to hear the voice of the nuclear renaissance, this is where to find it. Past editions have been hosted...

Capacity planning targets keep going up The latest dizzying numbers for China's planned construction of new nuclear reactors, released in early November by the country's National Development & Reform Commission , soared to 114 GWe by 2020. The new target represents a significant increase...

It projects spending C$33 billion on two new reactors and refurbishing ten more. However, the future of AECL is in doubt as the government wants to sell it. The Canadian provincial government in Ontario is making a second run at a  plan to build two new nuclear reactors at the Darlington site. ...