During the recently completed Nuclear Energy Assembly in Miami, Fl, one of the panel discussions focused on the importance of ensuring that nuclear energy has a loud voice and is at the table in policy discussions related to clean power production and CO2 emissions reductions. The panel participant list included a last minute change, substituting…
The 2016 Nuclear Energy Assembly included a panel discussion on the topic of preparing for new reactor development. NEI’s Chief Operating Officer, Maria Korsnick, moderated the panel. Other participants included Jacob DeWitt, CEO and co-founder of Oklo, a start-up company with a design for a 2 MWe nuclear generator designed for remote power applications where…
For the past 5 years, Nuclear Energy Insider has been holding annual gatherings focused on developments related to small modular reactors (SMR). From the outside, it can appear that little progress has been made during those years, but nuclear technology development is an endurance sport that rewards the patient and persistent. NuScale should be submitting…
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…
U-Battery was one of the more intriguing presenters at the Advanced Reactor Technical Summit (ARTSIII) held at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory last week. Even though this was a technical summit, the segments of the presentation that captured my attention were the business model and the funding source. However, certain technical choices are vital to…
On February 10-11, 2016, the U.S. Nuclear Infrastructure Council (USNIC) sponsored the 3rd annual Advanced Reactor Technical Summit. Oak Ridge National Laboratory provided the venue for the event. Though he wasn’t the first speaker, I’d like to begin my reports from the event with Jeffery Merrifield’s stage setting talk. Merrifield is a man with a…
The National Council on Science and the Environment (NCSE) is holding its annual conference this week at the Hyatt-Regency National Airport hotel in Washington, DC. This year’s conference topic is the food-water-energy nexus; it is aimed at bringing together people who are deeply engaged in science, actions, and policy development to address one, two or…
John Holdren holds what might be the longest complete title available in the current Administration. He serves as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). In his role as an…
In less than a week, I will be joining about 1200 or more of my fellow members of the American Nuclear Society at the annual winter meeting. The gathering place is the Marriott Wardman Park; the dates are November 8-12. This year the meeting theme is “Nuclear: The Foundation of Sensible Policy for Energy, Economy…
A couple of days ago, I came across an inspirational logo. I liked it so much that I contacted the person who had posted it on the Nukes page on Facebook. It was on a flyer announcing a series of talks about atomic energy at the Dallas Makerspace by a group called Atomic Energy Interest…
On September 1-2 2015, the US DOE and US NRC jointly sponsored a workshop on advanced non-LWR [light water reactors]. Your intrepid reporter from Atomic Insights attended and managed to ask a few questions. The presentations are available here. One of the highlights of the first day of the workshop came during the question and…
Dan Yurman recently published a post titled Energy in New England focus of Bloomberg forum with Nuclear Matters that described an intriguing event sponsored by Bloomberg and Nuclear Matters. Here is an excerpt from his post: The proceedings will kick off with a conversation with John Kotek, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of…