The US Patent Office has issued a patent for a Plasma Compression Fusion Device to Salvatore Pais, of Calloway MD. The patent assignee is the United States of … [Read More...] about Did US Navy patent a functional fusion device?
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 […]
“Waste issue” continues to be part of antinuclear movement strategy of constipation
(Reprint. Originally published September 17, 2013. During the 4.5 years since the original appeared, the licensing moratorium mentioned has been lifted, and the confidence rule has been replaced by Continued Storage of Spent Nuclear Fuel [NRC–2012–0246] but stubborn opposition arises in response to any proposed solutions.) During the 1970s, the antinuclear movement made a collective […]
Atomic fission technology is a terrible candidate for a “do not resuscitate” order. Antinuclear groups MUST not be granted right to put one in place
I’m going to beg forgiveness and literary license for the following extended, potentially inappropriate, and perhaps too personal metaphor. For several weeks, I’ve been struggling with finding my “voice” in dealing with current events related to the U.S. electricity production system. As part of my healing process, I went on a several day long reading […]
Is America’s vaunted electricity supply system on course for rocks and shoals?
Late last week, while many observers were focused on a long weekend of religious celebrations with friends and families, there were several announcements made in the slowly developing crisis in the American electricity supply system. Operators of a number of several large power plants with the ability to produce electricity night and day, wind or […]
I apologize for falling for a dirty trick that might have been planted by an oil and gas lobbyist
Though I take some pride in my critical reading skills and resistance to getting snookered by scam stories, I fell for a doozy yesterday. Unfortunately, I ended up propagating what might have been a clever ruse designed to paint nuclear energy advocacy in a bad light. It’s a story worth telling after I apologize profusely […]
