The recent Atomic Insights post discussing the cost of FPL’s proposed new nuclear plants in South Florida generated quite a discussion thread that provides a lot of food for thought. I noticed an article in the New York Times published on March 19, 2008 titled An Export in Solid Supply (registration required – sorry) that…
FPL – Florida Power and Light – is the electric power utility that serves the southeast part of Florida where 4.5 million people live and where I grew up. It is also the company where my father worked as a transmission substation engineer for a bit more than 35 years. I have very fond memories…
What is Nuclear? is an information sharing effort recently started by a group of young nuclear engineers. It is a well designed site with some real science and engineering expertise in the background. Not only are the writers smart, but they have some interesting personal histories – Natallia, for example, was a child living in…
George Chapman at Amarillo Power continues to fascinate me, partially because he does not make much noise. Information about his project’s progress only surfaces once in a while. I try to share it with you as soon as I have time to digest and verify my own understanding of the implications of what is being…
On March 12-14, 2008, the Wall Street Journal sponsored an executive conference called ECO:nomics: Creating Environmental Capital. The conference took place at the Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara, California one of the birthplaces of the modern environmental movement. At the close of the conference, Kimberly Strassel, a Wall Street Journal editorial page writer…
According to an article posted on chinadaily.com.cn titled Solar cell maker adds 3 new production lines Nantong Qiangsheng Photovoltaic Technology Co Ltd (QS Solar), which currently runs a production line for its thin-film amorphous silicon solar cell panels, is planning to increase its capacity by by a factor of more than 10 by adding three…
On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, I attended another Energy Conversation sponsored by a rapidly growing group of US government agencies and interested individuals. (You can find some background information about how these conversations are organized by visiting Energyconversation.org’s “Why it’s important” page.) The organization had invited Amory Lovins to speak about the Defense Science Board’s…
Kentucky is one of the states where current law precludes the construction of a new nuclear power plant until there is a licensed and available location for permanent disposal of used nuclear fuel. Kentucky is also the site of the only currently functioning uranium enrichment plant in the country, the USEC operated Paducah Gaseous Diffusion…
There is a lot of hand wringing going on in the South African press these days. Not only has the country experienced stress on its electrical power supply grid severe enough to result in rolling blackouts and curtailed power to major industries like mining that supply massive quantities of jobs and contributions to the Gross…
On Saturday, I had the opportunity to chat with three other people spread around North American and Europe about my favorite topic – energy. It was fun to share ideas and disputes with Ben Kenny from Canada (The Watt), Robb Worthington from the UK (Sustainable Living), and Mark Seal from Switzerland (Talk Climate Change and…
Dailytech.com posted a blog titled Toshiba Establishes New U.S. Nuclear Business. It provides some details about Toshiba’s plans for developing its nuclear business here in the United States. It emphasizes the fact that the Westinghouse purchase from last year is only a part of a larger plan. The parent company has a diverse product line…
I like the United Kingdom’s new approach to solving its future energy demand problem. It has done the studies, analyzed the options and determined that nuclear fission can play an increasing role in providing clean, reliable, indigenous, affordable, and sustainable electricity. It is an interesting thought exercise to compare its current state and its prospects…