The NEI Morning Clip File

Here are some of the news clips we're reading at NEI this morning. President Bush recently made a speech at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center discussing his second term accomplishments and priorities. Among them were his efforts in our national energy policy:

I told the United States Congress this country needs to develop an energy strategy. We should have done that 10 years ago. We should have developed a strategy that would help us diversify away from foreign sources of oil. And finally, after years of work, I'm proud to announce I'll be signing next week a comprehensive energy bill. And it's a good piece of legislation. It's a legislation that encourages domestic production. It's a piece of legislation that encourages conservation. It's also a piece of legislation that recognizes over time we must diversify away from our dependence on hydrocarbons. That's why we're now promoting nuclear energy. It makes sense for this country to use safe, clean nuclear power.

Dr. Nils Diaz, chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, was recently given the honor of being inducted into the HENAAC hall of fame:

HENAAC and its Hall of Fame Committee are proud to announce that Dr. Nils Diaz, Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has been selected for induction to the HENAAC Hall of Fame.

...On April 1, 2003, President George W. Bush designated Dr. Nils J. Diaz as Chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Chairman is the principal executive officer of and the official spokesman of the NRC. As principal executive officer, the Chairman is responsible for conducting the administrative, organizational, long-range planning, budgetary and certain personnel functions of the agency. The Chairman has ultimate authority for all NRC functions pertaining to an emergency involving an NRC license.

Dr. Diaz has been a Commissioner with the NRC since 1996. As a member of the Commission, Dr. Diaz participates in the exercise and direction of the Commission's licensing and regulatory functions. His duties include policy formulation and rulemaking, as well as issuing regulations, related orders, and guidance for protection of the public health and safety, the common defense and security, and the environment in the civilian uses of nuclear energy and materials. Dr. Diaz has played a leadership role in security issues affecting NRC licenses and was instrumental in strengthening security in the post-9/11 era using realistic and practical regulatory scenarios.

The bloggers over at Disillusioned Lefty are wondering why the world hasn't embraced nuclear energy more. Check it out:

Unless we want to go back to the good old days when a few sods of turf and a bucket of coal are enough to run a the country, we really have to look towards the seemingly flawless idea of nuclear power. Understandably, there is a lot of fear about even the word "nuclear", and there certainly needs to be debate about issues of safety. If it's deemed too risky, then fine. But, shockingly, the Indo puts it well,

"We have to think, and talk, about nuclear energy. In Ireland, that will not be easy. Public opinion - understandably affected by well-justified fears about Sellafield, which have undermined Irish confidence in the British nuclear industry - is strongly against it.

But we need to put prejudice aside and debate objectively what kind of power will keep the lights burning in our homes, factories and offices."

Also check out the sarcastic Susskins Central Dispatch:

On the whole, I'd like to thank the Environmental folks for pushing us away from Nuclear energy. Thanks for acting like every single reactor in the world is as highly dangerous and mismanaged as Chernobyl. (Look into pebble bed reactors. Inherently self-regulating. No China Syndrome possible.) Thanks for painting the image of barrels of radioactive goo spilling all over. (Real nuclear waste is not the spillable nightmare that they would have you believe.) Thanks for keeping us on the hydrocarbon route, because that's working out so well for everyone involved. (A coal plant puts more radiation into the atmosphere than a nuclear facility.)

Come back this afternoon for more news from the NEI Clip File.

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

Fluor Invests in NuScale

You know, it’s kind of sad that no one is willing to invest in nuclear energy anymore. Wait, what? NuScale Power celebrated the news of its company-saving $30 million investment from Fluor Corp. Thursday morning with a press conference in Washington, D.C. Fluor is a design, engineering and construction company involved with some 20 plants in the 70s and 80s, but it has not held interest in a nuclear energy company until now. Fluor, which has deep roots in the nuclear industry, is betting big on small-scale nuclear energy with its NuScale investment. "It's become a serious contender in the last decade or so," John Hopkins, [Fluor’s group president in charge of new ventures], said. And that brings us to NuScale, which had run into some dark days – maybe not as dark as, say, Solyndra, but dire enough : Earlier this year, the Securities Exchange Commission filed an action against NuScale's lead investor, The Michael Kenwood Group. The firm "misap...

Wednesday Update

From NEI’s Japan micro-site: NRC, Industry Concur on Many Post-Fukushima Actions Industry/Regulatory/Political Issues • There is a “great deal of alignment” between the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the industry on initial steps to take at America’s nuclear energy facilities in response to the nuclear accident in Japan, Charles Pardee, the chief operating officer of Exelon Generation Co., said at an agency briefing today. The briefing gave stakeholders an opportunity to discuss staff recommendations for near-term actions the agency may take at U.S. facilities. PowerPoint slides from the meeting are on the NRC website. • The International Atomic Energy Agency board has approved a plan that calls for inspectors to evaluate reactor safety at nuclear energy facilities every three years. Governments may opt out of having their country’s facilities inspected. Also approved were plans to maintain a rapid response team of experts ready to assist facility operators recoverin...

Nuclear Utility Moves Up in Credit Ratings, Bank is "Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy"

Some positive signs that nuclear utilities can continue to receive positive ratings even while they finance new nuclear plants for the first time in decades: Wells Fargo upgrades SCANA to Outperform from Market Perform Wells analyst says, "YTD, SCG shares have underperformed the Regulated Electrics (total return +2% vs. +9%). Shares trade at 11.3X our 10E EPS, a modest discount to the peer group median of 11.8X. We view the valuation as attractive given a comparatively constructive regulatory environment and potential for above-average long-term EPS growth prospects ... Comfortable with Nuclear Strategy. SCG plans to participate in the development of two regulated nuclear units at a cost of $6.3B, raising legitimate concerns regarding financing and construction. We have carefully considered the risks and are comfortable with SCG’s strategy based on a highly constructive political & regulatory environment, manageable financing needs stretched out over 10 years, strong partners...

NEI Nuclear Notes

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