Bernie Sanders is listening to the wrong people about energy

Many of my friends and colleagues in the nuclear energy community think I’m am on a quixotic mission. Though I have not made any decision on how to vote in November, Bernie Sanders is the candidate who is currently delivering messages that align with my thoughts on the direction that the US needs to move…

Who is targeting Turkey Point? Why? Part II

Who is targeting Turkey Point? Why? Part II

This is the second installment in the series. You can find the first installment here. This post is focused on answering the following question. Is the Turkey Point power station violating the Clean Water Act (CWA)? Bottom line up front (BLUF): FP&L is complying with the Clean Water Act at Turkey Point. SACE’s contentions are…

Who is targeting FP&L’s Turkey Point power plant? Why? Part I

This will be a multi-part post aimed at addressing a convoluted and emotional issue. It will attempt to satisfactorily answer the following questions. Why are organizations targeting the Turkey Point power station? Why do they claim that the plant is threatening the Everglades National Park, the Biscayne Bay National Park and the groundwater adjacent to…

Platts 12th Annual Nuclear Energy Conference – Overall impressions

During the period of February 16-18, I attended the Platts 12th Annual Nuclear Energy Conference. For a number of reasons, I’ve been remiss in sharing some of my observations and thoughts about the conference. I wrote this up several weeks ago, but things move slowly in nuclear energy so most of it is probably still…

California’s “fix” for global warming is one step forward, two steps back

California’s “fix” for global warming is one step forward, two steps back

The March/April 2016 issue of Mother Jones includes a thoughtful piece by Gabriel Kahn titled Dreamers of the Golden Dream: Does California have a blueprint to fix global warming?. Regular Atomic Insights readers will not be surprised to find that I’ve already decided that California’s chosen path for reducing CO2 emissions and dependence on fossil…

Diablo Canyon has friends that value its clean electricity

On March 17, 2016 a group of sign-carrying, green tee shirt clad people gathered in downtown San Luis Obispo to show their support for the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Station. Organized by Californians for Green Nuclear Power and Friends of Diablo Canyon, the event was covered by reporters from several local…

Save Diablo Canyon Rally – Wear the Green on St. Patrick’s Day

The Friends of Diablo Canyon will be holding their second annual St. Patrick’s Day rally to increase public awareness of the importance of the continued operation of the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Station. Here are the details: Thursday’s Diablo Canyon support rally will be from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the SLO…

Carnival of nuclear energy bloggers #303

It’s time for another weekly roundup of the best of the pronuclear blogs. Last week included the fifth anniversary of the March 11, 2011 twin natural disaster that included a 9.0 earthquake and a 15 meter tall tsunami. Those two closely linked forces of nature resulted in widespread infrastructure devastation over a 150 km long…

What does the “open phase condition” petition mean for US nuclear plants?

On March 1, 2016, Reuters published an article titled U.S. NRC engineers urge fix for nuclear power stations. Here is how the article seized my attention. A group of engineers within the U.S. nuclear power regulator is concerned that a design flaw in nearly all U.S. nuclear plants could endanger emergency core cooling systems. The…

Why haven’t world leaders learned the most useful lessons from Fukushima?

Despite the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent by governments and nuclear plant operators in the wake of three core melt events at the six-unit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, the most useful lessons available from the experience remain unlearned. At Fukushima Daiichi, the robust, defense-in-depth approach used in nuclear…

Bechtel will “pursue” accelerated mPower development

I’ve relearned a valuable lesson — read press releases and other PR material closely, paying special attention to wiggle words. On Friday, March 4, Bechtel issued a press release titled Bechtel, BWXT to Pursue Acceleration of Small Modular Nuclear Reactor Project. In my excitement, I missed the key word in the headline and in the…

Bechtel and BWXT have announced an acceleration of Generation mPower

Note: For an update on this topic see subsequent post titled Bechtel will “pursue” acceleration of mPower project. On March 4, 2016, in a press release issued from Reston, VA, Bechtel and BWX Technologies (BWXT) announced that they would be accelerating their Generation mPower small modular reactor project. Bechtel will take over the project lead…