Enabling atomic innovation

ByRod Adams

During the past several weeks there have been a number of developments supporting a growing movement to enable nuclear energy innovators to succeed in the US. Leaders are realizing that nuclear energy, which has deep roots in the US and has proven its capability to produce reliable power without producing any air pollution, should be…

Bernie Sanders and Jimmy Kimmel discuss importance of action on climate change

ByRod Adams

Sometimes, you have to turn to late night television to find out things that are not covered very well during the network or cable news shows. The below is a clip from the March 22 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. On that show Kimmel interviewed Senator Bernie Sanders, the Democratic Socialist who is running for…

Bernie Sanders’s message is more than media caricature portrays

ByRod Adams

We had a wide ranging discussion here on Atomic Insights after I posted an article titled Bernie Sanders is listening to the wrong people about energy. Quite a few of the comments led me to believe that the author has developed a slanted or one dimensional understanding of Bernie Sanders’s campaign message. That distorted view…

Bernie Sanders is listening to the wrong people about energy

ByRod Adams

Many of my friends and colleagues in the nuclear energy community think I’m am on a quixotic mission. Though I have not made any decision on how to vote in November, Bernie Sanders is the candidate who is currently delivering messages that align with my thoughts on the direction that the US needs to move…

Why haven’t world leaders learned the most useful lessons from Fukushima?

ByRod Adams

Despite the tens to hundreds of billions of dollars that have been spent by governments and nuclear plant operators in the wake of three core melt events at the six-unit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, the most useful lessons available from the experience remain unlearned. At Fukushima Daiichi, the robust, defense-in-depth approach used in nuclear…

DOE and UAMPS sign agreement for siting at INL

ByRod Adams

At the 12th annual Platts Nuclear Energy Conference, John Kotek, the Acting Assistant Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Energy just made a major announcement. Yesterday, February 17, 2016 Rick Provencher and Doug Hunter signed an agreement between the U.S. Department of Energy and UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems). It provides UAMPS with a use…

Atomic Show #249 – All-Electric America by Freeman and Parks

ByRod Adams

S. David Freeman and Leah Y Parks have published a book titled All-Electric America: A Climate Solution and the Hopeful Future. There are a number of visionary sections of the book that appeal to me. However, I was not surprised to find out that the book takes a strong position in opposition to nuclear energy….

Attacking the “root crown” of 10 CFR 810 nuclear power plant export controls

ByRod Adams

Bottom line up front. Atomic fuel utilization facilities should not be subjected to the export control regime that is supposed to be focused on special nuclear materials production facilities. Instead, utilization facility exports should be subjected to rules similar to those that apply to other advanced technology exports like aircraft, computers, and communications equipment. The…