It has been several months since I last reported on the efforts of Nancy Thorner, the Illinois resident who has been working diligently for several years to encourage Exelon to reconsider its 1998 decision to shut down the 22 year old (at the time) Zion nuclear power station. You can find links to previous articles […]
Nuclear Cost Data
Georgia residents may pay for Jaczko’s antinuclear behavior
The flagship project of the US nuclear energy renaissance is in trouble. The people of the great state of Georgia and the investors in Georgia Power may end up footing the bill for actions that have been taken to delay the project. I feel a personal and a professional attachment to the story; I want […]
Is Mark Hertsgaard a nuclear skeptic or a nuclear “crank”?
Mark Hertsgaard, the author of Hot: Living Through the Next Fifty Years on Earth, appeared on Democracy Now on Friday, April 15, 2011. He made several important statements that lead me to believe that he might be one of the next influential environmental writers to be swayed by evidence to become a nuclear energy […]
Twitter conversation about energy sources and free market
On April 8, 2011, Alan Nogee, Director of Climate & Energy Strategy and Policy for the UCS posted the following on Twitter. Cato’s Jerry Taylor takes #nuclear power 2 the free market woodshed. Ouch! Forbes. He repeated that tweet with a better link and called Taylor’s opinion piece a “must read”. The article that Alan […]
40-year-old nuclear plants can produce electricity that is "too cheap to meter" – that capability angers the competition
Antinuclear activists often think they have a tossed a trump card into an energy related discussion when they misquote a phrase included in a 1954 speech by Lewis L. Strauss, the politically appointed head of the Atomic Energy Commission. According to people who are fundamentally opposed to the safe and economical use of atomic fission, […]
Gullible Reporting By New York Times On the Cost of Solar Electricity Versus Nuclear Electricity
A few days ago, a retired economics professor named John Blackburn and a student named Sam Cunningham who is seeking a Masters of Environmental Management published a paper commissioned by NC Warn, an organization that, in its own words, is “tackling the accelerating crisis posed by climate change — along with the various risks of […]
Too Cheap to Meter – It’s Now True
“It is not too much to expect that our children will enjoy in their homes electrical energy too cheap to meter, will know of great periodic regional famines in the world only as matters of history, will travel effortlessly over the seas and under them and through the air with a minimum of danger and […]
Atomic Energy: Powerful Job Generator
It is easy to find recent news stories describing the effects of high energy prices on the world’s economy. A more challenging task is finding articles or analysis describing effective alternatives to watching increasing quantities of money flow from energy consumers and to energy suppliers. A large portion of this torrent of cash is flowing […]
Keep it Simple: Complex Systems Cost More
It must also be understood that the 60 percent efficient gas turbine combined cycle is a very sophisticated piece of machinery operating with its material at close to maximum limits.A first generation Adams Engine might achieve a thermal efficiency of approximately 30-35 percent, instead of the 55-60 percent that is currently being advertised for advanced […]
Letter from the Editor: Small Is Beautiful
At the request of several readers, we have decided to dedicate this issue to discussing the Adams Engine concept. Rather than talking about technical details, however, we have decided to talk about general principles and philosophies. Adams Atomic Engines, Inc. has determined that it is possible to build uranium heated machines that can fulfill many […]
Economy of Scale?: Is Bigger Better?
It is possible for engineers to make incredibly complex calculations without a single math error that still come up with a wrong answer if they use a model based on incorrect assumptions. Pick up almost any book about nuclear energy and you will find that the prevailing wisdom is that nuclear plants must be very […]
Nuclear Fission Vs. Combustion: Inexpensive Machines and Cheap Fuel
Nuclear fission is still in its adolescence, especially when compared to combustion, its major competitor. There is room for process innovations that will improve efficiency, increase flexibility and reduce machinery complexity. Changes in each of these areas offers the opportunity for major cost reductions. The next time you travel on a large jet, look out […]
