Aussies to Gear Up Uranium Production

With massive Asian economies needing ever larger supplies of energy, Australia is getting ready to export more uranium.

I know I've mentioned this issue before, but I think it bears repeating: I sleep well at night knowing that one of America's closest allies -- and one with rock solid political stability -- holds the world's largest reserves of uranium. The map on the left displays just how extensive the Australian uranium industry really is. It's good news for America and it's good news for the world.

As always, to keep up with the latest developments on the Aussie nuclear industry, check in with Robert Merkel.

Technorati tags: Nuclear Energy, Nuclear Power, Electricity, Environment, Energy, Politics, Technology, Economics, Uranium, Australia

Comments

Anonymous said…

Yes, we have plenty of uranium, and there's a bunch of companies exploring for more of it right now. There's no doubt in my mind that Australia will be able to meet a fair fraction of the increased demand for uranium over the next few decades - particularly as a whole of speculative money has gone into companies exploring for the stuff recently, and the announcement of the new mine at Honeymoon and the massive production increase at Olympic Dam.

There are two major issues slowing the development of uranium mining here: the first is a labour shortage in the mining industries at the moment (uranium's not the only commodity in huge demand right now). The second is the left-of-centre Australian Labor party (which is the minority party federally, but controls every single state and territory government) has a policy opposing the opening of new uranium mines. However, this will almost certainly change within the year; this policy will be discussed at the annual convention this year, there will be a lot of huffing and puffing but the general consensus is that the fix is in and the policy will be changed.

So when new plants get built, there will be uranium to fuel them, and with any luck you'll be buying a lot of it from us.

September 21, 2006 at 11:07 AM

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

An Ohio School Board Is Working to Save Nuclear Plants

Ohio faces a decision soon about its two nuclear reactors, Davis-Besse and Perry, and on Wednesday, neighbors of one of those plants issued a cry for help. The reactors’ problem is that the price of electricity they sell on the high-voltage grid is depressed, mostly because of a surplus of natural gas. And the reactors do not get any revenue for the other benefits they provide. Some of those benefits are regional – emissions-free electricity, reliability with months of fuel on-site, and diversity in case of problems or price spikes with gas or coal, state and federal payroll taxes, and national economic stimulus as the plants buy fuel, supplies and services. Some of the benefits are highly localized, including employment and property taxes. One locality is already feeling the pinch: Oak Harbor on Lake Erie, home to Davis-Besse. The town has a middle school in a building that is 106 years old, and an elementary school from the 1950s, and on May 2 was scheduled to have a referendu

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

NEI Nuclear Notes

Search This Blog