Nuclear Energy Institute

NEI VP Richard Myers About a week ago, the Tampa Bay Times published an analysis by Ivan Penn claiming that ratepayers in Florida would be better served if Duke Energy built a natural gas plant in place of a proposed nuclear energy facility in Levy County . Over the weekend, that same paper published...

Taylor Wilson built a fusion reactor at age 14 and remains interested in nuclear technology. So, at 19, he has presented his idea for a small reactor concept that uses molten salt to make the smaller reactor both more powerful and more efficient than their cousins. Wilson's fission reactor operates...

Bob Bishop The following guest post comes from Bob Bishop, nuclear guru and former general counsel at NEI: Each year, hundreds of university students from around the country participate in local, regional and national debate tournaments. In addition to their regular studies, they spend countless hours...

Over the course of the history of NEI Nuclear Notes, I've assiduously avoided sharing coverage from the financial press for a variety of reasons, foremost of which is the fact that we shouldn't be in the business of providing investment advice. But this morning I'm compelled to share a clip...

Ceres has produced a new report called Benchmarking Air Emissions, which shows that the electric generating business has done a significant job in reducing a variety of greenhouse gases, notably nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and carbon dioxide. Nuclear energy does not weigh heavily into the report because...

A letter in the Baltimore Sun suggests the paper  had featured an interesting op-ed recently. First, the letter : Dan Ervin's commentary on lifting restrictions on U.S. companies supplying nuclear power equipment abroad is completely misleading ("A nuclear opportunity," May 6). Nuclear...

For the nuclear industry, safety is the top priority, and it goes to great lengths to minimize radiation exposure to the public and employees. So exhaustive are these measures that nuclear power plants only account for .1% of the annual radiation that a typical American is exposed to. Nearly half come...

If anything set the table for the American nuclear industry’s response to the accident at Fukushima Daiichi, it was the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. After that event, all essential infrastructure and its security was put on the menu for a rethink. For all kinds of power plants, an important...

A photographer named Nonoko Kameyama decided to take pictures of mothers (with their children) who are against reopening the nuclear facilities in Japan. Kameyama is unquestionably moved to use her craft to support her views. In 2006 I took a break and travelled to Nepal.  That was a turning point...

The processes may have been a little sloppy, but if the outcomes are good, so be it. First, in Florida : The Florida Supreme Court rejected on Thursday the challenge to a controversial law that allows electric utilities to collect money from their customers for nuclear-power plants that won't be...

The following guest post comes from Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides, senior manager of workforce policy and programs at NEI: Anne Shatara is a single, working mother who in addition to her regular job at a nuclear energy facility has an intriguing third job. She is part of the facility’s emergency response...

Generally, you know you’ve lost an argument, especially one with a political dimension,  when you bring in Nazism to bolster your point. What Nazism means is up to the ears of the listener as long as it boils down to “really bad.” It’s an effective argument killer, but unfortunately, if you bring...

Two recent editorials grapple with nuclear energy issues relevant to their states. The York (Penn.) Record becomes disturbed about some corrosion discovered on used fuel containers. A Nuclear Regulatory Commission report said that some of those casks could leak. It cited water-damaged containers that...

Something we always like to hear : Nuclear energy has received the thumbs up from a former anti-nuclear environmentalist who co-authored an independent report pitting the advantages of nuclear energy against renewable energy for electricity generation. Ben Heard told a uranium conference in Adelaide...

The New York Times’ Matt Wald provides a nicely reported history and the state-of-play in the small reactor world. Just as the first domestic nuclear reactors were scaled up versions of small reactors, current versions of the tiny titans are scaled down versions of full-scale reactors (actually, some...

Our service academies aren't really much known for developing NFL talent, but Navy linebacker Keegan Wetzel could hear his name called during the NFL Draft, which starts tonight and concludes on Saturday. Wetzel is profiled today in the Annapolis, Md., Capital Gazette , and his inspiring story deserves...

One of the most vexing aspects of President Barack Obama’s 2014 budget request (as regards topic of blog, naturally) is the deep cut made to MOX facility construction in South Carolina. This is being built at the Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site and is about 60 percent complete. But let’s back...

If you’re looking for a compelling overview of the enormous potential for a career in the U.S. nuclear industry today, our Elizabeth McAndrew-Benavides has authored it in the May-June issue of Search & Employ . The potential for nuclear workforce participation is especially appealing for men and...

We've been recognizing Earth Day all day long here on all of our social media platforms , but I wanted to share one image that warmed my heart today like no other. If you pop over to the home page at Reddit , the link that's currently ranked #1 is a story that originally appeared at Scientific...

Nuclear Notes friend Meredith Angwin kindly pointed us to a pdf of Robert Alvarez’s written testimony to the Vermont Senate committee considering a bill to tax the used nuclear fuel being held at Vermont Yankee. The fuller post about the Vermont hearing and who Robert Alvarez is is two below this one...

There’s been a little swath of stories lately about a hearing in Vermont about the used fuel held at the Vermont Yankee facility. Here’s a sample from one of them: The testimony of Robert Alvarez, a senior scholar at the Washington-based Institute for Policy Studies, comes as some lawmakers are urging...

Do the regulated always feel overregulated? One day’s delivery brings a directive stipulating that the sidewalks must be widened to permit two wheelchairs to cross paths without bumping. Another says the school cafeteria must be made accessible by elevator. Trees must be trimmed of branches six feet...

Last week, blogger Will Davis ( @atomicnews ) honored NEI’s 60th anniversary by sharing a handful of historical photos from the time of our founding. NEI was founded on April 10, 1953 as the Atomic Industrial Forum (AIF) to serve the nation in the “development of atomic energy for constructive purposes...

France enjoyed a little controversy a few weeks ago when automaker Renault questioned whether nuclear energy alone could recharge all the electric cars that will soon be on the road. I wrote about it as an issue of energy diversity or rather, France’s lack of it due to its use of nuclear energy. If there...

Whether or not NEI is involved, we’re sure to see coverage, even celebration, of the 60th anniversary of the domestic nuclear energy industry. C.T. Carley of Mississippi State University decides to be the one that gets it going with an op-ed: Now, 60 years after President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivered...