Facing the immense threat of climate change, the need to power several billion more people and the continuing reluctance to use the most powerful tool … [Read More...] about Atomic Show #266 – Seeing the Light about atomic energy potential
Making sense from radiation protection controversy
During the past two days, I’ve spent 20-30 hours listening to and participating in a sometimes heated and often polite discussion about the health effects of low dose radiation and the rules established or needed to ensure adequate protection. It’s part of a controversy that has deep roots and stubbornly entrenched sides with a much […]
Displacing LNT assertion with evidence
A joint ANS/HPS (American Nuclear Society/Health Physics Society) meeting titled “Applicability of Radiation Protection Models to Low Dose Protection Standards” (hashtag #LowDose2018) will kick-off tonight. This much anticipated event has attracted 200 medical, radiation and nuclear energy experts to the booming metropolis of Pasco, WA. The site is appropriate, Pasco is one of the three […]
Fission heated gas turbines address MIT Future of Nuclear challenges. Easier, straighter, less costly path
Addressing Recommendations of MIT Future of Nuclear Energy In a Carbon Constrained World The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a world renowned institution that has produced thousands of highly educated engineers and scientists. It is generously supported by foundations, corporations and governments. In 2003, the MIT Energy Initiative, began publishing a series of reports […]
California’s 100% clean electricity goal will be met more quickly and cheaply after PG&E reverses Diablo Canyon decision
Governor Jerry Brown’s signature is the last obstacle for SB100, a bill that establishes California’s goal of producing 100% of its electricity from zero carbon sources by 2040. The bill also includes a goal of 60% of electricity from renewables, but that leaves a big space in the market for zero emission power sources like […]
Documentary evidence that fossil fuel industry knew–by 1948–that it faced prospect that atomic energy would make it obsolete
No industry cheerfully accepts the prospect that a newly developed technology could make it obsolete. Executives and investors earn much of their wealth by constantly evaluating potential threats to their business. They invest time, energy and resources in conceiving and implementing response or prevention plans. “Inside the Atom” is a 1948 vintage snapshot of the […]
Methods used to create the “no safe dose” myth about radiation supports immediate transition to a better model
In 1960, there was growing public concern about the potential health effects of atomic radiation. It was well known that low intensity ionizing radiation had always been a part of our natural environment. It was also well known that mankind had developed ways to produce and control ionizing radiation to great benefit in diagnostic medicine […]
NAVIGANT analysis of Vogtle expansion provided to JEA in Sep 2017 understates fuel price risks
Aaron Zahn, the interim managing director and CEO of the Jacksonville Electric Authority (JEA), believes it is time to give up on the Vogtle expansion project. On August 17, he sent a letter to James Fuller, the President and CEO of of MEAG (Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia) Power detailing his company’s desire to rid […]
Digging into NextEra’s decision to close Duane Arnold Energy Center
On Friday, July 27, NextEra Energy Resources issued a press release titled NextEra Energy Resources and Alliant Energy agree to shorten the term of the Duane Arnold Energy Center power purchase agreement; Alliant Energy customers to save hundreds of millions of dollars. Aside: While researching this article, I learned that the word “will” is considered […]
Why can’t existing nuclear plants make money in today’s electricity markets?
What does it mean when nuclear plant owners tell people that their plants are struggling to make money in competitive markets as currently structured? They are attempting to more precisely state what is often misleadingly dismissed by journalists as “nuclear plants cannot compete.” The more commonly used statement gives the impression that nuclear plants produce […]
With immediate and profound changes, U.S. nuclear power can become an unexpected but welcome low carbon wedge
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon, University of San Diego, and Harvard recently published a useful call to action titled U.S. nuclear power: The vanishing low-carbon wedge. For pro-nuclear observers and debaters, their conclusion may seem quite depressing. It should be a source of profound concern for all who care about climate change that, for entirely predictable […]
Nuclear plant output in China poised for rapid increases in 2018-2020
The last two days in June 2018 saw the first power generation from two separate first of a kind nuclear plants in China. Taishan 1, a 1650 MWe European Pressurized Reactor (EPR) was connected to the grid at 5:59 pm local time on June 29, 2018. Less than 24 hours later, at 4:48 pm local […]
Returning soon
Many days have passed since the last post here. Those of you who follow @Atomicrod on Twitter know that I have neither disappeared nor retired completely from the fray. After the 4th of July, you should begin seeing more frequent, but still irregular updates here. A word of advice based on recent learning experiences; I’ll […]
