Dan Yurman of Idaho Samizdat has posted a comment provoking blog entry describing potential job creation effects of an expansion of the DOE nuclear power plant loan guarantee program initially authorized by the Energy Policy Act of 2005. One important point for all decision makers to understand is that the program could and should cost…
In early October, I mentioned that I had purchased a new book titled Beyond Fossil Fools by Joseph M. Shuster. During my nice, long Thanksgiving weekend, I have had the opportunity to catch up on some long overdue reading, so I have now finished the book. (That process has been helped by a recurring bout…
Cefn Croes, Wales, UK I know I just posted an commentary about how Tom Friedman understands that nuclear power is clean and should be rapidly developed – like we have done once before. However, his recent book titled “Hot, Flat and Crowded” has also been influenced enough by Jeff Immelt, Joe Romm, and Amory Lovins…
As I mentioned yesterday, I am doing some homework this weekend by reading Thomas Friedman’s “Hot, Flat and Crowded”. For a variety of reasons that I may share next week, sleep has not come terribly easy the last couple of nights. Tom has not made it any easier; his book has stimulated a great deal…
While doing a little thinking during a pre-feast walk, Archimedes popped into my head. Yeah, pretty geeky, but what do you expect. Nearly everyone has heard the famous phrase Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world. Can the LiftrTM be that lever…
I have spent the past couple of hours reading the first hundred pages of Thomas Friedman’s influential new book titled “Hot, Flat and Crowded”. It is thought provoking and worth reading if you want to understand some of the discussions and actions that may result in the next few months. People in positions to make…
Exelon announced last year that it was basing its future project in Texas on GE’s ESBWR design. That choice, however, may be reevaluated as Exelon’s internal reviewers obtain more information about the technical readiness of the design. Here is a quote from a November 25 article in the Chicago Tribune titled Exelon rethinks design for…
The Hyperion Power Module continues to generate discussion. Many blog posts on the topic are mere repetitions of the same stories, right down to the misquotes about cost per unit energy. There is a good article posted on Physicsworld.com with answers to some of the questions that people have asked about the HPM. I highly…
Ted Rockwell, Robert Margolis, Kelly Taylor and Rod Adams talk about Ted’s recent advice article aimed at nuclear professionals. Ted Rockwell is a nuclear industry pioneer. He served as Admiral Rickover’s Technical Director during the formative years of the Navy Nuclear Power Program. He wrote the book on reactor shielding design and has continued to…
Dan Yurman of Idaho Samizdat and Rod Adams chat about nuclear news from India, Idaho, Kentucky, Germany, Scotland, and Vermont Dan Yurman and I had a great time on November 21 talking about a number of different nuclear news items including a large new power plant deal in India for Russian reactors, Dan’s first hand…
Now that I have had a chance to view the Google Tech Talk I embedded in my post yesterday evening, I am inspired to make a few suggestions to the loose group of people that are working on Liquid Fluoride Thorium Reactors. Change the name from LFTR, a bureaucratic looking acronym to LiftrTM – a…
I have not yet had a chance to view this, but the material in this video was partially prepared by my friend, Kirk Sorensen, so I know it is good. Hope you enjoy: