From the NEI Clip File

Here are some of the news clips we're reading at NEI today. The big news today is the energy bill that congress will soon vote on. The New York Times reports:

WASHINGTON, July 26 - After coming up short for years, Congress is preparing to enact a broad energy plan that would provide generous federal subsidies to the oil and gas industries, encourage new nuclear power plant construction and try to whet the nation's appetite for renewable fuels like ethanol and wind power.

Energy Bill Highlights: The mammoth energy policy measure, whose final details were hammered together in nine hours of negotiations that went into the early morning hours Tuesday, also gives the federal government new power to override local objections to facilities for handling growing imports of liquefied natural gas and takes a swipe at China's bid for Unocal. (Related Article)

"It is a darn good bill, and it is going to help this country, and the sooner we get it done, the better," said Representative Joe L. Barton, the Texas Republican who is chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

...The bill's authors say that the aid to producers will ultimately pay big dividends in terms of domestic production and that the nuclear industry, which has been unable to build new plants partly because of environmental and safety concerns, needs federal assurances that it can recoup higher costs caused by permitting delays before moving ahead.

Let's all cross our fingers that we hear the good news soon. Elsewhere, the Tennessee Valley Authority reports that it successfully met its highest energy demand ever without suffering any power outages:

TVA met the highest demand for electricity ever recorded in its seven-state service area Monday, July 25, exceeding the previous record by more than 1,500 megawatts without a single sustained interruption to its customers.

Based on initial readings, the TVA system met a demand of 31,703 megawatts at 4 p.m. CDT, when the average temperature across the Tennessee Valley region reached 94 degrees. The initial readings will be evaluated during the next few days, and the official peak may be adjusted slightly.

"Everyone involved in meeting the record power demand--the people at TVA and the people who distribute the power we supply-worked together to keep the system working reliably during this period of record power use," said TVA President and Chief Operating Officer Tom Kilgore. "TVA's generating and transmission systems performed exceptionally well. By keeping the generators and power delivery network at a high state of readiness, and by anticipating this heat wave, we were able to keep the lights on--and air conditioners running --for the people we serve."

Western Colorado and eastern Utah are now experiencing a rush to find new sources of uranium in their ore-rich mountains, as the demand for uranium is rising with the new nuclear reactors being built around the world:

This year more than 8,500 mining-claim permits have been filed in eight uranium-rich Colorado and Utah counties. For years claim activity was virtually zero.

Only 100 million pounds have been produced annually, but the 435 nuclear reactors in the world, including 104 in the United States, need 180 million pounds. Demand will grow as China and India increase nuclear power, and President Bush pushes for the United States to expand its use.

"No doubt about it, the world needs more uranium," said Tom Pool, chairman of International Nuclear Inc. in Golden.

For more, visit our friends at NA-YGN Midlands. Come back tomorrow for more news from the NEI Clip File.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics

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