Reduce the need for transmission lines

Another low sleep night. Through a long and unrepeatable browsing path involving the Chris Perillo show and Dave Ryder’s excellent web site, I came across this picture link, which made me remember that I had something to say about transmission lines. The joy of blogging and streams of random thoughts. I recognize that electric power…

Who says "no one wants to invest in nuclear power"?

One of the most often repeated myths about nuclear power is that no one wants to invest in it. There was a time when that seemed to be true, but that time is long gone. If you review the performance of utility companies during the past three years, the more nuclear exposure that the utility…

Back from the UK

My family and I just returned from a terrific coach tour of the UK and Ireland. I liked being a passenger; it gave me the opportunity to see a lot of the country. As people that know me might suspect, I paid a good deal of attention to the energy infrastructure that I could see…

Who funds "Environmentalists"?

The following post was first created as the response to one more article from a “pro energy” guy who does not understand his competition. The original article can be found at the Energy Pulse web site under the title of Oil Now and Oil Tomorrow. In case you do not want to wade through all…

Alaska Legislature approves $500,000 study of rural nuclear power

The Alaska state legislature has approved $500,000 to fund a study of using nuclear power reactors – perhaps the Toshiba 4S described here a couple of days ago – to replace diesel generators as a source of electricity in remote areas. Even though Alaska is a large crude oil producer, the residents of the state…

Reactors for small towns like Galena, Alaska

There are a number of new nuclear power projects in various stages of implementation and planning. One of the more interesting projects is a plant that produces only about 1% of the power output of a “typical” commercial nuclear power plant. Designed to provide needed electricity for a town with a population of less than…

McCain-Lieberman Climate Stewardship Act

The nuclear industry is pressing hard for assistance for the initial expenses of introducing a new generation of nuclear power plants in the US. A new bill introduced last week by Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman provides some of the requested assistance, motivated by the fact that nuclear power does not produce any greenhouse…