It has been really, really cold in Russia for the past few days. Even the weather resistant Russians are turning up the thermostat and causing huge demands on their electrical power and natural gas delivery systems. According to the BBC, electrical power consumption peaked at 146,000 MW on Wednesday, a level not seen since the…
There is an interesting discussion going on at Long Now Discuss > View topic – 02006-01-13 > Peter Schwartz and Ralph Cavanagh. The initiating post in the discussion is a summary by Stewart Brand of an event held by the Long Now Foundation on 13 January 2006 at the Herbst Theater, 401 Van Ness Avenue,…
As of 16:33 GMT on 16 January 2006, the BBC is reporting that Iran has accused CNN of incorrectly translating a recent speech by its President. The argument is over a very key word – CNN reported that the President’s speech contained a statement asserting Iran’s right to nuclear weapons, while Iran is stating that…
David Gram, a writer for the Associated Press, recently wrote an article describing how Vermont has managed to achieve a situation with lower electricity prices than those of her neighbors. You can find the article under the headline Big switch: Vt. now has some of region’s lowest power costs on the Boston.com web site. Vermont…
One of the themes that I continue to pursue is the fact that the established energy industry has the means, motive and opportunity needed to be a silent partner in the anti-nuclear enterprise. When I bring up this topic at nuclear industry gatherings, I am often met with either silence or vocal disagreement. Many of…
I am a Cold War veteran, having spent a good portion of the 80s underwater, on alert and ready to fire on short notice. When I came across the article Putin and the New Cold War it caught my immediate attention. Though the US is embroiled in a costly guerilla war in Iraq, I still…
One of the premier energy industry information sources is Platts, a McGraw-Hill company. They have an excellent, well organized web site with valuable information for the public that is available for free. If you are in the industry, however, they offer a number of services that can make the difference between success and failure. The…
NuStart Energy, the consortium that includes both plant suppliers and utility companies, has awarded a contract to Enercon Services, Inc. to lead a team of specialist firms in a project to produce Combined Construction and Operating Licenses (COL) for two separate projects. One will be a two reactor Westinghouse designed AP-1000 project at the Tennessee…
Christopher Meisenzahl at the Amateur Economist and Curmudeon blog had an interesting post about the need for more nuclear power on his blog. I provided the following comment, which I am repeating here so that I can ensure that the words get recorded for posterity. Besides, I need to do a post and put all…
There is an amazing article by Edward Wheeler, PhD on EcoWorld.com titled Nuclear Power: The Cleanest and Coolest Choice?. It is certainly worth reading. Here is the letter that I sent to the editor: Dear Editor: Let me first thank you for an informative and thought provoking article about nuclear power from an environmental point…
It appears more and more likely that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) will be the victor in the bidding battle for control of Westinghouse Electric Company. On 7 January 2006 The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review published a story on the topic written by Thomas Olson titled Mitsubishi may acquire Westinghouse. The major highlights of the story are that…
John Wheeler started a weekly podcast titled “This Week In Nuclear” on 27 December 2005. I really enjoyed the first two episodes and immediately added it to my growing list of podcast subscriptions. John’s updates are going to add value and enjoyment to my long commute. Thanks to Eric McErlain at NEI Nuclear Notes and…