A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that the NRC had published a notice of proposed rulemaking titled “Variable Annual Fee Structure for Power Reactors” [NRC-2008-0664]. I also promised that I would post a link to my submitted comments. I finally got around to completing that task. You can find my comments at AAE Comments…
Judging from the number of blog posts that have been generated in the past 24 hours in response to the New York Times article titled In Finland, Nuclear Renaissance Runs Into Trouble, some people have never heard of the concept of learning curves or been involved in a project where everyone is inexperienced at the…
When I am not listening to podcasts on my daily commute, I often turn to NPR (National Public Radio) for some thoughtful stories. Though I missed yesterday’s edition, a friend sent me a link to an interesting story titled Face-Off Over ‘Fracking’: Water Battle Brews On Hill that describes the growing concern in some areas…
A reader introduced me to a site that I had not yet visited called Watt’s Up With That. He told me that there was an active conversation going discussing the merits of atomic fission (aka nuclear power) versus renewable energy and fossil fuel. When I found the thread titled Renewable energy – our downfall? I…
Atomic America has a thought provoking subtitle – “How a Deadly Explosion and a Feared Admiral Changed the Course of Nuclear History”. The unifying story through the book is one that most nuclear trained people know a little about – the accident at the Army’s SL-1 that took place on January 3, 1961. In Atomic…
Andrew Revkin at the New York Times Dot Earth blog published a blog this morning titled Should Major Emitters Focus on the Sun. Within his blog is a presentation with graphs of historical research investments in various energy technologies that shows a small share of the overall budgets being provided to solar power research. Andy’s…
Over the years I have gathered a rather eclectic library of books and articles on energy issues and technologies. I have posted a PDF of my book list as of May 2009. The article list is far longer and needs some formatting and updating before posting. My intent is to periodically update the list and…
On May 19, 2009 the US Senate Appropriations Committee heard budget defense testimony from Dr. David Chu, the Secretary of Energy. During the testimony, Senator Dianne Feinstein, a big Chu supporter, lectured him on a new land rush that is occurring on the deserts of Southern California. Her concerns touched a nerve for me, so…
Predictions of future costs play a large role in the discussion of whether or not to enable the construction of new nuclear power plants. A commentary in the Duluth News Tribune (free registration required) titled Pro/con: Nuclear power is not competitive with coal, natural gas encouraged me to share some of my thoughts on the…
Lisa Hymas at Grist.org has provided an important first step in understanding some of the heat associated with efforts to craft a climate change mitigation bill with her post titled Gore vs. Hansen: Enviros take sides in debate over House climate bill. She lists a number of organizations that have long standing membership in the…
Yesterday during mark up on the Waxman-Markey climate change bill, Rep Cliff Stearns of Florida offered an amendment that would have included power produced in nuclear power plants in the computation as an approved source of emission free electricity to meet a proposed renewable energy standard. The committee rejected the amendment. According to Reuters, Henry…
This is an important week for the economic future of the United States as representatives and senators and their staffs work to refine companion bills that will establish a stable financing mechanism for the kinds of long term, high quality projects that often have difficulty gaining support in the “get rich quick” Wall Street arena….