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?
Michael Shellenberger. Independent thinker. Lifelong Democrat. Trying to take back California from “country club” Establishment
California, an enormously populous and wealthy state with an outsized impact on the culture, economy and politics of the United States, has a gubernatorial election this year. Jerry Brown, who has served a total of four terms and is the son of a former two-term California governor, isn’t running for reelection due to term limits. […]
Deep state actors at OMB turn DOE leaders into red-faced liars. Cannot revive, revitalize and expand nuclear energy with 25% less money
Mark Menezes, the Undersecretary of Energy at the Department of Energy, gave an optimistic, forward-looking, audience-flattering, stage-setting talk at the Advanced Reactor Technical Summit. At least five times during his 10-minute talk, he repeated various combinations of a phrase – “revive, revitalize and expand” – that is apparently the mantra that the Administration has chosen […]
Advanced nuclear energy systems are ready for investors who seek ground floor opportunities
Last week, the Nuclear Infrastructure Council hosted its 5th annual Advanced Reactor Technical Summit. The agenda was packed; information and ideas came rapidly enough to inspire significant post-event reflection. One question worth of significant additional discussion is “How do we match the ingenuity and enthusiasm of atomic innovators with the large magnitude financing sources needed […]
Time to Re-examine Alternatives for Plutonium Disposition – Dr. Peter Lyons explains why dilute and dispose is wasteful and unworkable
By Peter Lyons Somewhere in Russia, 34 tons of surplus weapons-grade plutonium—enough material to make about 10,000 weapons—are awaiting disposal. Moscow was supposed to start destroying this stockpile, but has yet to start, leaving a huge threat lurking in an unknown location. If even a tiny fraction of this material fell into terrorists’ hands, they […]
Optimism, pessimism, realism and everything in between before the official start of the Advanced Reactor Technical Summit V
I’ll start with a thank you and a congratulations to the Nuclear Infrastructure Council, David Blee, Caleb Ward and all supporting staff for assembling a great cast of attendees and speakers at the fifth annual Advanced Reactor Technical Summit. The event was a high quality, well run and skillfully moderated affair that provided valuable learning […]
Career OMB employees sabotaging Trump’s quest for energy dominance
For now, I’m going to leave all names out of this piece of hearsay. Please believe me when I say that my sources are good and varied. Throughout his campaign, President Trump ran on the slogan “Make America Great Again.” That inspired many to attend his rallies and probably convinced many to vote for him. […]
Atomic Show #262 – New thinking about nuclear energy
It’s time – or way past time – to think and talk about nuclear energy in new ways, recognizing the importance of the topic for the future health and prosperity of humanity. This show includes 5 forward leaning thought leaders in atomic energy. All of them are optimistic about nuclear’s future, often driven by their […]
Rep Shimkus, a conservative market proponent, recognizes that “the waste issue” imposes a financial risk and cost on nuclear energy
During a recent House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing titled DOE Modernization: Advancing the Economic and National Security Benefits of America’s Nuclear Infrastructure there was an important exchange between Rep. Shimkus (R-IL) and Maria Korsnick, President and CEO of the Nuclear Energy Institute. So you don’t have to scroll through 4 hours of video, I […]
Reminder to DOE and Congress – US has a world beating Fast Flux Test Facility sitting idle in eastern Washington
Note: The below is an updated version of a post first published in March 2017. Since DOE is preparing for its revised FY2019 budget submission and Congress is already holding hearings about DOE priorities, the subject of a fast neutron facility has reentered the advanced nuclear energy conversation. There is a known gap in fast […]
Atomic fission offers a path that addresses climate change and energy dominance without making ugly tradeoffs
Atomic fission is an abundant, natural source of heat from materials that have few competing uses. The heat released by completely fissioning actinide source materials like uranium, thorium or plutonium is 1-10 million times as much as burning the same mass of typical combustible materials. That energy dense fuel reduces the complexity and operational importance […]
Performance of the New England power grid during extreme cold Dec 25-Jan 8
The Independent System Operator for the New England power grid (ISO-NE) has produced a summary brief describing the challenges associated with Arctic Outbreak 2017-2018, a period of substantially below normal temperatures that lasted from Dec.25, 2017 until Jan. 8, 2018. After describing the intensity of the cold wave with a number of graphs, charts, images […]
NuScale announces a major step in the NRC’s review of its passively safe SMR
NuScale, a leader in the increasingly competitive field of advanced nuclear reactor design, has announced that the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) reviewers issued a document that formally agrees that their design does not require any electrical power to achieve safe shutdown. It’s difficult to explain the importance of that regulatory position. People with experience […]
